Our stay at the elephant next door was amazing - the host is extremely professional and has great attention to detail. The room was big with a nice natural bathroom, I would highly recommend having dinner at the Homestay it was delicious. The host organised our safari and we had a great experience - this is amazing value for money and I would highly recommend visiting Udawalawe and staying here!

Beautiful room with great air-conditioning. Lovely host and good location near to the transit home. Njce candlelit dinner. It is not right next to the park but actually it's nice because the drive over the water towards the mountains is stunning and your safari driver will take you. The driver who was arranged for us was also great and we had a fantastic experience in Uda Walawa.

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My sister and I had the perfect stay here. Janaka was so kind and welcoming, and has the most beautiful place. It is so peaceful and the attention to detail is amazing. We really enjoyed the welcome coconut drink and chocolate cake! We also had the most delicious dinner here, cooked by Janaka’s wife and mum. Thank you again, and we wish you all the best with your extension plans!

we could not recommend a stay here more, Janaka went above and beyond to ensure our entire stay in Sri Lanka was amazing. we connected on WhatsApp, he arranged a driver for us with an itinuary to see the best of Sri Lanka during our 2 week stay, he arranged a Safari, and a truly lovely dinner while we stayed at elephant next door. It was perfect, our trip would not have been the same without his help. the accommodation itself is fantastic, the food is incredible, and the location is so close to the elephant transit homes where we saw baby elephants getting fed. Thank you Janaka!

nothing, it was perfect

A beautifully designed guesthouse with exceptionally clean rooms. The natural shower was wonderful and very quirky. The location was ideal as it is just opposite the Elephant Transit Home and it is also a short drive to the national park and safari area. The food was amazing and fresh, and the dining area was beautiful and atmospheric. Janaka was a friendly and welcoming host who went above and beyond to ensure our stay was perfect. Even bringing us unexpected chocolate cake during the afternoon!

Nothing. All perfect.

The food was delicious (a special mention for the divine chocolate cake), great hospitality and good safari tour

nothing :)

you cannot imagine how they are thinkful about your needs welcoming with coconuts with a special names in the board asking our status during the vacation everyday Owner Janaka and driver chandi made our days in sri lanka perfect for 12 days with accomodation and guide and driver services

A big zero. Nothing. Everyting was perfect.

The Elephant next door is a wonderful place to stay if you’re visiting Udawalawe. Janaka is such a welcoming host and will not leave you wanting anything. The room and grounds were stunning and Janaka’s traditional curry was spectacular. He also arranged a brilliant safari for us. The Transit home is also within a stones throw of the hotel. A great stay that we can’t recommend enough!

We were welcomed with a coconut and a delicious chocolate cake. The entire place is very well designed with a great attention to details. Janaka is a great host and helped us to organise transfers to and from his accommodation. I highly recommend staying at The Elephant Next Door

Truly an exceptional stay! Janaka was the most welcoming host we encountered in our trip to Sri Lanka. The room was very clean and comfortable with a great location near the Elephant Orphanage. Janaka was always ready to help us, even with booking train tickets from Kandy to Ella! Can highly recommend this stay for a Safari in Udawalawe.

We liked everything! Janaka is the perfect host and was messaging me from the moment I booked with advice about our trip. It was all very helpful and no pressure. The evening meal was beautifully served with such care and attention. The accommodation is so well planned with eco features and lots of attention to detail. Janaka links up with Jeel for the Udawalawe safari. Jeel is a knowledgeable and charismatic guide. Proximity to Elephant Transit Home is a lovely way to spend afternoon on arrival.

Janaka took care of everything. Very friendly and behaved. The food was awesome too. Definitely recommend to have dinner there. They will build a pool in the future, whutch whill upgrade this place even more.

