Palmstone Retreat - Kithulgala

This hotel was the highlight of our trip. The property is located quite a ways from the main road, deep inside the jungle; however ‘going the extra mile’ is completely worth the experience. Upon arrival, the hotel staff greeted us with a ‘Welcome’ juice and checked us in our bungalow, which was located right next to the small river running by the hotel. The room is very spacious, with floor to ceiling windows. The bathroom is huge with both a shower and a jet pool. The environment is very relaxing and tranquil, which feels nice after the everyday ‘hustle and bustle’ of life. Breakfast is amazing and prepared by a chef, who used to work at one of the Jumeriah resorts in Dubai! His milk rice and dhal curry was the best I have tasted in Sri Lanka! =) The hotel had an awesome tour guide, who took us on a hike to the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen in my life! Unfortunately we have only stayed 1 night at this resort; however I would love to return in the near future. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wishes to get away from the ‘touristy’ stuff and have a truly unique and world class experience!

Very peaceful and beautiful natural environment. Great food and service.

Palmstone Retreat is exceptional. We were here for our honeymoon and so glad we chose something different to the main resorts. An adventurous drive into the resort by 4x4 from town, approx 30 mins around windy roads, you arrive at paradise. Set in the middle of the rainforest is a boutique resort with 6 rooms, therefore with very few guests they have time to focus on what you want. The service is amazing, very attentive and there to assist with everything you need. Our room was sensational, a jacuzzi and sauna in our large room overlooking the river! All faculties are very clean. The chef does a great job cooking from a decent sized menu for a small resort, all meals very reasonably priced and tasty. They don't have a license to serve alcohol but no problems if you want to bring your own in (buy from the wine store or the staff will be happy to organise for you during the day if you wish!) We organized activities through the hotel including tuk tuk rides to white water rafting and canyoning through Action Lanka, we loved every bit of it. Also a waterfall tour by the hotel where we swam in fresh water with lovely views! DVD's also available to hire. We would highly recommend Palmstone Retreat and hope we will be able to return one day!

We stayed in the Araliya Suite 24.2-27.2. Which was absolutely spotless and modern. We loved having our own private pool, sauna, and river view, where we even went swimming a few times. The staff was incredibly friendly, especially Indunil. He arranged an adventure for us to the waterfalls, a short jungle hike, and also acted as a guide to a nearby cave. He also guided us to safely swim at the waterfall behind the hotel. And to top it all off, he arranged a candlelight dinner by the river! Five stars for service! Everything went smoothly in English.