I enjoyed my second stay at the Folly all the more for being warmly welcomed back by Helga, her husband Desmond and the staff as part of the family. I was invited along with other guests to join in for Helga’s glamorous candlelit birthday dinner where we sampled a memorable baked crab dish and the yummiest Christmas pudding I think I’ve ever tasted (a Helga birthday tradition!). The local Kandy crowd were all exotically attired and included many a jaunty raconteur. Helga was enormously kind in arranging for me to accompany local doctors on 'health camp' expeditions into the jungle and I also made a trip down to Agars Land: Desmond’s tea estate on the slopes of Adam's Peak, which is one of the oldest in the country. I loved my stay in their cottage on the estate, which is exquisitely furnished with daybeds and with glowing red and orange hangings depicting Sri Lankan warriors. The drive down and the surrounding landscape were spectacular. While there are lots of worthwhile daytrips on the tourist circuit which can be made from the Folly - the cave temples at Dambulla, the rock fortress at Sigiriya, game parks, venerable hill clubs and elephant orphanages are all within several hours’ drive - I do recommend blanking out a few days on your travel itinerary in readiness for unique adventures.

We stayed 4 days at Helgas Folly in August, having read about the hotel in several guide books. From what we had read and their web site, we were fascinated and decided to book this hotel in Kandy rather than a standard guest house or soulful hotel. True : even though the war has ended, tourism is dead in Sri Lanka - hence ALL hotels (if still open and functioning) have no guests. We were charmed and cannot voice one complaint. We are amazed to read some of the remarks here and just wonder what these complainants were expecting because Helga's is clearly written everywhere as being "an eccentric experience" which it surely is. It is not a big hotel (more like a someone's large private house which in the UK we would call a "boutique hotel"), has really friendly staff and we couldn't complain about the food at all. The menu has amazing choice and tasted good. There were quite a few guests staying at the same time as us so our stay turned into a lovely house party - meeting new friends. I have to say that our stay at Helgas was the highlight of our tour in SL.

Incidentaly we didn't notice a smell, see a cockroach (although a monkey did a poo on our hire car roof) or notice any dust or dirt. It was just fab, fab, fab and will go back again if we ever visit Sri Lanka in the future when tourism picks up.

Helga's Folly is not for imature or griping tourists. It is for sophisticated travellers who don't shirek when they see a monkey or an ant on the drive. There are tedious reviewers who seems to show astonishment at being in a rural idyll in Kandy and wonder why everything isn't the same as 'back home'. If you love the real Sri Lanka, are willing to be surprised and delighted by a beautiful and laid back natural environment in a home from home which is NOT a faceless, pristine 5 star hotel...but a glorious experience, then I urge you to try Helga's Folly. At Helga's it is discreet, private and homely. You can walk around with bananas on your ears and no one would mind. I always feel 100 percent relqxed here as does my 12 year old son and husband. We would not want the Folly to be anything but a Folly...the brainchild of brilliant Helga who wafts around the establishment with cheerful insouciance, kindness and the style of a latter day Coco Chanel. If you're an inexperience traveller with a love of plastic hotels, please do not visit.