Reviews of Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort

Ok hotel. Don’t recommend the food for lunch

The room is spacious, good value for money, and the location is great

Absolutely super spot, very comfortable, clean rooms and a very good shower. Pool was beautiful, plenty of beds and towels. Food was lovely, restaurant staff very professional and friendly. Would deffo recommend the spa. While the room itself isn't very 'spa like' , the massage was excellent and several of my friends went 2 or 3 times. Bar staff were excellent, and extremely helpful when I lost my phone. Only issue with the bar was the AC didn't work very well, and it was extremely warm when a big crowd in there. Overall , a brilliant stay in a beautiful hotel

This was, without question, one of the most disappointing hotel stays I've had in a long time. It's obvious that 10–15 years ago this would have been an incredible place to stay. The setting is fantastic, and you can see glimpses of what the hotel once was. Unfortunately, today it feels like a property that has simply been left to decay. It genuinely has an abandoned atmosphere, with tired rooms, neglected facilities and a complete lack of investment. Charging the prices they do for what is on offer is simply unacceptable. I spent some time walking around the grounds and it was honestly quite sad to see. Large parts of the site felt deserted, with facilities that have clearly been left to rot for years. The old children's playground was particularly striking it looked like something out of Chernobyl, rusting away and completely forgotten. Rather than feeling like a luxury safari resort, it felt like I was wandering around a hotel that had been slowly abandoned. The biggest let-down, however, was the food. On our first evening, my meal arrived cold. We sent it back expecting it to be reheated properly, only for the chicken to return raw in the middle. That is completely unacceptable and raises serious concerns about the standards in the kitchen. After that experience, we had absolutely no confidence in eating there again and chose to eat outside the hotel for the remainder of our stay. The food quality was poor, and serving a meal cold before then returning it undercooked is simply inexcusable. For anyone staying in the area, we would strongly recommend eating at the Hungry Monkey up the road instead. The food was fantastic, the service was great, and the whole place felt far better cared for. Their accommodation also appeared to be in much better condition and, from what we could see, offered much better value for money than what we experienced here. I do want to give credit where it's due, the staff at Grande Udawalawe were polite, friendly and genuinely tried to help whenever they could. Communication could be difficult at times because English was limited, which made resolving issues more challenging, but this was not a criticism of the staff themselves. They were doing their best with what they had. The real issue is the management and the complete lack of investment in what was once clearly a beautiful hotel. Instead of maintaining and improving it, it feels like the property has been allowed to deteriorate while continuing to charge premium prices. The potential is still there, but right now it feels as though they are relying on past reputation rather than delivering the experience guests are paying for. The location is ideal for visiting Udawalawe National Park, but that's about the only positive I can highlight. Everything else falls well short of expectations. We paid luxury prices and received an experience that felt neglected, poorly maintained and extremely poor value for money. Unless this hotel undergoes a major refurbishme

I recently visited Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort for a business meeting followed by lunch, and it was a very pleasant experience. The hotel provides a calm and professional atmosphere, making it an excellent venue for business discussions away from the busy city environment. The meeting facilities and overall ambience were comfortable, allowing us to have productive conversations without interruption. Lunch was enjoyable, with a good selection of dishes that were well prepared and presented. The staff were courteous, attentive, and ensured everything was well taken care of throughout our visit. What stood out most was the warm hospitality and the peaceful surroundings, which create the perfect balance between business and relaxation. The property is also conveniently located for anyone visiting the Udawalawe area. Thank you to the management and the team for your excellent service. I look forward to visiting again, whether for business or leisure.

If you have a shellfish allergy, be careful when ordering the Nasi Goreng. The menu does not mention that it contains shrimp. Unfortunately, I only discovered this after my meal was served. I was still expected to pay for the Nasi Goreng, even though the shrimp were not listed on the menu. The pool filter runs all day and is extremely noisy. You can even hear it from your room. On the positive side, the pool staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, and the hotel itself is beautiful.

Everything was good, but they didn't have most stuff in kitchen , we asked for aloo paratha, chapati, samosa and several veg and indian options but they told they don't have stuff to make it, even they don't have stuff to make masala dosa, gave only plain Dosa. And room shd have smart tv and wifi shd be improved. Rest all was fine. Staff were smiling and greeting everytime and room was also quite spacious. One thing in room need to be done - light in shower area and plate to keep shower gel shampoo etc inside shower area.

