Cloisters - A Family-Friendly Beachfront Villa in Thalpe, near Galle
Villas in Galle, Sri Lanka
Description
Recommended For
- Couples
- Family
- Friends
Villa Spaces
The Bedrooms
Cloisters has three large double bedroom suites. The first is a family suite with an additional double bedroom attached, making it ideal for parents travelling with children, and it opens onto a breathtaking oceanfront view over the private beach. All told the villa sleeps up to eight guests.
The Pool, Gardens and Beach
A 50-foot pool runs along the front of the villa, positioned for uninterrupted views of the ocean and the sunset beyond. Beyond it, nearly an acre of tropical gardens, dense with flowering plants and an ancient, coconut-lined walkway, leads down to the azure water. The beach here is quiet and all but private, the kind of stretch where you can watch the sun go down from the sand with no one else around.
Design and Interiors
Built by the renowned Sri Lankan architect Shayan Kumaradas, Cloisters is designed around seamless indoor-outdoor living, the spaces open straight onto the tropical gardens and the beach beyond, so the line between inside and out barely exists. It's furnished with period pieces and artwork collected from around the world, along with a second beachfront terrace shaded by pergolas and set with sofas for sunset drinks. The overall feel is of a much-loved private home rather than a rental.
Dining and Service
Cloisters is fully staffed, with service pitched at the personal end of luxury rather than the formal. A dedicated butler looks after day-to-day requests, a maid service runs six days a week, and a resident security guard is on hand around the clock. Dining is deliberately flexible: eat indoors at the large antique wooden table, out under the shaded verandah just beyond the garden, or down on the beachfront terrace as the sun goes down. Meals are prepared in a big open-plan kitchen and cooked to
Where Cloisters Is
Cloisters sits on Mihiripenna Beach in Thalpe, one of the south coast's most desirable stretches, around 15–20 minutes from Galle Fort. Unawatuna, Koggala and the surf and cafés of the south coast are all close by, with Weligama and Mirissa an easy drive further on. It's a genuinely beachfront setting, the sand and the stilt fishermen are right there, not a walk away.
Ideal For
Families with children, couples, and small groups who want a private beachfront home rather than a hotel. The attached family suite and the safe, enclosed gardens make it a particularly easy choice for parents.
Reviews 20 reviews for Cloisters - A Family-Friendly Beachfront Villa in Thalpe, near Galle
Pamela’s villa is a perfect oasis set right on the beach front where you get the most beautiful evening light and crashing waves to accompany your evening cocktail. Perfectly located just 5 minutes from Wiyaja beach, where we all loved swimming with the turtles. The villa had everything you would need to enjoy a luxurious holiday… in fact it is better than any 5 star hotel. What makes it special are the kind, helpful and thoughtful villa team, led expertly by Joseph who couldn’t do enough to help us during our stay. Organising brilliant day trips and an extra special dinner on our last evening. We are so grateful to Pamela for letting us stay at her beautiful villa and to Joseph and the team, thank you thank you again! (& we all love Hendricks!)
The Cloisters in Talpe is a fantastic place in every possible way. The location on the beach and close to Unawatuna and Galle is ideal. The house and gardens are magical. And, the three staff plus a lovely black Labrador are amazing. Our best meals in Sri Lanka were prepared by this team. This was a perfect place to end our experience in this wonderful country. We will come again!
From the moment we booked Pamela made us feel right at home. She answered any questions and helped with any suggestions - not only about her home but Sri Lanka in general. The villa is gorgeous! It was the last place we stayed on our three week trip through the country and by far our favourite place. Pamela and her Cloisters Team made us feel right at home. The pool, beach (with stilt fisherman right in front), Joseph’s cooking is delicious, the space at the villa was perfect for our two families who stayed together. We loved sharing meals, and hanging out in the evenings playing cards and enjoying the space.
Great stay, safe for kids while private. Great host
Fantastic house. Beach front, but at the same time private. What really makes the place extraordinary, is Joseph and his team. Hospitality, service and making sure you feel at home seems to be their goal. Highly recommendable 😀
Wonderful house! Clean and well located. Joseph and the team took a very good care of us. Lovely experience, we recommend.
This is a work of art and is a product of love. The home was so comfortable and inviting, and we felt right at home.
We had a wonderful time staying at this villa - beachfront with an amazing pool, and the house was very clean, comfortable and well decorated. Our host was very helpful throughout, offering great recommendations. The team at the villa were also very helpful, making it a great experience.
We had the most incredible stay at Pamela’s beautiful seafront property! From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with warmth and hospitality from the incredible staff. The home itself is a perfect blend of comfort and style, with so many thoughtful touches that made our stay extra special.
Our highlight, of course, was the stunning pool that overlooked the ocean. Whether we were swimming or simply lounging by the water, it was the perfect place to relax and take in the breathtaking views. We also loved the peaceful atmosphere and the gentle sound of the waves, it felt like our own private paradise. This property truly exceeded all expectations. I can't wait to return and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a peaceful, luxurious getaway by the sea!
Thanks for a wonderful stay!
