Taj Bentota Resort & Spa

Everything is so perfect from the beginning to the end and the staff is so nice. The view with the sunset is very nice. Highly rerecommended

This is a beautiful and vast property spread across 13 acres with direct access to the beach. The location is excellent and offers a wonderful overall experience. However, the property is quite old and does require some upgradation.
A special thanks to Mr. Piyush for upgrading our rooms and making our stay truly special. His gesture was greatly appreciated.
The breakfast was good, especially the freshly made parathas prepared on demand by Mr. Dalip Singh — they were absolutely delicious. The entire team provided excellent table service and was very attentive.
The food at the Indian restaurant was also good. The only downside was the Chinese cuisine, which we did not particularly enjoy.
Overall, it was a pleasant stay with warm hospitality and great service.

We stayed at the Taj Bentota for 7 nights at the end of a wonderful tour around Sri Lanka. This is our 6th hotel on our trip and by far the best. We stayed bed and breakfast for our 7 nights. The hotel is situated in a lovely position and giving access to an amazing beach. Beware the beach sunbeds don't belong to hotel and carry a charge of 1000 sru per day. There are plenty of sun beds around the beautiful hotel pool. All the staff who work at hotel are so nice and really friendly. We had Sam our waiter looking after us during breakfast and what a star he was, nothing was to much trouble for him.
Our room was really nice and looking out to the beach. It was serviced each day by Shantha who surprised us on a number of occasions by creating animals on our bed out of the towels and kept our room spotless for the 7 days. We leave early tomorrow and will both be so sorry to leave this little piece of paradise.

Rooms : spacious well designed and fresh looking rooms.
Food: Taj Bentota resort and spa consistently receives positive feedback for its flavorful indian, continental dishes, friendly service, and clean.
Food was exceptional and wide variety of food options.
Specially head chef Dalip Singh and his whole team of Taj resort has done a excellent job.

We’ve stayed for eight nights and were totally happy every single day! Starting with Samham who cleaned our rooms. He is an extremly handsome guy who puts a lot of love into his work. We were suprised by many cute towl- creatures. 🤣🥰
The restaurant has to offer a lovely team. All of them are very caring about there guests (Harith and one of the pool waiter especially) like the kitchen team. A dream. Dalip the Indian chef-cook suprised us with many extra dishes. One of the best Indian cooks I have stumbled across! All of his collegues like Damith and Madhu made our stay incredible! The chicken, Samosa, Dosa are perfect!

Our holiday at Taj Bentota Resort & Spa was a celebration of 45 years of lasting friendship for us four friends and I can say the experience was way beyond our expectations! It is a stunningly beautiful property with a panoramic sea view from all sides and the staff and entire team of Taj were exceptional in their hospitality and service.

There was so much to do and experience in the resort - we did not step out of the property for the entirety of our visit to Bentota! The rooms are beautiful, service efficient, warm and friendly, the spas calming and refreshing: and the restaurants and food exceptional!

A special shout-out to Chefs Piyush and Jasvir for the brilliant meal at Oriental Pavilion and outstanding seafood and evenings at S.H.A.C.K - it was truly unforgettable! A big thank you to Saman, Dillon, Bimal, Hirath and everyone else from the Taj team for making our stay so memorable.

I look forward to my next trip to Taj Bentota - this time with my family!

After a busy 7 days safari tour in Sri lanka, we stayed in this beautiful hotel, the well coming and checking in at the reception was very smooth and quick.
The facilities and staff were fantastic particularly friendly Sam who looked after us in restaurant and Saman who was our house keeper. Hope to visit again

Our stay at Taj Bentota Resort & Spa was, overall, a memorable and largely positive experience.

The grounds are truly beautiful - lush, expansive, and immaculately maintained. The beach is wide and dramatic, with that endless Sri Lankan horizon that makes you immediately exhale. It’s a stunning setting.

One practical note: the hotel is built on terraced levels leading down to the beach. For guests with knee or mobility issues (as in my case), negotiating the steps can be a little challenging. It’s manageable, but worth knowing in advance.

Our arrival, unfortunately, began on an off note. We had prepaid for a transfer from Colombo airport, but the driver did not materialize. The Taj representative at the airport made us to wait for nearly an hour and a half before finally arranging a taxi for the two-hour drive to Bentota. After a long flight, that was frustrating and unnecessary. No apology was offered by him, or the hotel.

Once at the hotel, however, the service was genuinely kind and attentive. The staff were gracious and responsive throughout our stay. Eventually, with the help of Nilusha from guest relations, the transfer matter was resolved.

The kitchen shines with Indian and sSrilankan cuisine - flavorful, confident, and clearly its strength. European offerings were less consistent. For me personally, this wasn’t a major issue, but guests with very sensitive palates or specific expectations might notice the difference.

Our initially assigned room felt somewhat tired and dated. After raising the issue, we were moved to a much more spacious, modern room - a significant improvement, and much appreciated. It convinced us to salute the Taj Bentota flak on Srilankan republic day.

