Jetwing Vil Uyana
When we arrived at Jetwing Vil Uyana, a luxury resort that is a member of ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World’, we were instantly bowled over by the peaceful atmosphere, beautiful open design and natural beauty that is everywhere (you really can’t ignore it).
From the lotus filled ponds, to the lake that is home to many species of birds and fish, you’ll never feel far away from nature here.
But the close proximity to wildlife and the beautifully designed spaces in the resort including the wonderful ‘dwellings’ are not the only things to get excited about as vegan guests staying at Jetwing Vil Uyana.
The vegan food is definitely something to be happy about
The Vegan Food
The best dining options for vegans in Sri Lanka is to opt for the vegan local cuisine so that’s what we did at Jetwing Vil Uyana.
At breakfast we ate traditional Sri Lankan ‘Kola Kanda’, a healthy coconut milk, rice and green leaf thin soup, this was followed by dosai with dahl, vegetable curry and pol sambol (spicy coconut chutney made from fresh coconuts, chilli and shallots).
We also ate delicious string hoppers (steamed rice noodles), so light and fluffy and a perfect accompaniment to a mild ‘kiri hodi’ potato curry (a coconut milk based curry flavoured with pandan, curry leaves and mustard seeds) and spicy ‘pol sambol’.
At dinner time we we served a pretty platter of vegan canapes whilst we were waiting for our Sri Lankan ‘rice and curry’ to arrive.
Our favourite? Definitely the okra in creamy turmeric laden coconut milk.
We’ve normally only ever eaten tomato based or dry ‘tempered’ okra dishes and so this coconut milk curry was something new with the creamy curry and the gooey okra juice working really well together!
Another cooking style typical of Sri Lankan cuisine, our ‘Devilled Vegetables’ were the perfect plant-based way to try this spicy taste sensation, the sauce was rich and tomatoey but spicy and sweet too with fruity fresh pineapple, sweet onions and smoked chillies all adding their own little bit to the flavour.
The Vegan Essentials
Our beautiful ‘dwelling’ already had 100% vegan pillows and duvet so a perfect feather-free sleep for us!
The amenities were in refillable containers (in line with Jetwing’s environmental ‘Eternal Earth Programme’) but as we couldn’t see the ingredients, we just used our own products.
The spa was yet another peaceful part of the resort and we tested out a short head and neck massage which was very pleasant. The products used in the spa are from Link Naturals which is a Sri Lankan company selling Ayurvedic products both in Sri Lanka and abroad. We’re not sure whether any of the products are vegan yet but will update details here as soon as we find out.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Check in here for a luxury hotel stay where you’ll be impressed by the opportunity to be close to nature as well as by the vegan food.
Opt for vegan versions of traditional Sri Lankan food and feast on delicious curries as well as hoppers and dosai.
Enjoy staying in a beautiful villa where you’ll find it easy to relax and don’t forget to keep lookout for the wild crocodiles!
We were guests of Jetwing Vil Uyana but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
Jetwing Vil Uyana
Sigiriya
Sri Lanka
Telephone: +94 66 4923585-6
Email: viluyana@jetwinghotels.com
Cost From: £170 / $255 per night (May 2015)