Lowin Yala

Nothing

We were really looking forward to our stay at Lowin Yala. Unfortunately, the condition of the property fell far short of our expectations.

The “deluxe triple tent” was quite run-down, and the bathroom in particular had significant mold issues. There was also mold on parts of the bedroom curtains. Overall, the place seemed poorly maintained. The pool wasn’t very clean either—while clearly chlorinated, the floor was slippery and felt unkept. The poolside setup was dilapidated and lacked any charm.

We were the only guests during our stay, which meant there was no atmosphere at all. During dinner, our two servers stood by and watched us eat, which felt uncomfortable. The dinner itself was just okay—not memorable.

As for the takeaway breakfast provided for our safari, it was unfortunately inedible: a warm egg and mayo sandwich, an granola bar, and undrinkable coffee. The only saving grace was the fresh fruit, which was delicious.

Since the hotel is right in the middle of the Park you’ll have few or no options to opt out for the diner / lunch of the hotel that will cost 20$/ menu. The food was good though. The establishment was under construction for the common parts except for the swimming pool. It wasn’t specifically annoying for us but I would have liked to be aware .

- Baustelle im Restaurant-Bereich / Lobbybereich
- Keine Info, dass derzeit vor Ort große Baustelle ist
- Preis war trotz Bauarbeiten und Baustelle gleich hoch
- Sehr außerhalb, Anfahrt mit normalem Auto war schwierig. Es gab keine Info dazu. Auf dem Rückweg wurde Transfer organisiert (gegen Aufpreis) und ich wurde auf die nächste Straße zum Abholort gebracht.
- Wasser in der Dusche war sehr heiß

Absence de communication sur le fait que l'hotel avait été lourdement dégradé par le passage du cyclone Ditwah. Nous sommes arrivés sur un total chantier de béton. Nous nous sommes sentis piégés car vu l'éloignement, difficile de changer d'avis au dernier moment. Les photos donnent une fausse impression de confort quant aux installations. Chambre sale. Service non professionnel et de mauvaise fois. Le petit déjeûner que nous avions commandé n'était pas prêt à l'heure prévue, ce qui nous a mis en retard pour le départ du safari matinal. De plus, ce dernier était composé de 4 petites bouteilles d'eau et d'un paquet de biscuit au chocolat. Nous déconseillons cet établissement.

The stay was meant for two days but after first night of the stay, I decided to leave the place. The night was interesting with mice scratching the roof and sides of the tent, I understand that we in a wild area, but that was a bit too much.
The place needs renovation, the wifi is only in reception area, no cell reception.

Tout n'est que mensonge sur booking.com
Seuls les chambres existent, le reste est un chantier en travaux! Ni réception ni restaurant.
FUYEZ!!!!

Condition of tne rooms

Dojazd do hotelu fatslny i trzeba prosic o przewiezienie jeepem bo nirmalne auto ostatnie 1,5 km nie dojedxie

The resort suffered from major damage due to the recent storm. We arrived in a construction area and were not informed beforehand about it. The price was 165 euro for 1 night but there was no place to have dinner or breakfast. The wifi and shower were also not working in our tent and the place is so far away from the next town that we would not have another choice but to eat there .
When we tried to make the manager a decent proposal to compensate us and meet half way they refused and we had no other option then to leave. By then it was 18 PM and getting dark. Traveling with 2 kids but not knowing where to sleep is highly uncomfortable. It got even worse when their driver refused to bringing us back to the main road unless we paid 10K LKR. The road to the hotel was not accessible for regular taxi’s. U need a 4WD. In the end he brought us but it was a horrible experience. If they would have been upfront about the state of the property we would not have lost a day traveling all the way to Yala.

Bathroom was bad. Sheets and curtains were torned out and were full of holes. Minimal toilet paper supply. The shower had a malfunctioning drainage system. No WiFi, but that didn’t matter a lot to us. In general, the room was roughly constructed, no decent materials. The pool was full of things that you wouldn’t want to swim with. Overall, really bad value for money…

We stayed for two nights on 19-20 December 2025 and this was easily one of the worst stays we’ve ever had, let alone one marketed as a “luxury”.

Cash-only upfront payment:
On the day of arrival we were told, without any prior warning, that payment had to be made in cash and upfront. No legitimate luxury property operates like this. We were forced to hunt for cash in nearby towns, wasting time and effort. Every other hotel we stayed at in Sri Lanka accepted cards. At best, this is unprofessional. At worst, it’s a highly suspect practice aimed at avoiding tax. Evidently, they've also now enforced a payment upfront policy, which is itself also suspect as I imagine several other guests have in the past sought to withhold payment due to the conditions on site.

False advertising / construction site:
The listing photos are outright misleading. The communal living space shown online no longer exists. It has been demolished and is currently being rebuilt. The reality is staying on an active construction site, surrounded by builders and their families, with mud and filth everywhere (photos attached). There is also no safe in the room.

Room and bathroom problems:
Bathroom sink completely blocked, draining only by leaking through a crack in the basin onto the floor.
No hot water in the shower and terrible water pressure.
Room was filthy, with floors clearly unwashed.
Stained bedding and pillowcases (photos attached).

No WiFi:
There is no WiFi at all despite free WiFi being advertised. Totally unacceptable for any accommodation, especially one charging premium rates.

Dining chaos:
Because there is no communal space or proper restaurant, meals are eaten outside your room. Staff repeatedly forgot to clear our dishes and also forgot to serve dessert that we were charged for. We had to chase them multiple times. The dessert finally arrived two hours later, at which point we refused it.

Missing basic amenities:
No drinking water in the room on arrival, despite the heat.

זה לא בית מלון . בטח לא 5 כוכבים וגם לא 1. לא מתוחזק. לא נקי. מקלחת מתפרקת . מזגן לא תקין . מיקום לא נגיש כלל . צריך רכב 4×4 ואף אחד לא מספר על זה .

Old and broken facility, currently a building site. They are showing fake pictures of the dining room that does not exist: the masons sleep there. Air conditioning was leaking, hot water was not working. Food was discussable and dinner very expensive. After my strong complains they gave me a 75% discount on the two dinners. Bonus: you interact with them mostly by Whattsap, but they have no WI-FI and cellular is weak, most of the time not working. Anyway sometimes they don’t even reply making the service a nightmare.

Las instalaciones necesitan una renovación y estar mas bien cuidadas en general