Review Author: sophieebee, United Kingdom

Review Date: 30 Apr 2019

Review Body: We found this hotel for a great price online. We wanted somewhere to rest inbetween visits to the local Elephant Transit home and we found the perfect spot for that! Just a 3 minute walk to the elephant transit home. This hotel is advertised as a boutique and that it certainly is. With only 2 rooms it has the personal touch and Janaka has thought of everything. He collected us from our nearby hotel for free and on arrival he presented us with towels and a cold king coconut to drink. We ordered our evening meal and breakfast and was shown to your room. A quirky set up with a lounge area leading to the bed room and a unique bathroom. The design is just beautiful with so much detail put into everything. (shown in pictures). Janaka’s attention to detail is superb: - board games available - Stocked fridge with milk shakes and snacks - Tv - Candles incase of power cut - Shampoo, conditioner, body cream provided - Air con - Mosquito net - insect repellant - homemade cake delivered to our room (a lovely surprise!) We had breakfast and dinner which are prepared by the owners wife. They were delicious! My husband said it’s the best chicken he has ever eaten. Really lovely food and such good value for money. Janaka then organised a taxi to our next destination which arrived on time. A great service and we will certainly recommend the retreat to friends and family!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Jonas S

Review Date: 30 Jan 2019

Review Body: In this facility you will find a great professional named Janaka. Even before we arrived to his place I knew that he is a man on his place. He organized for us the pick up by his driver in Mulkirigala temple. Also the driver was very nice he came exactly on time, even if we asked to come earlier in last moment, he offered a bottle of water and he showed us many interesting animals already on the way. When we arrived Janaka was well coming us with fresh coconut and went thro the plans for udawalawe safari, which he organized for us, and about the lunch and dinner possibilities. He was that professional that I have a suspicion if he didn’t study the hotel business in Lausanne Switzerland 😀. Also the safari was very well organized, because there was a huge line of cars waiting for entrance, but Janaka brought us to the third car waiting there, so we didn’t wait at all. Lest but not last, the rooms were beautiful and clean, with beautiful natural bathroom and everything you can need. The whole facility has been done with taste and care. Than also the curry for dinner and lunch was very tasty (maybe one of the best we eat in Sri Lanka). Thank you Janaka!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Ena K, Norway

Review Date: 30 Jan 2019

Review Body: We would highly recommend to stay at this wonderful place! It’s been our best hotel-experience in Sri Lanka. The service is super and the room are very clean and new-modern with mini fridge, hot water (for coffee/tea), TV, mosquito sprays and hot water in the shower. 😊 The owner is super sweet and arranged a driver that picked us up in Ella, and drives us to Tangelle after our stay. We got the best rice&curry we have tasted when we arrived in the evening. He booked a 6h safari with breakfast for us and our Jeep-driver had a lot of knowledge of the animals in the safari. This made the trip even more fun😄🐘 An extra plus that our Jeep driver was the third in line to get in to the park, so we skipped all the waiting. After safari we got a lovely rice&curry lunch, tea and dessert. We would love to come back to this place! It’s really wonderful. We have nothing bad to say.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Elodie B

Review Date: 30 Nov 2019

Review Body: We stayed one night in Uwadalawe and couldn’t have wished for a better place to stay than Janaka’s. The surroundings are beautiful, perfectly located near the main artery. The bungalow was of a high spec, with all the right finishing touches and more! The host arranged two Safari experiences for us, one at 2:30pm shortly after we’d arrived, and another one for the next morning starting at 5:30am. Both guides were simply fantastic and clearly passionate about wildlife and going out of their way to make sure you have the best experience. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a boutique, authentic Uduwalawe experience.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Lucy C, United Kingdom

Review Date: 30 Apr 2019

Review Body: This place is fantastic. Janaka the host is so friendly, organised and helpful and made our experience unforgettable. Thank you for organising an amazing safari with Leel- I couldn’t fault it. The place was spotless, food was incredible and worth the price tag. The towels were soft, the bed was so comfy and the WiFi was so fast. Ideal location close to the Elephant Transit Home. I would definitely recommend to friends and would love to come back in the future. Just FYI, food was not included in our reservation so we had this on top of what we thought.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Annemarie

