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Leaf-to-cup Experience

Sitting amidst the misty mountain trails of Mandaramnuwara is the Tea & Experience Factory, an old tea estate first brought to life in the late 1800s. The rustic retreat also emerged as the highest bidder in the very first tea auction in Sri Lanka reflecting the factory’s time-honoured prestige. After being out of operation for close to 30 long years, today the factory has been loving restored by the management and architects of Thema Collection.

During these renovations, most of the wooden frames used to wither the tea back in the day have been utilised during the reconstruction as well. The atmosphere of corrugated architecture was brought into the rooms and the industrial feel of the property merged with the unique beauty of Mandramnuwara and panoramas making this a truly unique experience for guests.

The concept of the hotel is to provide guests with an immersive tea experience where they get to stay in a working tea factory and experience the journey of tea from leaf to cup. Guests visiting the site will indulge in the experience of plucking, weighing, rolling, fermenting, withering, grading, and packaging tea; and can have a peek into the workings of a real factory. To round off an exciting day of touring and exploring, visitors are also rewarded with tea samples to be savoured and enjoyed at home.

The hotel belongs to the cluster of boutique hotels in Nuwara Eliya district with leafy hills, panoramic vistas, and waterfalls enveloping from all sides. The livelihoods of locals in the area are also heavily dependent on agriculture, hence there is ample opportunity to surround yourself with terraced cultivation and tea plantations. To top it all, the hideout is conveniently placed between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, thus, you are one step closer to getting the best of both worlds.