By Marie Claire Maison Arabia | Pgotography by Natelee Cocks
Amid the rippling rice paddies of Ahangama, in Sri Lanka,Casa Tikiri is a sanctuary where thoughtful design, natural light, and the art of balance unfold in quiet luxury.
There is a rhythm to Paddy Lodge — a slow, deliberate cadence that unfolds with the rising sun over the rice paddies of Ahangama in Sri Lanka. Casa Tikiri’s newest adults-only sanctuary, opened in March 2025 — Paddy Lodge — is a meditation in space, light, and materiality. Nestled amid emerald fields, it reinterprets the brand’s signature ethos of gentle luxury and Italian conviviality through the lens of nature, craft, and serene design.
The lodge’s four suites are architectural gestures as much as they are retreats. Three two-story suites, each with a private pool, and a luminous open-plan loft capture the play of sunlight across water, wood, and hand-finished surfaces. Interiors are a study in contrasts: antique Sri Lankan furnishings converse with locally woven textiles; sculptural lamps float above polished terrazzo surfaces; mirrors and artisan-made décor fragments refract the greenery beyond the windows.
Every material, every line, every corner is considered — a quiet choreography of tactile detail and visual poetry. Mornings begin with the soft glow of sunrise spilling across the fields, painting suites in gold and emerald. From the loft or a poolside terrace, the paddies stretch into infinity, a living canvas that shifts with light and wind. It is in this interplay of interior and exterior, of craft and landscape, that Paddy Lodge finds its singular beauty: an architecture of presence, where design frames the human experience without imposing upon it.
Above, the rooftop yoga shala offers panoramic vistas and moments of contemplative stillness. Here, movement becomes poetry — the arms and legs of practitioners echoing the undulations of the paddies below, while soft morning light and tropical breezes transform a practice into a sensory meditation.
Every detail — from the shala’s open structure to the warmth of the terrazzo floor beneath bare feet — enhances the dance between body, environment, and design. Culinary experiences at Paddy Lodge continue this harmony of craft and culture. The café, sun-drenched and open to the fields, serves breakfasts, brunches, and Italian coffee that linger as long as the mornings themselves. Each dish, composed of local produce and artisanal techniques, feels simultaneously grounded and elevated — a reflection of Casa Tikiri’s ‘glocal’ philosophy.
Dinner at the Boutique Hotel follows suit: Italian recipes infused with Sri Lankan flavours, where simple ingredients achieve bold expression through thoughtfulness and technique. Sustainability is not an afterthought but an integral design principle. Solar-powered water, energy-efficient lighting, and near-plastic-free practices merge with the aesthetic seamlessly, while locally produced Tikiri bags and scrunchies repurpose discarded fabrics into objects of craft. Here, eco-consciousness is elegance, and responsibility is woven into the lodge’s tactile and visual language.
Paddy Lodge is not merely a place to stay; it is a lived experience in proportion, light, and rhythm. From the private pools that reflect the sky to the panoramic vistas of swaying paddies, every element is curated to invite stillness, reflection, and the subtle joy of ‘dolce far niente’ – the sweetness of doing nothing. It is a sanctuary where design, nature, and hospitality converge, where the architecture of calm and the poetry of place coalesce into a singular, unforgettable journey.
