Chika's Place River View Udawalawa

The property is beautifully made and put together, took our breath away on arrival - the breakfast is amazing and it's lovely to sit outside on the hammock and listen to the sounds of nature. There are a lot of cool features like the hanging bed!

Unfortunately we do have to share some disappointment with our stay, which we have tried to communicate with the owners prior to writing this review but haven’t had any response despite the message being read. Which we were saddened by, as we felt we’d developed a friendship over our stay. We decided not to do the safari as we had already done this elsewhere and wanted to save some money. We asked the owners if there was anything else we could do in the area. They suggested we go to the elephant transit home and suggested some spots they could take us to in Udawalawe. This was put across to us quite casually. We noticed the ETH was just up the road and told the host Chamika we were planning to go, to which he responded casually “I’ll come with you”. As we had shared a few beers with him and had a lengthy chat it sounded like he just wanted to come along as he’s interested very much so in elephants. When we arrived we noticed that the tickets were just $5pp so we got our money ready and he rushed ahead to pay for us. In kind we paid for some food for him just as we had paid for his beers the night before. Chamika kept referring to karma and how he likes to give generously. We got back into Chikas car and they told us they would take us to a local river and some other spots around udawalawe, including the temple which was closed on our arrival. Chamika mentioned that people don’t see the spots that the locals do often so this made us think that he’s trying to show around. Bear in mind there had been no mention at all of booking anything or of any costs. The casualness extended to them meeting a friend of theirs and showing us his unfinished restaurant project. Once again in kind we bought lunch for Chika & Chamika (which if you bear in mind that we were to receive a $160 bill for the day, it feels unfair). We were also planning to give them a hefty tip.

The property is beautifully made and put together, took our breath away on arrival - the breakfast is amazing and it’s lovely to sit outside on the hammock and listen to the sounds of nature. There are a lot of cool features like the hanging bed!

Unfortunately we do have to share some disappointment with our stay, which we have tried to communicate with the owners prior to writing this review but haven’t had any response despite the message being read. Which we were saddened by, as we felt we’d developed a friendship over our stay. We decided not to do the safari as we had already done this elsewhere and wanted to save some money. We asked the owners if there was anything else we could do in the area. They suggested we go to the elephant transit home and suggested some spots they could take us to in Udawalawe. This was put across to us quite casually. We noticed the ETH was just up the road and told the host Chamika we were planning to go, to which he responded casually “I’ll come with you”. As we had shared a few beers with him and had a lengthy chat it sounded like he just wanted to come along as he’s interested very much so in elephants. When we arrived we noticed that the tickets were just $5pp so we got our money ready and he rushed ahead to pay for us. In kind we paid for some food for him just as we had paid for his beers the night before. Chamika kept referring to karma and how he likes to give generously. We got back into Chikas car and they told us they would take us to a local river and some other spots around udawalawe, including the temple which was closed on our arrival. Chamika mentioned that people don’t see the spots that the locals do often so this made us think that he’s trying to show around. Bear in mind there had been no mention at all of booking anything or of any costs. The casualness extended to them meeting a friend of theirs and showing us his unfinished restaurant project. Once again in kind we bought lunch for Chika & Chamika (which if you bear in mind that we were to receive a $160 bill for the day, it feels unfair). We were also planning to give them a hefty tip.

When we were looking for accommodation in the area, we saw the pictures and we were really shocked of how this place looked like from a fairy tale. This is exactly how it looks like in person also. All the reviews written are totally representative of the experience. It was one of the most unique accommodations we have stayed and it is really worth to spend more than one night there.

When there is much heat the cooler machine in the room is not enough (there is no AC). Also around 7 in the morning there is a bit of noise from the cleaning of the environment and from nearby streets (but just for a while)

Chamika was very friendly and told us all about the backstory of the place and that they built it themselves! The house is the only one on the property so you have complete privacy. The room has so many well thought out elements and everything you could need. The bed is suspended by ropes from the ceiling!! So cool. The breakfast was amazing and we got to try lots of traditional Sri Lankan food. We also did the safari through them which was a private tour and we saw so many different animas. Lastly, they organised tuktuks at a fair price whenever we needed to go anywhere.

Nothing!