"Pros: Homestay as itself is really cozy and chill. Room was clean, with AC, and has enough space for two backpackers. Breakfast was tasty, everyday it has slightly change which was good. You can plan your time of breakfast depending on your activities. In room is water bottle, kettle, tea and coffee so you can make it anytime you want. Location of the homestay is little bit out of town, so you need to use tuktuk all the time you want to go somewhere, but Priya - the owner owns a tuk tuk and he can give you ride. He is really friendly and he was willing to help us (give us ride, pick us up, give a tour) anytime we ask him or texted him :) So far the best stay in Sri Lanka :) Cons: Location is a bit out of time" ~Nicolette

"Pros: Absolutely stunning place, felt very luxurious and spacious, calm and elegant. Exquisitely designed to harmonise with the nature of the surroundings. Our two cabanas were beautifully appointed and very private on the inside, each with a little sofa area and a small fridge. The pool is divine and open quite long hours (I think 8am-8pm) and while the pool bar is not exactly in service, there is a sort of wandering waiter who will take your order from the poolside and you can sit at the pool bar stools to drink it. The whole complex is vast, serenely beautiful and constantly surprised us — going for a wander we discovered a whole extra large swimming pool up in the hills, a large kids’ playground, a tennis court, treehouses, and a kind of outdoor party space hidden in the trees where picnics and performances can be held. The lake setting is very picturesque but there are no activities or facilities down there so it can only really be enjoyed as a walk although there are a couple of large swings one can sit on nearby. There is a wild elephant path running through this area so it’s possible that late in the night one might have a surprise encounter down there! Possibly my favourite thing was the abundance of monkeys frolicking on the lawn outside our cabanas, drinking from the sprinklers, chattering and playing in the trees. Also - as you find everywhere in Sri Lanka - the hotel has got some lovely dogs who are well behaved and very sweet, and in better shape than lots of the strays we saw. The Sri Lankan breakfast options were delicious (egg hopper, chicken curry, coconut sambal, fresh fruit, yogurt, Sri Lankan omelette all recommended) but the ‘Western’ style options were limited and some popular items such as waffles and pancakes only available cooked to order by just one chef meaning long queues developed around the ‘batter’ station. A place this big depends on a massive team of staff, all of whom are beautifully attired and very discreet. Cons: A few things let this place down. When one has spent a lot of money (and this resort is not cheap!), frustrations that one might normally overlook start to niggle. In brief: - Limited bathroom supplies such as shampoo and body wash, which were refillable dispensers fixed to the wall of the shower meaning that it was impossible to use them in the bath, should you wish to. That seems ungenerous, given that in other (much cheaper) hotels they are able to provide mini bottles etc. - No comfy seating around the villas or cabanas, at least not in our section. Just a very uncomfortable stone bench immediately in our porch area with no table or option for relaxing privately. Also nowhere to hang wet items outside (altho I’d not recommend doing this after all as monkeys are liable to take and play with anything). - Not enough sunbeds to serve this enormous hotel and its many many guests. We were among lots of disappointed guests who got to the pool area too late at the prime chilling time of 2/3pm and the 18 or so sunbeds were all taken with no extras available even though it would be so easy to have a stash laid out elsewhere on the huge grounds surrounding the pool. On the grass, outside the villas or wherever. - We occasionally encountered just a few too many rules and “No you can’t do that” type responses from some staff which left us feeling a bit sour. No you can’t take pool towels away from the pool area (even if you promise you’ll bring them back); no you can’t choose what to have in your takeaway breakfast (if you are heading off too early to enjoy the buffet); no you can’t play table tennis unless you pay an extra fee (which seems excessive). - Going on from that… there seemed to be quite a mercenary mindset that means everything is ‘chargeable’. Of course wellness treatments should be extra but is it really necessary to charge over $1 for every laundry item, even undergarments? And does table tennis and using the pool table really need to be charged for?" ~Emma