Great two night stay - staff very helpful and as always super polite. Lovely to see wildlife in the canopy! Close to amazing safari.

We spent two nights here during our tour of Sri Lanka for our game drive. The hotel was a little tired and could probably do with a bit of refurbishment in places though it wasn't too bad. Our room was spacious and had a comfortable bed. The bathroom was also very reasonable with a decent shower. As always in Sri Lanka, the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. The restaurant, however, was disappointing. It was so noisy on our first night that we almost felt we were eating in a canteen, probably due to the number of tour groups. The food itself was probably adequate although we chose to eat out on our second night. Food choices were a little limited and the Sri Lankan food didn't look particularly appetising so we didn't try it this time (especially as the same dishes seemed to reappear at breakfast). The food we did have tasted ok, but not outstanding

My wife, daughter and I stayed for two nights from 13–15 April, and the location alone makes this resort worth the trip. The property sits just five minutes from the elephant sanctuary and ten minutes from the entrance to Udawalawe National Park — an ideal base for exploring the area. We booked the one-bedroom suite, which proved a brilliant configuration for travelling with a toddler: she slept in the bedroom while my wife and I had the living room to ourselves. The suite also came with a large upper-floor balcony, and we spent several relaxed stretches up there looking out over the jungle canopy and watching monkeys visit at close range — a genuinely memorable experience. Staff were attentive and consistently warm with our daughter throughout the stay.

Lovely staff, but not our favourite hotel during our 3 week stay in Sri Lanka. Felt a little outdated and impersonal, and food not great. Appreciate the service though.

First impressions were reasonable. The foyer looks pleasant enough, if a little dated, and there was a noticeable cinnamon scent which added a nice touch. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. The room was large, which was a positive, but it felt tired and grubby. The bathroom in particular was disappointing. It was small, had an unpleasant smell, and is in clear need of an urgent update. Cleanliness overall was not up to standard. On the plus side, the bed linen was clean, the air conditioning worked well, and the room size gave a sense of space. That said, the bed itself was not particularly comfortable. We made the mistake of booking dinner at the hotel on our first night due to a busy schedule around the safaris booked. It was easily the worst decision of the trip. The buffet offered a wide selection, but most of it was bland, cold, and very unappetising. The Western options ( which we try to avoid in most cases if possible) were there worst, think soggy crispy calamari and congealed pasta and the Sri Lankan dishes were no better. The rice had dried out and hardened, pork curry only had bones left, and while the potato curry had some flavour, there was barely any left either. We did arrive just before 8:45pm, but service was advertised until 10pm, so this really should not have been an issue. Dessert options were also very limited and the fruit was lying out uncovered with flies . Staff generally were disinterested. We will be eating out for the remainder of our stay which is thankfully only another night. Overall, this has been the weakest hotel of the trip. If you are simply looking for a stopover with a bed for the night, it does the job. There is also a pool, which may improve the experience. However, for anything more than that, I would strongly recommend saving your money and heading into town for food and a better overall experience.

We had a first floor room which looked over part of the pool area . Room was large ,clean beds comfortable. Pool was lovely and the monkeys were nearby in the trees watching (told to keep door closed on balcony) which was fun to watch . Dinner was buffet with choice hot/cold food not the best we had but ok just need proper covers not cling film as some people did not recover ! Some public areas were dated needed some TLC and no bar area told to sit in restaurant. Breakfast was better good choice of food but coffee in flask was bitter warm . Ok as stop over on route to national parks.

We stayed at this hotel for one night. We were with a private tour group. The hotel is fine, clean, pool okay. This hotel caters to tourists going to the Safari park. The buffet is huge and very busy with huge groups of people and open for many hours during dinner service. I had severe food poisoning from the buffet within 3 hours of having dinner ; 2 other companions also had lesser degrees of illness . I am extremely disappointed that this happened due to the hotels obvious poor food handling and food safety hygiene. After 3 days I am still recovering and it has hampered my trip through Sri Lanka. We travelled through the country for 13 days staying in 9 hotels and only here did this happen. Absolutely unacceptable. I would not recommend this hotel due to this. Our tour company no doubt will be reporting this to the hotel directly as well and probably won’t use this hotel again.