The only real “fly in the ointment” regrading the new room was the train line that runs very close to the property - quite literally beneath the window. The first time it passes, it’s startling. But in a strange twist, it became part of the charm. We ended up boarding that same train for a trip to Galle instead of taking a taxi - and it turned into one of the highlights of our stay.

In short: a beautiful property with warm service, some operational missteps at arrival, and a setting that offers both serenity and surprise.

Would we return? Yes - with slightly adjusted expectations and perhaps a room further from the tracks.

We had an absolutely wonderful stay at this hotel. The service was outstanding from start to finish.

A very special thank you to Head Chef Dalib Singh, who truly went above and beyond to look after us. His food was exceptional — every meal was beautifully prepared, full of flavour, and made with such care. He made our experience extra special.

Our room cleaner, Saman, also did a fantastic job. The room was always spotless, fresh, and perfectly maintained.

All the staff were incredibly friendly, welcoming, and always ready to help with a smile. Their warmth and professionalism made our stay unforgettable.

Highly recommended — we would definitely return!

We have just returned from 2 weeks staying at the Taj Hotel in Bentota. Having stayed at a Taj in Goa, because that was so good, it was an easy decision to choose this hotel in Sri Lanka

From the moment we arrived after our 10-5 hour direct flight from Heathrow the check-in was smooth and welcoming. We checked that the room had a bath as my wife had requested this on our original booking (she stated that she never had time for a leisurely bath at home!) Due to the refurbishment of the rooms the hotel had disposed of many of the baths and replaced them with walk-in showers but they did have one of the older rooms available so we took it as it meant we could check in early too.

However the bath in the room was extremely small with a shower over and so we later took the offer of a better room with a modernised walk in shower. I think a lot of hotels are doing this now to obviously save water

The room was kept very clean and tidy by Milton who surprised us on a daily basis by creating many animal towel creations and surpassed himself on my wife’s birthday with balloons, cake and flowers.

We stayed at the hotel on a bed and breakfast basis as we enjoy experiencing different restaurants on an evening and there were many to choose from
There are a number of small restaurants very close to the hotel that one can walk to however we enjoyed the TukTuk rides that were always available if we wanted to go further afield.

The hotel pool is very large and safe. I think one of the disappointments is that we discovered lots of people were getting up a 6.30 in the morning to bag a sunbed !!
Thankfully, the management posted a notice on day 3 of our stay to say sunbeds could not be reserved until 7.30 - but it's still ridiculous and very early when you're on holiday! I think at the 5* status, a sun-bed isn’t a luxury you have to fight for but Danny at the pool who was very helpful and we always managed to secure a decent pitch.

I loved walking on the beautiful beach every day getting in my 10K steps
My wife had a massage at the spa that she said was amazing - definitely worth a visit !

The food in the hotel was pretty good although we found it was slightly disappointing there was no fresh orange juice available at breakfast and in other 5 star hotels we have stayed in there has often been a choice of table service offering a menu of eggs Benedict, waffles etc– I think to offer that would be a good option. Having said that, the mushroom omelettes that were made in front of me were excellent. The Shack restaurant on an evening was not what we hoped, it was more just a fridge display where you chose a fish that they then grilled, not really haute cuisine. We are not keen on Chinese food so our evening options were rather limited. It would have been nice to have had a general a la carte restaurant on site.

We went on just two excursions in two weeks as most time we just ‘flopped and dropped’ by the pool. A day out in Udawalawe to see the elephants followed by a jeep safari was definitely worth doing and a few days later an excellent day out in Galle to the fort and cricket ground both with a driver organised by our tour rep.

Overall a good hotel and a lovely holiday, we found the people of Sri Lanka to be so kind and hospitable. We felt very safe and really enjoyed learning about the culture, geography and history of the country.

Great service and location. Calm and nice atmosphere. Room boy Ayesh did an amazing job and made sure we had everything we needed.

Great hotel. Our room was a 30 second walk to the beautiful and unspoilt beach. A short walk away, across the train track were some lovely restaurants, our favourite was Bamboo Garden. The staff at hotel were superb and a special mention to our room boy Mahesh. He was so nice and kept our room perfectly and his towel / floral decorations were brilliant. Thank you Mahesh. All in all 11/10 for this place. Highly recommended.

Had amazing one night stay here at Taj Bentota. Beautiful scenic property. And the dinner was so good. Mr. Dalip Singh was very hospitable and made sure we are served well.

What an amazing time at Taj, Bentota! The ocean view from the resort was impeccable. The food was excellent, a special mention for Dalit Singh and Sharath sir for their expertise and kindness shared through food. The beach was so clean and welcoming. Beautiful memories. Thank you!

Gr8 experience . Taj Hospitality at its best. The Chef Dalip Singh was our very own Chef.

On arrival we received a warm welcome and a refreshing juice, check in was easy (it was 4am) in the morning so this was a positive as no queues. We were offered our evening meal however we stated that we would prefer our bed after a long flight and we were then able to move the evening meal to lunch the next day.

The hotel room was clean and tidy and spacious throughout. The only downside to the room would have been the lack of wardrobe space and on the last day we had no water available so we could shower. We did call reception however they were no very helpful. The room assistant Malawana was lovely and every day we came back to our room we had characters made out of towels… nothing was a problem for him.

