Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort

Ok hotel. Don’t recommend the food for lunch

We really liked the feel of this hotel. Some of the reviews put me off a bit but we didn’t recognise most of the criticisms. Architecturally this is very cool - in a modern post colonial style - concrete floors, plenty of wood, lots of water features and a restaurant you reach by crossing a bridge over a small river which attracts wildlife including some delightfully ill-mannered monkeys. The feel is quite muted/low light - but that’s the point. It’s not brash and shiny. The pool is huge and would be great for younger kids. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. Staff were less confident at the front of house services than in some establishments but very happy to help, nonetheless.

It’s a bit difficult to rate this hotel. The room was spacious and clean and had well functionning AC, fridge, WIFI and kettle. The beds were comfortable with plenty of pillows. The bathroom was clean, however with an old fashion plastic shower curtain. The water pressure was OK but the problem was the drain. It was almost totally clogged so you couldn’t take a long shower without flooding the bathroom. Another problem was the door - which was almost impossible to lock. We had to try 5-6 times every time we were leaving the room. The pool area is nice, and so is the reception area. What is a shame is the bar. The place itself is nice, but it was just open during dinnertime. I find it very strange that this kind of hotel don’t open the bar in the afternoon or early evening. Bad for business also as we would gladly have spent money on drink before dinner. We had dinner included as well as breakfast. The first evening there was a buffet which was good, the second evening there were too few customers so they gave us A la carte which was tasty. Same with the breakfast - buffet one day, a la carte the next. So all in all we enjoyed the food. My only complaint is the service during breakfast - when youcome they ask tea or coffee, but they never came back to ask you if you wanted a refill (they could easily have left the kettle on the table). When I asked for some more, the waitress disappeared and after 10 min we simply left as we were finished with the food. There is also a small spa which I tried. Very nice and professional.