Uga Resorts, the boutique Sri Lankan hotel group renowned for its world-class hospitality, is pleased to unveil the first phase of Uga Jungle Beach’s brand new look, marked by the complete refurbishment of its 49 rooms and restaurant. The remaining enhancements – including the pool area, beach bar and spa – are set for completion in March 2026.
Yasmine Svensson, Uga’s Interior Designer comments, “We wanted to honour Uga Jungle Beach’s wild coastal character while bringing contemporary clarity. The palette draws from the landscape – jewel tones from the jungle, botanical fern prints across the walls, natural textures grounded by clean white architecture. Every space, from the cabins to the restaurant, celebrates the tension between tropical wildness and refined simplicity. The goal was to create interiors that breathe with the environment, not against it, creating a luxuriously eclectic atmosphere.”
The Cabins
The interiors are designed in harmony with the surrounding landscape, creating a luxuriously eclectic atmosphere across the 49 expansive cabins. Clean lines, airy proportions and modern amenities suit the tropical setting, while botanical prints line the wall and detailed ferns and native flora celebrate the wild beauty of the location. Plush queen-sized beds anchor each space, accented with colourful headboards and jewel-toned cushions inspired by Sri Lanka’s rich artistic heritage.
The Restaurant
The newly renovated 75-cover restaurant is designed in quiet dialogue with its surroundings, surrendering to the landscape rather than competing with it. Light filters through roof panels, shifting with the sun’s arc from crisp morning shadows to golden afternoons and a softly ceremonial glow at night, when uplighting reveals the mature tree growing through the deck itself.
A restrained, natural palette – white-washed beams, dark rustic wood, crisp linens, and olive-and-cream textiles – echoes the gardens beyond the open edge. Cane dining chairs and tactile furnishings reinforce a tropical sensibility that feels authentic and grounded in natural materials.
Defined by its openness, the space dissolves the boundary between indoors and out, opening fully to a manicured lawn, then wilder coastal scrub, and distant glimpses of beach and ocean. Sheltered from the elements by the thatched overhang but never separated from the landscape.
The result is contemporary tropical architecture at its best: a place that heightens awareness of time, setting and natural rhythms while elevating the dining experience. This is dining as it should be in wild places: sophisticated enough to feel like an occasion, wild enough to remember you’re not in a city anymore.
Explore
The property is set within a 15-acre reserve where three ecosystems converge: a four-kilometre stretch of powder-soft beach meets dense tropical mangrove, while inland jungle presses close with all its wild insistence. This is Trincomalee’s eastern shore as it has existed for millennia.
Uga Jungle Beach provides the perfect base to explore the largely undiscovered town of Kuchchaveli and its surroundings. Those wishing to immerse themselves in the local culture can also participate in village bike tours or visit the historical harbour city of Trincomalee during the Trinco City Tour, uncovering ancient temples, stunning viewpoints and historical sites.
A marine biologist’s playground, the region is famed as one of the best places in Sri Lanka for observing the blue whale, and guests can also look out for dolphins, sperm whales, endangered sea turtles and black tipped reef sharks while on guided snorkelling trips or on boat expeditions. Back at the resort, guests can check into the spoiling spa at Jungle Beach, enjoy exquisite local and international cuisine at the main restaurant, arrange an intimate beach picnic or simply lay back and enjoy a cocktail or two by the main pool.
