HOTELS designed by arty types, one feels, can go either way. Possibly Gulliver’s favourite hotel on the planet is Helga’s Folly in Kandy, Sri Lanka—a madhouse that came from the imagination ...

There can be few hotels that actively avoid 100% occupancy, but Helga’s Folly, overlooking the Sri Lankan city of Kandy, is one of them. “I do not like it full,” says owner Helga da Silva ...

Helga de Silva Blow Perera, daughter of the Sri Lankan ambassador to Paris, Frederick de Silva, grew up in the house before redesigning the place using eccentric, flamboyant colours, rich fabrics ...