The eco lodge is so cool, it is a simple wooden building with an amazing balcony. You feel like you are in a tree house! We had some of our best sleeps there, super comfy bed, very dark and you can hear all the birds and crickets etc. Very cool!
The lodge feels secluded (which we liked) but it is only a couple of minites walk uphill from Ella main street so you kind of get the best of both.
If you're more of a luxury hotel person you may not like it, but if you want something different this is a great place to stay.
I really recommend eating at the lodge, we had breakfast and dinner served on the balcony and all the food was delicious and it was so lovely having the view of the trees. The service was great too.
The host can help you arrange activities and day trips. I recommend you make sure uou get all info you need up front. We found it a bit tricky to get the info once we had arrived because the host was not there and it turned out we had misunderstood some of the excursions we had booked. They were still good but not what we thought they were going to be.
I absolutely loved staying @ Arana. Not far at all from the main street/intersection of Ella town,shops,restaurants,bus stop,train station etc. 5min walk down the hill then 4mins to the end of a driveway and down stairs into a beautiful, tranquil, green rainforest setting. Wonderfully hand built bungalow, tree house style rooms situated in the trees with awesome views of the valleys, mountain and green surroundings.Quiet and peaceful with options to practice yoga, meditate in a lovely hand built hut nestled in the trees, participate in cooking classes and enjoy a delicious breakfast included each morning. Very friendly and helpful staff, happy to chat about yoga, Sri Lankan life, offering assistance with arranging tuk tuks, car transports, train, bus information, sight seeing information and activities.
Anna and Sanka, the owners, were extremely accommodating, friendly, knowledgable, kind people who have created a fantastic natural environment to stay, lovely gardens, staff and a blissful energy. Highly recommend. I'll be back guys;)
Loved the Eco Lodge. Had a troupe of Monkeys playing in trees so could sit and enjoy watching. Better than seeing it on t.v.. Room was lovely and clean. Comfortable bed. Breakfast a little pricey and average but on the upside it reduces number of times you walk the seriously steep hill. I believe they offered cookery class with owners mum. Didn't do it but regret it now as I long for a good veg curry and a roti or two.