We spent 1 week at Cloisters with 2 families and 5 kids and had an absolute amazing time. One of the best family trips we've had. The location was perfect and the house was more than we could have imagined. We felt at peace, at home and our kids loved the access to the beach, the central pool and all the cool odds and ends around the house. And most of all the service was top notch. Joseph, Yoga and Nehru were the best. So attentive, caring and supportive in arranging all our logistics. They went above and beyond to make us feel at home. And the food they cooked for us was out of this world, from the hoppers for breakfast to the fish curry and dhal for dinner, it was more than we could have imagined
I highly recommend Cloisters for any family looking to have an amazing holiday in Sri Lanka. I can't wait to return!
We stayed 4 nights, we had a really great time, the villa is located directly on a very nice beach with in some places lot’s of granite rocks, where we were spending hours every day with our 2 kids, 5 & 8y, discovering crabs, urchin, small octopus, etc. Great location too, very nice restaurant (shanti shanti) to do with kids, just 3min away (with a beautiful tree house and a 20meters swing), you have turtle beaches around, and you are 35min away from Mirissa for the whale watching, a must do with the kids, it’s simply extraordinary. Pamela has built a very nice villa, very charming, lot’s of different places where to chill, you will feel home, relaxed. And Joseph and Neeru will take care of any request you might have, including ala carte breakfast, lunch or dinner if you want so. Lovely!
We spent two weeks in Cloisters and it was truly magical to celebrate my fathers 75th birthday and mothers birthday. The team of Joseph, Yoga & Nehru were exceptional and went above and beyond in every aspect .
We loved our sunset drinks by the beach and morning coffees. The food was world class. I would highly recommend Pamela’s house for a peaceful and restful sun holiday
We had a fabulous time at Cloister. Pamela and the team are splendid and the manager Joseph is a master of his craft. Food is delicious, beach is stunning, massages are well worth it and we will be back!
We had a great stay with 4 adults and 2 kids for a week in the beach villa. The staff was great, the food they prepared was delicious, all needs were were quickly handled (Thanks to Joseph, Yoga and Nero for the great time). Pam was easy to communicate with and helpful and the villa was as described! The beach was beautiful and the garden was nice and full with animals. We would come back!
Cloisters was a gem - would recommend highly. Pamela and her team led by Joseph are amazing.
Cloisters is a beautiful property with plenty of space, a terrific pool, direct beach access, and a lovely team of staff taking care of the location and the guests. We visited as part of a 3 generation family holiday and it surpassed expectations - very peaceful, private and quiet. Strongly recommended.
What an exceptional oasis - this is a place we will return to. Could not be more pleased. Nothing a trouble or problem
We had a wonderful time at this beautiful villa. The photos do not do it justice, it is a magical place. We were a group of 8 (2 families with teenage children) and it had plenty of space for all of us. We were wonderfully looked after by the staff and the meals cooked by the team were the best we had in our stay in Sri Lanka. We'd love to go back again someday.
We're only halfway through our stay, and already I feel compelled to ensure we have shared this place with others (except we don't really want to, BC it is amazing and it's hard not to keep those special places to yourself sometimes).
The house is well designed & beautifully decorated. The master bedroom is upstairs with a huge separate sitting area, massive patio (great for yoga or kids to run around in) and then the other 2 ensuite bedrooms are in a separate (but right there) building by the pool. This was great for kids, BC we had quiet upstairs, but were safely able to keep them in their lockable rooms. We had a nanny in one, but an extended range baby monitor would also work. Those rooms are both very large and offer beautiful open air bathrooms.
There is a very comfortable during area downstairs (the ample living area is perfect for rainy days, and many places we saw didn't have inviting looking furniture....the cloisters was like being at home).
Three are plenty of places inside & outside to take your coffee and have a meal (something I strongly recommend having the staff prepare -everything has been delicious & nothing was too spicy for our toddlers).
The staff is the other secret to this lovely place. They are the kindest people. They aren't present, except when you need them. They are thoughtful, helpful, and wonderful. We will be most sad to leave them behind honestly, including our kids, who have quickly become very fond of them (maybe the fresh coconuts, visits to see the dog, or just the warm smiles are influencing them).
The property is quite large and you really don't notice you're on a main road, very close to some of the best spots in the area but you are convenient to so much. It is however very private. Set back on the beach, as you can see in the photos, vs right on it. But that matters less, BC the perfect location of the house is very private, on a fishing beach close to the end of the beach, so we only see the occasional people walking to see the picturesque fishers on their stilts. We will be here for almost 2 wks and will not have scratched the surface in what we want to do in this area, much less Sri Lanka.
Mosquitoes haven't been anywhere as bad as we expected. Normal for most warm places we have visited, and the house has been the best of anywhere, probably BC of the beach breeze and lack of standing water areas. Inland was worse, with a yoga center we went to being the most we saw. We use natural spray and are happily surviving with only a handful of bites between us.
Oh, and this is the only place you will hope it rains on holiday. The fountain in the center of the house takes on a whole new beauty ♥️
This place is great! Sri Lankan style home with a little fish pool as you enter, beautiful and spacious rooms, and direct access to the beach. CJ and the rest of the staff were amazing, tending to all our needs, and cooking amazing food!
Highly recommend!