The food at the hotel can only be described as desirable. Breakfast was ok providing a choice of food however didn’t really cater for diabetics. The lunch menu was expensive for what was on offer and the choice wasn’t great as some of the items were either not available, tasteless or undercooked. No diet soft drinks were available due to a shortage which was related to closure of the Coca Cola factory because of the floods that happened in 2025 however surely a 5* hotel should have made provisions.

The onsite Chinese restaurant which requires a reservation can be visited once was ok. A menu was provided where you have choices of a starter, main and dessert and the portions were large for two people.

On the last night chef Dalip singh did make us fresh naan breads which were keema and coconut which were then served with butternut chicken. This was one of the best meals we ate the whole holiday.

On a daily basis there was foreign nationals that would reserve sunbeds with umbrellas before 7:00am (the pool opening time) however not attend the beds until after 10:00am. There were never enough beds with umbrellas which wasn’t great and when tha was raised with a staff member who was very helpful he confirmed that there were 15 umbrellas short.

The train line to Columbo was outside the hotel and during the night there would be several trains which passed and used their horns which wasn’t great as we were woken up.

Whenever you go to the beach the security would ask our room number and also ask again when retuning which was quite annoying. A better option would have been to give guests a wrist band.

Lastly be mindful of your invoice on checkout as we were charged for an evening meal which we never had and the hotel did remove this for us.

Overall a nice hotel however some improvements could make the holiday slightly better.

Having spent Two weeks at Taj Bentota I can honestly say it was a wonderful experience. The location is paradise and the staff couldn't be more helpful. If I was to be asked how could they improve I wouldn't be able to think of anything. In the restaurant, "Sam the man" is so efficient. His attention to the guest's is magnificent and he certainly went out of his way to look after us.
Thurashi the matradee who greats you as you enter the restaurant is such a wonderful lady who we're delighted to say has become a personal friend of ours after we left the hotel. One area of the staff that quite often gets forgotten is the cleaners. The entire cleaning staff at the Taj are so friendly and cheerful and will always find the time to stop and talk with you. If you're looking for a perfect holiday then your won't go far wrong visiting the Taj Bentota. Hopefully we can get back there again and sample their fantastic hospitality.

We stopped for lunch at the poolside Palms restaurant and we found the food and ambience to be excellent .
There was a buffet but we elected to go a la carte with a chicken tikka and a salad. Delicious !
We were served by Asiri who was extremely attentive and made all the difference to make it a memorable stop.

"Peaceful and 1st Rate Hotel"
Taj Bentota
7th - 28th January 2026

We recently returned from a 3 week holiday at the Taj Bentota, Sri Lanka. We had no trouble getting a taxi from the airport and we paid about £42 each way. The journey took approximately 1.5 hours using the expressway.

This is a large and popular hotel for holiday makers.

We have no criticisms of the room, food or the staff.

Our room was large, clean and comfortable and had a veranda that overlooked the garden. In the garden was a pair of nesting lapwings and it was entertaining to watch them fending off a monitor lizard and a mongoose. Our room cleaner, Sriyanthe, was always smiling and made lovely towel art on the bed each day. Glass bottled purified drinking water was readily available and tea time treats were delivered daily. The large walk in shower always had a good supply of hot water.

We were on a half-board basis. The Palm buffet Restaurant had a very good selection of food available. Optionally one could eat in the Oriental and Seafood Restaurants by booking in advance athough for some reason they charged for bottled water.

I was surprised to see some guests still dressed in their pajamas at breakfast and once at dinner at this 5 star hotel.

Wine in the hotel was expensive but 625 ml bottles of Lion Lager were only about £4. However, we were disappointed to notice as we were leaving that these large bottles had been removed from the drinks menu and only relatively expensive 330 ml bottles of Lion Lager were available.

The pool was a good size and the water temperature was wonderful. To get the best sunbeds (with necessary umbrellas), you needed to reserve them before 9am.

The beach was directly in front of the hotel but we did not use it.

The gym had 3 treadmills, 2 bikes and 1 cross trainer and they were all in working order. There were also a selection of free weights. A multigym would be a nice addition. Janaka aka "Jack" mostly led the daily aqua aerobics amongst the other activities. He was upbeat and enthusiastic.

The grounds were extensive and included three hammocks. The hotel SPA was expensive so we did not use it. However, we did have ayurvedic massages outside the hotel at more reasonable prices.

ALL the staff throughout the hotel were cheerful, kind and helpful. A special thank you to Janitha in the Palm Restaurant who always went that extra mile with a smile.

For the past few years we have holidayed in Goa but have found noisy weddings very intrusive. Our time at the Taj was very peaceful with no loud music which suited us.

Sri Lanka is a lovely and very green tropical holiday destination and we will certainly return.

We had gone for dinner at Taj Bentota ,we wanted Jain food which was not available anywhere in bentota , but we met Chef Dalip Singh & Mr Lalit there who were very warm & helpful to make our special meal arrangements memorable. Chef Dalip even made my 2 year old infants food very tasty and healthy .We were very glad to meet them there.