■ HIKKADUWA, SRI LANKA: Some hotels deliver beyond expectations. This luxury 3 bedroom hotel room with a private pool on your balcony overlooking Sri Lanka's Hikkaduwa beach certainly falls into that category. At $200 a night, seeing as you could technically have 4 people sleep here, each even in their own room (even 5 if someone's willing to sleep on the balcony), I'd even classify it as a bargain given how spacious and well equipped it is.

After a tour of this amazing luxury beachfront hotel, I set out for Hikkaduwa's fish market to buy fresh tuna and chase down Freeman, the owner of the Airbnb I stayed at exactly 3 years ago this week.

Business for Airbnb owners and people employed in Sri Lanka's tourism industry have been incredibly rough ever since I last visited. So how is Freeman and his family doing?

That and more in this little tour of the Hikkaduwa most tourists would find hard to get to experience.

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MORE LUXURY HOTELS IN SRI LANKA

■ Sri Lanka Luxury Tent:
   • $900 Ultra Luxury Tent Sri Lanka   

■ Sri Lanka Luxury Jungle Hotel:
   • $250 Jungle Luxury Resort Sri Lanka