Ambarella Lodge - Katunayake

Short distance from Colombo airport. Optimal timing to join , checking and sleep after long journey night flights .

This was an absolutely beautiful place which was completely made by its staff led by an amazing guy called Mohan. He was completely committed to making sure you were looked after. Nothing was too much trouble and he ensured that any triops out were safe and coordinated properly and that we messaged him when we were 15 minutes out so he could greet us personally. he also gave us a very informative tour of their herb and spice garden which was free and very worth it. So much knowledge! The food was delicous, the rooms very clean and comfortable and a great size and the pool was beautiful. We had a late flight home but Mohan let us stay and use the facilties and even allowed us to use his own toiletries and shower to clean up before our long flight home! There is customer service and then there is  Mohan.

Wunderschöne kleine und im Grünen gelegene Anlage, nicht allzu weit vom Flughafen Colombo entfernt. Wir wurden überaus freundlich und nett empfangen. Jeder Gast hat seinen eigenen kleinen Bungalow, sehr gepflegt und toll eingerichtet. Am Service ist nichts auszusetzen. Das Personal ist sehr nett und hilfsbereit. Das Frühstück war sehr lecker. Man hat das Gefühl, der einzige und wichtigste Gast zu sein. Absolut empfehlenswert und wenn’s nicht zu weit wäre immer wieder🤩

It’s like paradise- so peaceful and beautiful

Sehr schöne, ruhige und top gepflegte Anlage. Besonders hervorzuheben ist das Personal. Alle waren super freundlich und bemüht, vor allem mit unseren beiden Kindern, denen jeder Wunsch von den Augen abgelesen wurde. Kommunikation im Vorfeld und Flughafenshuttle hat auch super geklappt.

Beautiful lodge in a beautiful garden.

Quiet remote place
Very knowledgeable staff
Very well maintained property
Spices vegetables & fruit grown on the property

Very friendly staff, very knowledgeable guide for the tour of spice garden, cooking class is well organised and the dishes we cooked are delicious!

Mohan and the team are amazing!!!! Best service, so warm and welcoming. Great pool, beautiful natural setting, so manicured and well maintained. Spackious room, beautiful bathroom. Food was exceptional, curry dinner amazing and breakfast lovely too. All our food from products grown on the farm. Brilliant!

Une expérience inoubliable. J’ai eu la chance d’être seule à l’hôtel. Tout était parfait. La chambre, les repas. La piscine. L’attention de tout le personnel

A very Special place in Sri Lanka!
Beautiful place with beautiful staff, attentive and knowledgeable. Very professional service.

The pool, the farm, quiet and hidden.
The tranquility, the spice garden & 🌴
The Cooking class and massage a big plus :-)

And of course, the amazing food. One of the best we had in Sri Lanka.

Thanks to Mohan, Kasun, Danilka,Anjali & Naomi to make us feel home. We can’t wait to come back!

Keep always your good hearts active 🫶
Floris & Maria

I really loved the the customer service provided by the all of the staff members! They made our stay more special!

The hotel picked us up from the airport, and staff helped us get Sim Cards and Cash.

From the time we arrived, we were greeted with cold drinks, cold towels and our suitcases were all carried for us.

We really enjoyed the spice garden! We were wandering about to but then one of the staff members who I presume is the manager came and took us on a tour around the spice garden. He taught us what each plants/trees were for and we even tasted it! We saw turmeric, peppers, jackfruits, cinnamon, and so much more! Honestly recommend this place for anyone who love some space from crowded areas. Because this is so remote but also he hospitality is very personable and nice here! Food was amazing! Both dinner and breakfast. It was made with the organic ingredients homegrown from the place which made this place even more special but also how they cooked it in a separate space from you.

Everything about this place is great but what makes it greater is the staff members and how much care they have towards their agriculture and country which I really loved hearing about! I really hope to travel again to this place hopefully when we have children as it’s a child friendly environment to be in.

The super friendly staff, who went out of their way to make our stay memorable (eg when my daughter hurt herself they produced a toy elephant for her to keep, or making different dishes of food because had never tried them). Added to this the very relaxed vibe of the place made it the perfect place to end our holiday.

It was exceptional, my daughter and I were alone in the hotel and on the property, which is a one-time experience. We enjoyed the team, the owner, the spice garden tour with explanations, the superb pool and grounds, the frogs at night and birds and monitors by day, the unavoidable ants, and the fresh fruit & veggies. It is the perfect stay upon arrival or before departure, since it is not far from the international airport in Colombo. It is cozy, with much comfort, good service, and the 9 rooms spread into 6 pavilions make it seem very intimate. There is an ayurvedic treatment spa, and it is perfect to recharge, work remotely (which I did while overseeing my 7 y.o. in the pool), and laze around. Book 2 nights minimum for improved appreciation before heading to your Sri Lankan discovery tour & adventures!

Incredibly attentive staff. We had swim after dark and they brought drinks to us poolside.
Our son was to tired to wait for dinner so they set it up at our room instead. Thank you for the special & beautiful memories

We cannot even describe how exceptional Ambarella Lodge is and all the incredible staff. We have travelled the world and stayed in a variety of places but this is by far the best, most impressive, most luxurious place we have ever stayed with such attention to detail, happy and attentive staff and food that should be Michelin Star!
Arjuna the Manager was so helpful with our holiday plans and the owner, Mr Luvis Siriwardhana went above and beyond to ensure our whole holiday travelling around Sri Lanka was fabulous. We were helped with planning our ongoing journey and hiring a taxi driver and all the logisitcs. Arjuna stayed in contact as we travelled around the country and said we could contact him at any time if we needed anything which was just amazing. Never experienced such customer service like this.
We loved it so much here that our 1 night became 2 and then we came back at the end of the holiday for another 2 nights.
Kasun was so attentive and would prepare our sunbeds in the morning before we even asked! He was always happy and we would have such lovely chats with him. Anjali is just the sweetest and when my husband burnt himself in the sun she went and got aloe Vera to help which sums up the staff, always going above and beyond!
Lakshika took us around the spice garden and on a village tour in a tuk tuk and was so friendly and lovely.
The Chef would come and see us at dinner and we were always asked what food we would like and were treated like royalty. The food was incredible. The best food I have ever tasted. Breakfast was enormous and so delicious.
Staying in this hotel was the beat decision and absolutely made our holiday to Sri Lanka. Thank you to everybody. Oh and I mustn't forget the incredible massages either! And our room! Large, clean and so comfortable. Everything is just perfect.
We will most definitely be coming back to Sri Lanka and the first place we will be staying is here xx

Do not hesitate, book ! Amazing hotel with staff who go above and beyond to make your stay as comfortable as possible. This was ideal last night before our flight. When we return to Sri Lanka we will make this our first stop as well as our last! We felt like genuine princesses and the tour of the spice garden was a wonderful addition to the stay too. The room was spacious and the beds comfortable. Everything was very clean and well thought out. Wonderful pool and to top it off, the best rice and curry of our 3 week trip!

This place is an amazing getaway in the middle of the jungle, just a 30-minute drive from the airport. We spent our last day and night here, and what a way to end our trip! The food is fantastic, with incredibly fresh local dishes, of which almost all ingredients come straight from their own garden. At sunset, the manager gave us a tour of the garden, explaining how they grow and harvest the different herbs, vegetables, and fruits. The rest of the staff is also super friendly and helpful, always ready to assist with a smile. It’s truly the perfect place to relax before or after a long flight. Many thanks, and we will definitely be back!