A three-bedroom house with a pool in a walled tropical garden, a 100-metre walk from Kabalana Beach and the surf at The Rock.
Nina is a whole-house stay for families and friends travelling together. Downstairs, the kitchen, dining table and living room sit in one open space behind tall teak-framed windows, with the pool just outside.
Polished concrete, warm wood and woven rattan keep everything cool and simple. Start the day with fruit and coffee at the long concrete counter, spend the afternoon between the water and the shade, and walk down to Kabalana for a surf at The Rock or a swim at sunset.
Under a woven thatch roof, the upstairs veranda is open on all sides to the coconut trees. Daybeds, floor cushions and hammocks make it the place for afternoon naps, reading and evening drinks.
A four-poster king bed in a room of windows that opens straight onto the veranda and the trees.
A calm white room with a four-poster king bed, a bamboo towel ladder and its own bathroom just off the bedroom.
Two single beds, good for children or friends sharing, with its own bathroom.
In the master suite, the shower is open to the sky, so you wash under the rain shower in sunlight. Every bedroom has its own bathroom in hand-finished concrete, with fresh towels and a round wooden mirror. All the bedrooms are air-conditioned for the hottest hours, with ceiling fans for the rest of the day.
Nina sits right beside Sri Lanka's coastal railway, the line that runs along the ocean from Colombo to Matara. A few times a day a blue train rolls past with people waving from the open doors. It's a few loud, happy minutes, and most guests end up waving back.
It also means you can catch the train to Galle or Mirissa from just down the road. Tuk-tuks and drivers are easy to find, and we are happy to arrange an airport transfer.