Secret Paradise

The room was spotless and brand new. It was very peaceful. Our host cooked us the most delicious dinner, we had vegetarian curry and rice and it was the best. She picked the veggies from her garden. It was cooked with love. And then her husband drove us to Lion Rock at 5am and came back to pick us up. It’s such a beautiful family leaving in this little secret garden.

Everything was perfect.

Secret Paradise is exactly that: a secret… for now. It’s a brand new B&B with only a handful of reviews, but I’m certain that won’t last long once people discover how special this place is. Staying here felt much more like being welcomed into a family home than checking into a hotel. With only two guest rooms, the atmosphere is incredibly personal and relaxed, and the whole family makes you feel genuinely welcome from the moment you arrive. The room itself was beautiful — spotless, peaceful, and with an enormous, incredibly comfortable bed. The entire property is surrounded by farmland, jungle and wildlife (I went for a short walk to the lake and within 200m of the house I saw monkeys, water buffalo, peacocks, mongoose, and Sri Lanka’s national bird, jungle fowl!), so it’s wonderfully quiet with no tourist crowds anywhere nearby. Waking up to the sounds of nature was an absolute highlight. The location is also great for exploring the area. Pidurangala Rock can be clearly seen from the property and is within walking distance, which makes sunrise or sunset hikes very easy. For Sigiriya Rock or trips into town you’ll need transport, but that’s easily arranged. The hosts, Lahiru and Thilini, were fantastic. They went out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed and made the stay feel incredibly personal. The absolute standout experience, though, was the food. Thilini is an incredible cook, and dinner here was the best I have had in Sri Lanka. Honestly, anyone staying here who doesn’t have dinner at the house is seriously missing out — it was that good. Another great part of the stay was exploring the area with Dilshan (Thilini’s brother), who drove me around in his tuk-tuk and even took me on safari and to Polonnaruwa (additional cost, of course, but reasonable prices). It added such a fun and local dimension to the experience.

Hard to fault but one thing I would say is if you don’t like dogs then this place may not be for you. There are four on the property and they are very…enthusiastic!

Großes, sauberes Zimmer mit großem Bett und Sitzgelegenheuten, frisches und üppiges Frühstück, sehr freundliche und hilfsbereite Familie, super Kommunikation. Wir wurden mehrfach gefragt, ob alles zufriedenstellen ist und ob wir Verbesserungsvorschläge haben. Zudem wurden wir mehrmals innerhalb kurzer Zeit aus Sigiriya abgeholt und einmal sogar morgens um 5 zum Pidurangala Rock gefahren. Die Unterkunft liegt etwas abgelegener, wir sind aber mehrfach problemlos nach Sigiriya spaziert, ansonsten dauert es keine 5 Minuten mit dem TukTuk. Dafür sieht man aus dem Fenster schon den Pidurangala Rock, welcher auch fußläufig erreichbar ist und man bekommt keinen Straßenlärm mit.

WLAN war manchmal etwas langsam, was hinsichtlich des schwachen Handyempfangs mehr auffiel als in anderen Ortschaften. Es gibt aber ein paar Cafés mit WLAN um die Ecke und der Empfang wird die Straße entlang auch besser. Die Lage könnte für einige zu abgelegen von Sigiriya sein, für uns hat es aber super gepasst.

Buen sitio para dormir cerca de la Roca del Leon y Pidurangala. Es nuevo, por eso las pocas reviews. El equipo es genial y te ayudan en todo lo que pueden!!