Otherland Hotels Opens In Galle, Offering A New Way To Experience Sri Lanka

Ocean-facing design-led suites on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, part-hotel-part-poshtel, and a rooftop with 270-degree ocean views – Otherland Hotels has opened its first property in Sri Lanka’s Galle. The 66-key lifestyle hotel sits at the center of the country’s sub-culture of surf, sound, food, cocktails, and local culture. And that’s not it! It has a rooftop music venue, vinyl-led lobby bar, and a program designed to take guests beyond the conventional hotel experience.

Otherland Hotels Opens In Galle & Here Are All The Details!

Where Is Otherland Hotels Located?

Otherlands is located on Matara Road, just 400 meters from Dewata Beach and 2.8 km from Galle Fort. Founded by Rishi Sreedharan, Samarth Gowda and Emanuel Siddhartha in partnership with Beryll Group, Otherland is built to be experience-first, with design, food & beverage, and accommodation built around it. 

Stepping Inside Otherland Hotels

Enter the hotel and you’d technically find a front desk. But it happens to be inside Bar-kery, a double-height, 360-degree bar that functions depending on what you’re looking for. In the blink of an eye, it turns into a lobby, coffee shop, aperitivo counter, and co-working perch, each with a score of analogue music coming from the Vinyl Corner. Dig through classics, select a sleeve, drop the needle, and simply unwind. Upstairs, the hotel changes gear. Studio Camarada has lent a subtle fluidity to the communal spaces, allowing guests to move naturally between arrival, food, music, and the outdoors.

Occupying the rooftop, Creatures is part restaurant, part cocktail bar, part pool club and part high energy nightclub and sound room, overlooking the Indian Ocean and Galle coastline. It plays a dual role – the space centers around the infinity pool, food, drinks, and sundowners during the day and as night approaches, it does “the turn”. This is what the hotel describes as a shift in lighting, sound, and the overall feel of the space, turning it into a late-night social room. 

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Rooms Within Otherland Hotels

The accommodation includes 24 Ocean Rooms, 25 Terra Rooms, 12 suites and five dorms, ranging from 27-square-meter rooms to a 70-square-meter Patio Suite. Ocean-facing rooms look towards the water, while Terra rooms look across Galle’s Mangroves and railway tracks. While luxury and convenience has been taken care of, the hotel has paid special attention to accessibility, creating rooms for specially abled guests.

The property draws from Galle and its southern coast. We’re talking about the use of sandy neutrals, ocean blues, and baked, earthy tones with rattan, ash, cane-work, hand-tufted textiles, and marble.

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When Otherland Switches To The Other Side

Otherland Hotels, beyond offering a traditional hotel experience, is focusing on giving you unique experiences under ‘The Other Side’ program.

We’re talking about south-coast activities like surfing, rainforest excursions, Galle Fort walks, taking a boat through Koggala’s mangroves to lunch, going through a crate of vinyl over aperitivo, following a convoy of tuk-tuks to bars after dark, and more.

The Other Side runs across three tracks with weekly, monthly, and seasonal calendars.

‘Slow’ covers experiences that are easy-going and lowkey: such as a curry masterclass with a local cook who learned the recipes at home. Or a walk through Galle Fort with someone who can express the history and the delights the area holds to guests of all ages. 

‘Wild’ is more adventurous: surf lessons at Dewata Beach which boasts of 900 meters of soft sand. Or a dawn boat off Mirissa to be awestruck by whales. Or a kayak through Koggala Lake’s mangrove channels to an island named after one of Sri Lanka’s crown jewels: Cinnamon.

‘Play’ is for after the sun has set: The Creatures Bar Crawl that runs on a fleet of tuk-tuks, rooftop sunset sets, arrack tastings, beach cricket and a BBQ, or aperitivo and vinyl.

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A Sneak-Peek Into The Bar-kery

On the ground floor, the Bar-kery (bar & bakery) is the all-day lobby: also where you check in, get coffee and breakfast in the morning, have a glass of wine in the afternoon, and finish the work you couldn't leave behind with a selection of fresh Gelato made in-house to keep you company. 

With the coffee by Colombo Coffee Company, one of Sri Lanka’s most established roasters, Bar-kery also presses its seasonal fruit juices daily. Alongside these you get teas sourced from across Sri Lanka's tea growing regions, and a comprehensive wellness menu.

Breakfast leans heavily into the south coast while much of the food boasts of elevated Sri Lankan food. And if you’re in the mood for a cocktail, the Barkery offers a cocktail program that runs across two menus. Classic Twists takes timeless serves and reinterprets them through Sri Lankan ingredients and The House Originals do not shy away from experimentation.

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Creatures: Part restaurant, Part Cocktail Bar, Part Pool Club and Part Music Venue

Creatures on the rooftop operates as a bar, restaurant, pool club, and music venue depending on the hour. The cocktail menu takes its cue from Jekyll and Hyde, mythical creatures, and pop culture; a  program that is, like the space itself, two things at once: familiar enough to order on instinct, strange enough to tickle your curiosity.

Try their unique cocktails like The Rattlesnake, The Vixen, The Coffee Painkiller, Rabbit's Foot, and The Merlion. And while you’re here, do enjoy their world-class Void sound system.

The Kitchen At Otherworld Hotels

The kitchen here works from Sri Lankan culinary tradition with a pantry that moves with the season. Run by Chef Rajeev Kumar, most products are made in-house and the food is Sri Lankan at its core. However, there is enough experimentation in texture and technique to keep the  menus moving. 

The raw section sets the tone for the room: King Coconut Ceviche with compressed watermelon, pickled onion, and fresh chilli; Yellowfin Tuna Tataki with mandarin ponzu, tobiko, and avocado; and the Tuna Bhel all paying a nod to the Sri Lankan way of cooking.

Small plates are designed to complement the cocktail programme with the Dirty Martini Burrata, The Lankan Fish Cutlet, Tiger prawns, and more.

The Barrah Lamb Chop, The Red Snapper Fillet comes in a Moilee, Devilled Pork Ribs are some of the large plates to try here, especially when Creatures turns into a dreamy dining destination at night. For dessert, the Watalappam Brûlée takes the island’s most beloved coconut-jaggery custard and gives it a burnt sugar crust, cardamom biscotti, and berry compote. The Single-Origin Ceylon Cacao plate makes the case for Sri Lanka's cacao. The desserts are just as Sri Lankan as the meals!

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Note: All information used in the blog has been sourced from verified online sources and supplied information.

Summing Up

Your search for new hotels in Galle has ended with the Otherland Hotels. Set against the backdrop of the UNESCO-listed Galle Fort and the pristine Sri Lankan sea, the 66-key luxurious property is where Sri Lanka’s food, music, and culture is about to converge into a calming, rewarding experience.