Kottawatta Village

I am very disappointed about this hotel, I am a tour guide, I also came to this hotel with my expat friends, we booked the same rooms, but they ignored me, no hospitality, many bed bugs 🥵🤬🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤬🤬🤬🤯🤯🤬

We loved this resort - the deluxe tent was wonderful, the outdoor shower and bathroom were a real treat, the dinner buffet was decent and in a nice location, and the staff were wonderful. We ordered a cappuccino at breakfast and even though it was not spectacular, the staff member who made it for us put so much effort into it (we watched him make it on their fancy machine) that his effort alone made us smile and love the resort even more. This stop was added to our trip kinda at the last minute but it turned into a highlight because the safari we did was wonderful and because this resort turned out to be such an unexpectedly pleasant experience because of the deluxe tent and the staff. Highly recommended.

We stayed here for 2 nights in a standard tent and our stay was extremely impressive for the budget-friendly price. Balcony, private bathroom, washroom amenities, mosquito net and fan. We did a morning half day safari and Sahan was our driver and guide. It was reasonably priced and a great experience! We had the whole jeep to ourselves and Sahan not only showed us elephants but a whole array of magical wildlife at Udawalawe. We had a lovely breakfast and the half day was the perfect amount of time. Thanks to Sahan!! The restaurant was also great at Kottawatta Village buffet style breakfast and a la carte lunch and dinner (we had one buffet dinner that was also very good (4000lkr per person). Great pools as well to cool down!

We have just left Kottawatta Village after 2 amazing days/nights. We did the 1/2 day (afternoon) Udawalawe Safari - our driver, Tharanga was brilliant (his knowledge and expertise were exceptional) we saw so much wildlife and so many elephants, including a mother and baby I could not recommend this highly enough. We also did the short "feeding time" at the Elephant Transit Center which was definitely worthwhile (we checked out at 10 did the 10.30 "show" and were back for our 11.30 taxi The hotel itself is beautiful, set in beautiful grounds. We had a pool view luxury tent, which was lovely, very clean comfortable bed, and the open air bathroom is a nice feature. We enjoyed using the balcony, when we were there it was as if we were the only ones in the gardens it was so peaceful. We didn't see the other rooms, but I think for the difference in price the luxury tent is worth it We booked on a 1/2 board basis, again I would recommend this as there aren't many (maybe any) other options locally. The restaurant is really nice, and there are a few nice spots to enjoy a beer/cocktail after a busy day. We really enjoyed the food, especially on our second night when we chose more local options. The staff are lovely, and so helpful arranging us a taxi, and the tuktuk to the Transit Center, and suggesting timings for the different things we wanted to do.

We really liked this place, we had one of the tent style huts around the pool. Really fun for the kids with the outdoor bathroom. Kids loved the pool too. Lots of monkeys around which were fun to watch. Breakfast was OK. Food menu was good and the food was pretty tasty and fairly well priced. Did safari with hotel which was good, driver knew his stuff and was very nice. Only issue we had was with checking out, we had to leave early at 7am, the hotel knew this as were looking into a driver for us. When it came time to go, they started putting our bill together at 6.30am while we waited, going through all our food items from the restaurant and writing down the prices, took about 45 mins in the end and we almost missed the train out of Ella that we were rushing to get. However, this is and easy fix...just always pay the night before!! Otherwise great stay and would stay again.

My recent experience at this hotel left me utterly unimpressed, thanks in large part to the manager's staggering lack of professionalism. It's as if they attended a crash course in customer service and promptly forgot every lesson. Dealing with guests from abroad seemed to be a foreign concept to the manager, who struggled to efficiently address even the simplest requests. Communication was a messy game of broken telephone, and it appeared the manager's favorite pastime was avoiding responsibility. Their inefficiency in handling guests from abroad transformed what should have been a seamless experience into a bewildering ordeal. If you enjoy being treated like an inconvenience and appreciate a management style that resembles a lost puppy navigating a maze, this hotel is your dream destination.