The host Janaka was very meticulous in making sure that our plans were well sorted. The place was beautiful and dinner was yummy too. just a short 5min walk from elephant transit home

Nil

Our stay with Janaka was amazing. We have stayed in lots of different places over the duration of our time in Sri Lanka and this was one of the best. In terms of customer service, decor and cleanliness, this was head and shoulders above most of the other places we stayed at... And less expensive too! Great value for money! There were plenty of little details that made our stay more comfortable too, from the well stocked mini bar (biscuits, Coke, Iced coffee, etc.) to the selection of board games in each room's private lounge area. These are small things but do make a difference and are lacking in most Sri lankan hotels. Although a small independent hotel with only a few rooms, Janaka delivered top notch facilities and service. The whole place is beautifully decorated with lots of quirky natural wood features and the outdoor space is lovely, with hammocks and private outdoor dining spaces. At night, it's all lit up with candles and is really atmospheric. Janaka was super helpful, arranging dinner, a taxi and a 6 hr Safari with the guide (Leel). Leel really made the experience worthwhile, sharing his wealth of knowledge in a friendly, informal way. Lots of tour guides here seem to take on a more formal, official persona but Leel was perfect for us .. like a mate with a jeep and lots of useful knowledge!! All in all, this was a fabulous stay and highly recommended! :))

the owner has thought about literally EVERYTHING you could ever need. The breakfast is amazing, dinner is amazing, room is amazing, etc. I only wish that we could have stayed here longer. it is within walking distance to the elephant transit home. the owner is very good at communicating and has many many recommendations. the safari tour that was organized for us was top notch. we were the only persons on the tour and the guide was able to identify all the birds and animals for us. the room had a living space with games, coffee/tea, and a small minibar. I cannot recommend this gem enough. one of our best stays in Sri Lanka.

nothing

It was the best accomodation we had in Sri Lanka! We had lovely welcoming with a fresh cold coconut. The facilities were very nice & modern, the room was equipped to the smallest detail (shower gel, shampoo & conditioner, hairdryer, table games, minibar, A/C, mosquito spray and many others). Cleanness also the TOP! The facilities & service were equal to 5* hotel, maybe even better. Janaka is a very nice person, he organised for us the safari trip, with a great guide Leel who spoke very good English and had good knowledge about the national park and the animals. I recommend to take the 6 hours safari, as it was no rush, we could enjoy the sunrise in a magical place, we had a nice breakfast in the middle of the park and we did not meet so many jeeps as I often read as the experience from Udulawawe safari. After the safari we got a nice coffee break in The Elephant Next Door with a delicious cake. The Wi-Fi connection was the best we had in Sri Lanka, we were even able to watch a movie :) I highly recommend this place when you want to be just next door of the elephant transit home and also close to the safari park.

Unfortunately there is not much to do in this location (it is mainly for safari & elephant transit home), otherwise we would be happy to stay longer than only 1 night.

Janaka was very helpful already long before the trip. We booked this place for our Safari tour in Udawalawe National Park and for this it is very well located. We booked the Safari tour and a day trip before arriving through Janaka. Both were really great experiences. Janakas wife made some really nice Singhalese breakfast and diners for us.

For the price of the accomodation there is really nothing to complain about. You won´t arrive in a luxury resort but you get a very nice room for this price.

Supernice host with lovely plans to extend his place Great food in a romantic setting Shower with instant hot water :) Nice airco 2min walk from elephant transit home and 15min by jeep to the national park

Many many many mosquitoes

The host, he went above and beyond to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable. he was friendly and tried his hardest for everything to as good as possible

I would normally stay in 4/5 star hotels so it doesn’t look like this level but the hospitality makes up for it

A simple yet very well thought place. Janaka the owner makes you feel like home, he is an extraordinary host. Janaka was in contact with us prior to arrival and helped us organized transports and an amazing safari. We had an amazing home cocked dinner and delicious breakfast. We recommend to stay at Elephant Next Door if you plan to see the Udawalawe National Park.

