Sri Lanka

Thick mashed potato sands on its southern coast give way to landscapes carpeted in tea plantations and jungle, and its towns and cities are steeped in culture and colourful history – the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonised the island itself. Bigger names like Aman, Resplendent Ceylon, Anantara and Cinnamon have dominated the hotel scene for decades, but recent times have seen a flurry of independently owned boutique hotels open