You are surrounded by nature, birds, animals, everywhere you look. The staff is very friendly, funny, and the service is excellent. The property is lush and gorgeous. Its a magical place! But, the facilities are close to 10 years old, and being that close to nature has its «downsides», if you are not REALLY into it. Even so, we loved our time there. Tip: order the local dishes on the menu;)

My wife and I had an amazing stay at this retreat in an animal conservation area. We saw a huge variety of animals including birds, peacocks and monkeys! The room was very nice and a mosquito net was provided. All of the staff were very friendly and caring and I would definitely recommend a stay here!

The property is gorgeous, with mountain views across rice paddies. The staff is extremely sweet and will take you on nature walks throughout the property to spot birds and take a boat ride over the lake!

Beautiful location. Immersed in wildlife on this conservation site. Lovely staff with a very knowledgeable resident naturalist who took us on a bike tour of the local area- very knowledgeable about local biodiversity and sustainability. We were upgraded to a chalet which was very comfortable. We saw so much wildlife from the hornbills roosting near our chalet to monitor lizards, monkeys and sea eagles! The facilities borrow the landscape rather than dominate and its not the sort of place for free cocktails and extensive buffet dining either. The local food choices such as curry and rice are delicious - the more western dishes are fine but i woukd stick to sri lankan dishes which they are keen to cook. The chef cooked us an off menu dish of fish he had got from the market which was lovely! If you love nature and simple luxury you'll love Kalendewa.

Incredible ground, but a strange hotel. Trying to be boutique but distinctly average. Food was below par - especially considering the cost. Pretty sure it was pre processed out of a packet (in cubes) but described as fresh. Yuk. The room also felt dated even though it tried to seem modern. The massive grounds (with various unique animals) was a plus, but the fact that almost nobody else seemed to be at the hotel made it feel lonely - and weird. A shame really.

Incredible ground, but a strange hotel. Trying to be boutique but distinctly average. Food was below par - especially considering the cost. Pretty sure it was pre processed out of a packet (in cubes) but described as fresh. Yuk.The room also felt dated even though it tried to seem modern. The massive grounds (with various unique animals) was a plus, but the fact that almost nobody else seemed to be at the hotel made it feel lonely - and weird. A shame really.