Very nice place. The room was amazing and we had a nice breakfast. Also The location is next to elephant transit..wich was a nice experience. They helped us with taxi service and organised a wanderful safari with Lunch în The forest 😊 ohhhh..and veeeery nice natural bathroom

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- Janaka is an amazing host who took care of us - from traveling to the location, to defining our day programme and to travelling to the next destination (worth a 5star hotel experience) - exceptional beautiful room with love to detail! very stylish and the most thought through details. we were amazed! - Janaka organised a great guide for our safari (the guide just knew what he was doing - we were the third vehicle in the park and the first ones spotting an elephant family, a crodile, etc - amazing experience!!) we did only the morning safari (3hrs) which was completely sufficient. the tour is worth the money! and Janaka provided us some cookies and bananas :) - everything is very tidy and very clean

- Janaka has great visions for his hotel, thus there is a plain area which still requires some love/trees/… :) - food was delicious but nothing special

Fabulous base to have while in Udawalawe for safari. The facilities are fantastic and lots of lovely special touches to make your stay enjoyable. The host is very helpful and will do anything to assist. He arranged my travel up from Tangalle. He arranged laundry for me and sorted me out with my safari and guide, who I will add was fantastic. Don’t hesitate to stay here. The food offerings are lovely and served in a nice setting and even bought me homemade cake. I had a great time thank you 🙏🏼 it’s even located a 2 minute walk to the elephant hospital where you can go and watch the baby elephants being fed.

Janaka, the owner, was extremely helpful from start to finish. He was in contact prior to our arrival and helped organise transport to and from the Elephant Next Door, including suggesting interesting stops along our route. He also arranged our safari in the National Park with Leel which was the highlight of our two week trip. The room was spacious and had everything we needed. The food was great and better than the dinner we had in town - the chocolate cake was especially delicious! After we left, Janaka continued to help us and contacted a number of companies to make sure we were able to get a COVID test in time before our departure from Sri Lanka. This put us at ease as we were struggling to do ourselves. Overall, we'd highlight recommend staying here.

Janaka was very good at contacting us via WhatsApp and organising our safari and travel. The room was gorgeous and the comfiest bed yet in Sri Lanka. Janaka brought us cake to have with tea after we arrived and in the evening we had a candlelit curry which was very tasty. Janaka organised a safari for us and our driver/guide - Leel was amazing. We had so much fun on the crazy drive to the park and him sprinting to get tickets. We saw loads of animals and had breakfast in the park. Would definitely recommend the 6hr safari over the shorter one as sometimes it's hard to find the animals.

There was nothing we didn't like.

Everything - from the local organization of activities, to the room, the outdoor area and the food - everything was just great 😊 there are I believe 2 apartments only, everything is build with high quality material and offers great comfort which is perfect to relax before or after a safari. The elephant orphan house is just 5min walking distance away and also worth a visit

The Elephant Next Door is quirky and unique. Janaka is an attentive host who wants to always ensure his guests have the best experience. We stayed in order to do a full day safari. It’s the perfect location for that. Janaka organised the safari for us and it couldn’t have been better. We did the full day safari and our guide, Leel, took us to out of the way places in Udawalawe National Park. He also cooked us a delicious lunch outside, so much nicer than a prepared repacked lunch. We enjoyed the competition between the drivers to see who can be the first to get into the park. It’s an experience we will always remember. The Elephant Next Door is different to other guest houses. It’s got two rooms (at the moment) and each room has a seating area/TV area, a bedroom & unique style bathroom. The bed is huge and really comfortable. The air conditioning in the bedroom is extremely efficient (necessary as it was really hot when we were there). The sheets and towels are spotlessly clean (as is the accommodation). Janaka provides toiletries and even a hairdryer. We had dinner there, delicious fried rice, and a great breakfast. The outdoor eating area is cool and comfortable. The whole place is beautifully lit at night. We felt that it was such good value for money. We believe we had a better experience than we would have done had we paid an awful lot of money to stay in a posh safari camp. Thanks go to Janaka and Leel.

Nothing

You will absolutely not go wrong by staying with Janaka at The Elephant Hotel. Book your safari directly with him and say yes to having breakfast on Safari.