Kalundewa Retreat

The staff offers exceptional, personalized service, creating a memorable stay. The location provides stunning natural views, albeit slightly distant from Dambulla. Rooms are clean, comfortable, and come with essential amenities.

This stay was a disaster. Ours was quite a late booking and we paid US$900 for two nights in Kumbuk chalet, a substantial discount to the rack rate. We arrived at the reception area and were struck immediately by signs of decay. The roof was sagging under the weight of rotting debris, the lamps had rusted, the communal dining area looked unappealing. We were shown to the chalet and yes, the general location is attractive though we thought the lake was a bit swampy. As with the reception area there were signs of decay, missing seals on doors, old debris on the glass bathroom ceiling, mould and filth above the bathroom mirror. It looked to us like the whole project had entered a run to fail phase, so strong was the sense of neglect. You join a WhatsApp group to order meals from a limited menu and sadly the offerings were extremely poor. We ordered a dinner for 8.00pm that arrived stone cold at 8.45. Meals are evidently cooked at premises elsewhere and then trucked in. Because of the mosquitos and insects you cannot eat on the deck outside the chalet after dark. If you eat inside there is no table but you can sit next to each other at a sideboard. Alcohol is not served or sold. The food was poor. On our second night we found a large rat in the bathroom. It disappeared into a hole behind the toilet. Shining a torch in there we could see leaves and other debris, it was obviously quite at home. We asked reception to take a look and they sent two men with a serviette. We guess they hoped to catch the rat in the serviette. We could almost see the funny side. When we were leaving we had our final breakfast in the reception area. We ordered coffee that never came. We ordered the fresh fruit platter, that came twice. The manager came to our table and asked us about our plans for the day. No mention of the rat. We read reviews before we came and should probably have taken more notice of the comments on maintenance. With hindsight we can also see that there are reviews that, how can we put it, might be of other premises. This is a resort way past the end of its useful life. We travel very extensively but have never encountered such a forlorn place.

We stayed at this lovely oasis of nature for a couple of nights in their floating villa. It was a magical experience afloat on a lagoon colored by water hyacinths and the birdsong at dawn and dusk was uplifting. Dinner on the houseboat was a delightful experience. The staff were polite and eager to help and the meals delicious. A haven where you felt at peace with the proximity of nature. There are only a dozen rooms in this hundred acre estate, so nature and the cultivation of rice is unperturbed. A great place to relax and watch birdlife.