Overall Ratings & Reviews Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort

Property was hugely convenient for the udawalawe game reserve. The staff were very pleasant. And that was about it…. The hotel was dark, our room was unbelievably dark, and the food was disgusting. Our two meals were inedible. We left a day early.

Had a great stay... only down side being we were only there for 2 nights Lovely hotel, with very friendly staff. Rooms great and well appointed.Great setting and relaxing after or before safari. Only bit of advice is dont go too late for breakfast or buffet evening meal, as its all been hoovered up. Would recommend and if we find ourself in same area again, will re book.

We loved our stay here! The staff were all great, the campus was clean and well taken care of, and our room was very nice. The restaurant breakfast and dinner buffets had a nice variety of food options as well. Watch out for monkeys in the morning - one tried to steal our cream and sugar during morning coffee on the balcony.

Great place to relax and enjoy. A convenient location if you’re going for safari in Udawalawe national parks

We had a wonderful time and experience here. The staff were above and beyond, the amenities were also really nice. We enjoyed the restaurant and bar and the food.

The staff were pleasant. The room was large and comfortable. The bathroom was a bit gritty. The décor was gloomy. The food was good.

We had a fantastic time, the food was great - so many gluten free options, I’m coeliac so that made a huge difference. It was my 30th birthday when we arrived, they decorated my room, gave me a free drink and also made me a gluten free cake and sang to me - brilliant! This hotel was lovely, clean, had great pool and the staff were kind, attentive and always pleasant. we would definitely visit again :)

A great place to stay when planning a safari! Not much else to do in the area and hotel but perfect for a one night trip!

The hotel was nice and well kept. The room was really big and comfortable, the staff was helpful. The biggest issue that we faced was with the food. we are vegetarians so there were very limited choices to begin with (we are used to less options but this was abnormally low). Even the few options that were available tasted very bad. It was excessively salty and slightly under-cooked. The hotel’s safari jeep package was almost double of what we paid outside.

Good location as near to the park and it has a pleasant swimming pool and Deluxe rooms were nice (not as described on website but still ok). Food was very poor and catered for tour groups and very expensive for food and drinks. They have no tour desk or leaflets regarding tours for independent travellers, however they booked an excellent trip for 2 people. One night here is enough as tour leaves at either 0530 or 1430 so only trip is needed and then elephant orphanage / transit home, which was worth a visit and in walking distance. Only hotel like this in the area so if you want the facilities then book this but be aware not up to expected standards.

Based on the hotel itself, we'd give this hotel a 5 star rating. The only reason we have to give it a 4 is that the food war really disappointing. We had been in Sri Lanka for about a week in various hotels and restaurants prior to this stay, and really love the food and have found the quality and flavor of food in this country to be very consistent. However, the food here was really rather bad. We ate dinner and breakfast here twice, and all meals were consistently poor. Even the papadums were kind of stale tasting - this is not that hard an item to cook well! Otherwise, the hotel was great - great rooms, great staff, excellent grounds, nice pool. But they really need to replace the food service manager or chef and upgrade their food.

Unfortunately we did not have a great stay at Udawalawe Safari Resort. The hotel is in definite need of an upgrade and is very dated. The price is definitely overpriced for what you get (especially for Sri Lanka). The reception staff were very friendly but we had a bad experience in the restaurant for dinner and then again the following morning for breakfast. I am vegetarian and was served bacon in my breakfast. The main issue we had was the language barrier and attitude of the staff in the restaurant.

No wifi in room. Public places have wifi very bad. Took spa but the towel was very dirty

We arrived in Grand Uda Walawe for 1 night only and it was beautiful. We got upgraded to a nicer room which is always a nice surprise and the staff was incredible. We used the spa to get a massage and that was also amazing. The hotel organised our safari to Uda Walawe and we got a guide from the park as well as our driver who were both very knowledgeable. Be aware that the curry in the restaurant was really quite spicy (we didn’t request mild or spicy so unsure which one we got). We had been fine with curries around Sri Lanka so far but this one was a little too fiery for me! The club sandwich though was fantastic! Staff was awesome and the hotel itself is beautiful. The room was luxurious and we had conditioner in the bathroom which is quite rare! Loved this place.

Staff were top notch. Great location. Lovely pool.

A nice resort close to Udawalawe National Park. Enjoyed the pool area very much. Spacious room.

Great hotel, nice large rooms with powerful showers however the drains can’t keep up with the flow and the bathroom floods, good air conditioning and great on site restauarant with many different options in their buffet both for breakfast and lunch, the WiFi only works in common areas an not in rooms, this is the only thing I would suggest the hotel works on but the service and customer is first rate

Truly awful WiFi. The restaurant is expensive. Ideal for a one night stay if you want to do the safari

Excellent! We had a very comfortable room, friendly staff and great food

Our stay here where underwhelming at best. First they messed up our booking and we needed to wait for a new room. For the price we pay the standard was not really good. The shower head needed to either be changed or a proper deep cleaning, around the bathtub it was a bad paint job who made it look more dirty. The towels was old and washed out, the bed linens too was old. The services, they were nice but the English was so bad that all communication was a frustration. Especially in the restaurants, who was overpriced, slow service and not that good. Several of us got sick afterwards. Oh. And the WiFi in the rooms was completely down and that was something we needed to ask around of instead in just informing us that at arrival.