The first sound of the morning in Jaffna was a train horn, long and low and close enough to feel personal. I lay there for a second wondering if I’d been mistaken for a signal, then laughed, because that’s the quiet joke of staying at Green Grass Hotel. The railway station is practically next door, and by the time you’ve had your second cup of tea you’ve stopped noticing the trains and started enjoying the rhythm of the place instead.
Green Grass sits on Aseervatham Lane, just off Hospital Road, in the middle of everything useful in Jaffna and just far enough from the bustle to feel like a retreat. It’s the kind of hotel that has grown with the town. By its own account it began as a small guest house around 2009 and has since expanded into a full hotel and restaurant, with a sister property, Valampuri, right beside it under the same management.
Rooms, balconies and a garden that earns its name
Rooms at the main hotel come as Standard and Standard Plus, while the neighbouring Valampuri side adds Standard, Deluxe and Suite options. They’re air-conditioned and comfortable, with flat-screen televisions, mini-bars and private bathrooms, and many open onto a balcony that looks out over the garden. After a day of heat and sightseeing, a balcony with a view of greenery is a very good thing indeed.
The grounds are leafier than you’d expect from a hotel this central. There’s a terrace, a garden and enough trees to keep the afternoons bearable. The front desk runs around the clock, which is a lifesaver if your train or flight lands at a strange hour, and the staff handle laundry, tour arrangements and the small practical things that make a long trip smoother.
Eating in four different moods
Dining at Green Grass is a choice of settings as much as dishes. There’s an air-conditioned restaurant for when the midday sun is winning, a set of open huts for relaxed group meals, a rooftop for evenings with a breeze and, my favourite, a table under the mango tree. Each has its own personality, and I found myself ordering dinner by mood rather than by menu.
The kitchen leans into Jaffna-style cooking alongside Indian and Chinese dishes, and this is the place to be a little adventurous. Jaffna food is its own cuisine, with fierce spicing, seafood from the surrounding waters and local classics like crab curry and the hearty seafood soup called odiyal kool. Ask what the kitchen is proud of, and then ask for a bit less chilli than you think you can handle. You’ll thank me later. Breakfast covers a wide spread, and there are halal and vegetarian options for mixed groups, so nobody ends up pushing toast around a plate. You can browse the dining pages to see all four settings.
The pool, the bar and the long afternoon
If I had to pick the heart of the hotel, it would be the pool. There’s an outdoor pool with a separate children’s pool, a poolside bar and a deck that fills up gently as the heat of the day peaks. Jaffna in the afternoon is not a city that asks you to sprint around, and a cold drink at the water’s edge feels like the most sensible way to spend those hours.
For something a bit livelier, the hotel has pool tables and billiards, karaoke for the brave and bicycles for the sporty. Bicycle and motorbike hire are both on offer, and the town is flat enough that a bike is a genuinely pleasant way to see it. The hotel also has banquet halls and meeting spaces, so you might find yourself sharing the garden with a wedding party, which in my experience only adds to the atmosphere.
What’s on your doorstep
The pace here is wonderfully unhurried. Evenings drift from the pool to the rooftop, the lights come on in the garden and the whole place settles into a soft, sociable hum. I like a hotel where you can do a full day out in Jaffna, come back sunburnt and slightly dusty, and have somewhere green to land. This is that hotel.
Location is where Green Grass really earns its keep. Jaffna Clock Tower, the public library and the market are all within easy reach, and the old Jaffna Fort is a short drive or a longer walk. The Archaeological Museum, Our Lady of Refuge Church and the Nagavihara Buddhist centre are within a stroll, which says a lot about the town’s layers of faith and history.
Further afield, the peninsula opens up. Casuarina Beach and the Keerimalai springs make easy half-day trips, and the islands off the coast, including Delft and Nagadeepa, are reached from the jetties to the west. The hotel offers shuttle services and can help arrange tours and vehicles, and drivers are welcomed with accommodation of their own, a thoughtful touch for anyone travelling with a hired car. It’s a very practical base for a trip that’s more about exploring than lounging.
Getting there from Katunayake
It also helps to know that Jaffna rewards a slow approach. The peninsula has its own food, its own temples and its own pace, and a few unhurried days will teach you more than a rushed one. Wander the market lanes, find a tea stop near the clock tower and let the afternoon decide the rest. The hotel’s tour and vehicle desk can fill any gaps, whether you want a guide for the temples or a driver for the coast.
Jaffna is a long way from the airport, so plan for the journey to be part of the trip. By road it’s roughly 400 kilometres, which means a full day behind the wheel, around eight or nine hours with stops. A car with a driver is the easiest option, and breaking the trip with a night near Anuradhapura makes it far more pleasant. The hotel can help with transfers if you ask ahead.
The train is the romantic way to arrive. Reach Colombo Fort first, then take a northern line service to Jaffna, and you’ll step off at a station that’s only a short hop from the hotel’s front door. Domestic flights to Jaffna also exist, though they leave from Ratmalana rather than Katunayake, so check current schedules and allow for the extra transfer. However you travel, it’s worth arriving with daylight to spare. You can find rooms, halls and contact details on the hotel’s official website.
A last word
Green Grass isn’t trying to be a resort on a cliff, and that’s exactly why I liked it. It’s a comfortable, welcoming base with a good pool, good food and a position that puts Jaffna at your feet. When the train horn goes off in the morning now, I smile. It means the day has started, and the pool is only a short walk away.
