Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort

Ok hotel. Don’t recommend the food for lunch

Our third stop on our week-long tour of Sri Lanka and just by reading the reviews we kind of knew this hotel wouldn’t be quite as good as the Jetwing hotels that we had come from. Saying that, it is a good 3 star (Sri Lankan) hotel and we really enjoyed our stay here. It was only for one night but I could have stayed a few more nights quite easily. What knocks the Grand Safari Resort down a bit is that it’s set up to cater for larger groups and coach loads of tourists. It was obvious that lots of people come & go very quickly, and generally, some areas of the hotel are a little weathered and could do with some maintenance & decoration. Although it seemed quiet all around the hotel, when it came to the breakfast and evening meals the restaurant was like ‘feeding time at the zoo’ with bums on all seats & queues for the buffet. The food was again 3 star, not a huge choice, not as fresh as we’d just experienced, but there was no way you would go hungry. On to the good bits; the front office staff were all fantastic and check in was very quick. We were shown to our room and greeted with monkeys on the balcony. The air-con was ever-so-slightly a little noisy but the room itself was lovely and very clean indeed. We then enjoyed a wander around the hotel grounds, and this is where the hotel really earns some points. It’s like a mini jungle paradise with monkeys and lots of birds in the trees; there are streams all around where tortoises laze on the banks and small ponds in the gardens where pretty flowers grow. I then went for an evening swim and had the pool all to myself which was magical. We also sampled a few cocktails in the small but lovely bar area. Location wise, the Udawalawe Grand Safari Resort can’t be beat for the Elephant Transit Home which is literally 3 minutes down the road (we highly recommend a visit during feeding time) and the Udawalawe National Park entrance which is only 5 minutes away. Check out was just as nice as the check in where the manager came to say goodbye and wish us a lovely rest of our holiday. Apologise for not remembering any names. Lastly, and not the hotel’s fault at all, HUGE thanks to the husband & wife who decided to have a full-blown raging argument about 11pm near our room. If I wasn’t so tired I would have got out of bed and refereed your fight.

This hotel is close to Udawalawe National Park which was the reason we stayed here in 2019 and 2025. This time we were upgraded to a large suite with a rooftop terrace which was most appreciated. There were a number of coach parties which made the dining experience rather rushed and busy but the buffet selection was good and very tasty. The only disappointment was that we chose to have breakfast after our morning safari rather than take a packed breakfast. Arriving back 15 minutes before the end of breakfast service the buffet choice was rather disappointing.