Otherland Hotels Enters Sri Lanka with a New Approach to Lifestyle Hospitality
The 66-key lifestyle hotel in Sri Lanka introduces an experience-first approach to hospitality, placing local culture, community and discovery at the heart of the guest journey.
By SOH Edit Team
On Sri Lanka's southern coast, where heritage meets a thriving surf culture, Otherland Hotels is set to debut with Otherland Galle, a 66-key lifestyle property designed around a simple proposition: the most memorable part of a hotel stay need not happen inside the room.
Located on Matara Road, just 400 metres from Dewata Beach and 2.8 kilometres from the UNESCO-listed Galle Fort, the property draws on a destination shaped by surf, food, music, craft and cultural exchange.
Founded by Rishi Sreedharan, Samarth Gowda and Emanuel Siddhartha, in partnership with Beryll Group, the brand operates on the philosophy “Never the Same Twice,” positioning experiences, rather than accommodation alone, as its central offering.
Accommodation Designed Around the Experience
The hotel features 24 Ocean Rooms, 25 Terra Rooms, 12 suites and five dorms, ranging from 27-square-metre rooms to a 70-square-metre Patio Suite.
Ocean Rooms overlook the coastline, while Terra Rooms offer views of Galle's mangroves and railway tracks. Accessible accommodation is also part of the inventory.
The design draws from the southern coast, combining sandy neutrals, ocean blues and earthy tones with rattan, cane-work headboards, hand-tufted textiles and brass-accented marble bars. The emphasis is on creating comfortable spaces to recharge, while encouraging guests to explore beyond the property.
For co-founder Samarth Gowda, a self-taught cook and mixologist, hospitality is fundamentally about bringing people together. "Luxury has always come with a kind of distance — places that feel impressive because they don't feel like they're for everyone. That is not what we're building," says Gowda.
His vision centres on a more approachable interpretation of luxury, where experiences are shaped around individual preferences rather than predetermined conventions.
Samarth Gowda, co-founder, Otherland Hotels.
Taking Hospitality Beyond the Property
At the centre of the hotel's offering is The Other Side, an experience programme developed with local communities to immerse guests in the destination.
The concept is driven by co-founder Rishi Sreedharan, a certified technical diver and former co-founder of Hyphen, an experiential co-living platform that scaled to more than 3,000 keys before its acquisition.
"Why do so many hotels around the world feel like the same template?" asks Sreedharan. "We measure success by whether guests leave with a real sense of Galle — and we mean real. The surfers, fishermen, chefs, and craftspeople who live here built the experiences with us. They are the ones delivering it."
By involving local communities directly, Otherland aims to move beyond conventional sightseeing towards more meaningful destination engagement.
Otherland's debut reflects a wider evolution in lifestyle hospitality, where guest expectations increasingly extend beyond design, amenities and accommodation.
By combining flexible room formats, destination-inspired spaces and locally curated experiences, the brand is positioning itself within a segment that prioritises connection and discovery.
For Otherland Galle, the proposition is clear: the hotel is where the stay begins, but the destination is what defines it.
Rishi Sreedharan, co-founder, Otherland Hotels.
