Ella Jungle Resort

In one word: Wow. Deep in the forest. Sound of the river. Feel in the nature but with great hotel services. It felt as if we’re in honeymoon. Great 3 days including fun experiences ( waterfall, nature pool swimming, zipline ). And a lot of relaxing time. The room is huge and has good privacy. The hotel manager was great. And of course we enjoyed the meals But be aware, it’s in the nature, with all that comes with it.

Recently about two weeks back myself my wife and 3 year old son had an amazing holiday in Ella Jungle Resort. From the time of reservation till we checked out and get into vehicle to come back everything was just perfect. This is not a city hotel or a 5 star resort but just a hotel which is located in the middle of a jungle with lots of adventure activities which are totally free. The food was just amazing. If you expect a grand buffet like in a beach 5 star hotel or Colombo city hotel this is not the place. But if you like plated service with organic and Sri Lankan food this place is just ideal. Everyone there take care of you very well. From my view this is just perfect. I 100% recommend this place anyone who loves the nature 🙂

I don't why there are negative reviews. it's a jungle resort and it lived to its expectations. you can't be staying in a luxury property in middle of jungle. arrival experience is amazing. adventure starts right from there. room is spacious and clean. view from balcony to stream is next to amazing. Best thing is the staff they treats you like king and makes you feel very special. very friendly and always ready to do whatever you ask. no is something I didn't hear. my 9 year old son enjoyed the activities also and last bath at river stream is most rejenuvating in our entire srilankan trip. the chef you received us on arrival and isuru at reception were great. no doubt everyone else is equally good. don't go by negative reviews. if you can walk and climb and need a different experience for your kids take then here. they will enjoy.

Disappointing Experience Despite Great Location Our recent stay at this hotel was extremely disappointing, despite its fantastic location. The initial impression was positive, especially with the cable car experience, but everything went downhill once we entered our room. Upon arrival, we found two used towels on the bed, which was quite unsettling. We requested fresh towels, but even then, there was no hot water available, making it impossible to enjoy a warm shower in the freezing cold. To add to our frustration, the room lacked basic amenities such as tissues—there was only an empty tissue box. The cleanliness of the room was another major issue. The bed was covered in dirt and dead ants, forcing us to do our own housekeeping. This is simply unacceptable. To top it all off, dinner was terrible, making the entire experience even more regrettable. It’s clear that the staff responsible for maintaining the property are not taking their duties seriously. This lack of responsibility and attention to detail left us with a negative impression of what could have been a great stay.

We stayed here in early September. Positives: - Thoroughly enjoyed the waterfall trek where we could jump into the waterfall and swim. The water was clean and the two ex-navy guides who came with us were very friendly and helpful. When I got stung by 2 wasps they were quick to clean my stings with antiseptic and provide some topical medicine. Obviously have a lot of knowledge about the jungle. - Surrounded by beautiful nature, in the evenings you can sit and read a book, while listening and watching the wild peacocks, cows grazing, duck waddling and other animals. - All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The young man who served us food was very polite and always trying to do his best. Also, we asked about improving the water pressure in our shower along with getting a fan for our room, and this was provided within the hour we asked. - Staff helped us book our bus ticket to Colombo. - Organised a bonfire for us in the evening which was very nice. Negatives: - The room. While the room initially looks aesthetic and in pictures looks beautiful, the actual practicality of the room is lacking. The top half of the room was totally open and you couldn't lock the glass doors on the balcony. Unfortunately this led to an extremely poor night sleep. We appreciate we are in the jungle, however the fear of monkeys, bats or anything else being able to enter our room easily was disconcerting especially with all the noises you can hear in the night. In addition, theres very little security in the resort so while it might be dramatic to say, with lack of service on the mobile, it can be a bit worrying to be sleeping with a glass door open to anyone who could enter. - Food was average - it was nice and personally I liked the vegetarian aspect as I eat a plant based diet. However, my partner did get a bad stomach after breakfast. - Not sure what bug, but woke up with many bites on my body, not mosquito but some kind of midge. So would be nice to have a mosquito plug. - No receptionist on arrival, she was only there on check-out which we felt was slightly unprofessional. - Also we asked if we needed to bring water bottles to which they told us they would provide water bottles. However, on check out we were charged around Rs. 1400 including tax for the water bottles we consumed. We literally would have brought our own had we known this. - Curtains had many holes in maybe from moths or rats. Overall, the staff really carried our stay and without them we would have left before the night. Higher management of the actual property needs to be dealt with, i.e. renovating the rooms. In addition, not worth the money you pay. It was the same price for us to stay here as cinnamon lodge hotel in habarana which is a 5 star hotel (with facilities such as buffet, swimming pool, in room dining, bicycles etc), and this resort does not live up to that standard.

Let me start with the one negative - the drive down to this place is not easy! You have to take an off road vehicle and it’s about 4km of windey, bumpy travel. We were seriously questioning our choice in hotel … then we got to the bottom and had to take a gondola across the forest/river and all our doubts vanished! As we got down from the gondola we were greeted by the amazing view of a rice field, with peacocks wandering around. Behind the rice field was towering trees. Our rooms were next to a bumbling stream, beautiful and so picturesque picturesque. The food we ate was all grown in the 280 acres. It’s 100% self sustainable. They grow all their rice and vegetables. They are 100% organic and make their own worm compost. As an avid Gardner I was fascinated and delighted to walk around the fields and observe all the fruit and vegetables. There is no Wi-Fi in the cabins, it was the perfect opportunity to just relax and unwind. We had dinner under the stars with a roaring bonfire. This place has so much to offer. The staff was very attentive and kind. If you are a bird watcher, lots of birds to see. We saw a huge flock of the native Hornbill!