Nil diya mankada safari lodge

Large luxurious lodge. Rooms are in small cabanas. Wild grass, beautiful pool, really fancy place of paradise. People are incredibly nice. We had dinner and breakfast, both were gargantuas meals! We booked a private jeep for 5000rs (excluding park fees and guide) to do the safari which was convenient. Of note, we got a spotter at the park and he was helpful in spotting the animals. We also booked a small car to go to Ella for 5,500rs with the hotel.

This was probably the nicest surprise of a 2-week Sri Lanka trip. Clearly a 4-plus star property when it was built, and has many amenities like nice grounds and a nice pool. Rooms were spacious and comfortable. Not many guests so it was quite quiet. This would be the perfect place to take a group. Incredible value for what we paid. It needs a bit of maintenance, but this seemed to be par for the course in Sri Lanka. What really set it apart was the owner/manager's hospitality - a few of the staff had trouble with English, but the manager was doing incredible work to make sure everything was taken care of in the restaurant, with tours, rooms, etc. And even where the staff didn't speak great English, they were really trying hard and had a great attitude. Staying close to the park meant we could do a morning and evening safari, which were exceptional and you see so much more than the mid-day safaris that most tours coming from other cities end up with. Staying 2 nights at a comfortable property and benefiting from great time with elephants, cats, deer, etc. was well worth it. The hotel had a jeep, which we had basically to ourselves at very reasonable cost. They also had a car, and arranged for it to take us to Colombo, again at a price that seemed very reasonable compared to any of the other hotels we stayed at. The restaurant was slow, but when the food came it was one of the best meals we had in 2 weeks in Sri Lanka, at one of the lowest costs. They obviously were taking great care with the quality and presentation; even the spring rolls were homemade and very good. Staying in family-run properties like this one always make a trip great. It's different than the corporate chains, and yes there are some bumps in the road, but in my view you get so much more for your money and get to genuinely interact with kind people. And the safari experience is wonderful, which is why you're there in the first place.

It's rough around the edges - it's tough to maintain such a large property without enough guests, plus it's in the jungle so expect some ants, and there are dogs around the property. And restaurant service was slow. None of these "downsides" except the dogs were things we didn't experience much worse in 2/3 of the places we stayed in Sri Lanka (including much pricier places). If you're a glass-half-full person and can just relax even if the service is a bit slow and the occasional dog is hanging around, this place is an absolute gem.