Review Date: 30 Nov 2018

Review Body: The owner, Chaminda, had done a great job creating a very relaxing, comfortable and attractive place for his guests. Very modern looking and clean rooms, airconditioned, everything I might be needing was there. The best surprise was dinner in the evening. There is a small cabin in the garden where you eat and the whole athmosphere is just fantastic! It's a 3 minute walk from the Elephant Transit Home and a 5 min walk from the bus station. Chaminda can also arrange your safari to Udawalawe NP.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Emzer2k18

Review Date: 30 Aug 2018

Review Body: What a great place, situated right across the road from. The elephant sanctuary and not far from the national park. Where to begin with the family...fantastic hostesses. They are so pleasant and kind. The room is equipped with everything from a full mini fridge to a fab shower. Slightly small rooms but so well equipped and designed it doesn't take from the beauty of the place. The cleanest and most pleasantly decorated place I've stayed in Sri Lanka.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: MatthewKitchen, United Kingdom

Review Date: 30 Nov 2018

Review Body: This is a must for people coming to Udawalawe for the safari. Janata the owner went well out of his way to make our stay a great one. He contacted us straight after booking to arrange our safari, talked us through everything on arrival, and helped us with our onward travel. The food was also superb. He has big plans for the place including an outdoor jacuzzi, I hope to come back one day and see how it's progressed! Thank you Janata!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Mark W

Review Date: 30 Nov 2019

Review Body: The rooms, location and uniqueness of the hotel was brilliant. Janaka was an exceptional host making all of the arrangements for cars, trips and the safari even for dates when we weren’t staying in Udewalawe. Chandika, our driver for 4 days was superb as was the safari arranged with Leel. We ate both nights at the hotel and the food was excellent. This is a superb hotel and would definitely recommend it.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: DoLeiden

Review Date: 30 Sep 2019

Review Body: The Elephant next door has beautiful cottages in a sereen and quiet garden setting. The owner is really helpful and the food delicious:). A Nice and calm gettaway to stay if You’re planning a safari-tour! We really enjoyed our stay here:) Thanks for having us! Harmen & Dominique - Holland

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Laura B

Review Date: 18 May 2018

Review Body: Such a great owner who arranged EVERYTHING for me including airport pickup, Safari, meals, etc. Amazing facilities, so cute and thoughtfully decorates, great location, and such good food (the chutney was amazing). Seriously you should stay here!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Mike M, United States

Review Date: 30 Nov 2019

Review Body: Excellent basic accommodations at a great value. The hosts were wonderful, the place was clean, comfortable, and had everything we needed for our honeymoon launchpad into the wildlife park. Wonderful hospitality and food!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Marcus F, Sri Lanka

Review Date: 10 Feb 2018

Review Body: the elephant next door has much facilities more than i thought.it has very comfortable rooms with A/C and without A/C the foreign guests should need. have a nice garden in front of the rooms and it is very beautiful.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Alexmurder, Germany

Review Date: 30 Aug 2019

Review Body: The cottage is very unique and excelentelly equipped. The bathroom as well as the two other rooms were absolutely clean and our host went out of his way to make our stay extremely conformable. We recommend it!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: giostro2002, Ireland

Review Date: 20 Jan 2018

Review Body: This is one of the last additions to the scene, just 2 rooms for now with plans to expand, well managed by the owner Chaminda well supported by his family in the background. Great treatment, we arrived late and escorted to a family restaurant in the village and the morning after all the family worked to deliver us breakfast boxes at 5am for the safari. The two rooms are similar, one with AC and the other will soon have, clean and well equipped albeit not so big. Overall great return on the money, Chaminda delivers for what he asks!

Review rating: 4

Itinerary Day 1

Itinerary Summary: Enjoy a relaxing stay at The Elephant Next-Door

Itinerary Description: 12.00 PM: Meet at the provided meeting point and check-in at The Elephant Next-Door 01.00 PM: Relax at the cottage and stay over night

Itinerary Day 2

Itinerary Summary: Wild Elephant Adventure

Itinerary Description: 05.30 AM: Head out for 6hr Game Drive and go deep in the park looking for wild elephants 11:30 AM: Return back to the hotel and check out