The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary è un progetto di riqualificazione dell’habitat, che Suraj porta avanti da qualche anno. La camera è ampia e pulita e il giardino è una chicca che ti fa sentire completamente circondato dalla natura, che lo staff sa raccontare e trasmettere con estrema passione. Abbiamo anche avuto l’occasione di cenare, gustandoci dei buonissimi kottu roti e pittu. Vale assolutamente il soggiorno!

Suraj è una persona che ricorderemo per il resto della nostra vita. The Sanctuary non è un semplice hotel, ma un progetto di tutela e recupero degli habitat. La passione dell host e del suo staff ci hanno coinvolto durante tutto il soggiorno, a partire dalla night walk ( con vista di un lori gracile) fino al safari dove lo stesso suraj ci ha fatto da guida privata (eravamo da soli con guida e driver). Un safari che non è stato solo una semplice osservazione degli animali ma una vera lezione di scienze a cielo aperto, con tantissime curiosità. Anche la struttura è meravigliosa e curata, ci siamo pentiti solo di essere rimasti una sola notte. Se venite in sri lanka dovete passare di qui!

Everything is great here. Friendly staff. Dinner and breakfast were delicious. Owner himself attends our matters. Went above and beyond to help us. Spacious room.

Water pressure at shower can improve little. but it is minor detail

The place is stunning! The night safari was a lovely touch! And they took us on the safari the next day to Wilpattu which was great. The food cooked was really nice! We did have a few bugs BUT you can see the amount of effort that has gone into eliminating this as best as possible! There was a plug in to stop mosquitos either side of the bed and we didnt get any in our room as we kept lights to a minimal and didn't open the windows/doors to the outside. We got a cockroach but they got rid of it straight away and a few little beetles but nothing that affected our stay or sleep!

A fridge would of been great. The wifi wasn't great either. We did struggle to get hold of them for a while as we had messaged via booking.com and WhatsApp'ed with no response but as soon as we emailed they contacted straight away and was very apologetic. The staff were very nice but they left us more to our own devices than our other stays, so we didn't get to no them on a personal level.

Wir hatten insgesamt einen sehr schönen Aufenthalt. Die Unterkunft und auch unser Zimmer waren sehr sauber und gepflegt. Besonders gefallen hat uns die ruhige Umgebung, in der man sich gut entspannen konnte. Auch die Einrichtung war sehr schön und geschmackvoll gestaltet. Das Essen war ebenfalls sehr gut. Die Safari war hervorragend organisiert. Unser Guide Achini hat viele Tiere entdeckt und konnte unsere Fragen sehr gut beantworten. Auch unser Fahrer hat sie dabei unterstützt. Besonders positiv war, dass wir bereits im Vorfeld mit Suraj besprechen konnten, welche Tiere wir gerne sehen möchten, und darauf wurde während der Safari viel Rücksicht genommen. Außerdem hatten wir genügend Zeit, um Fotos zu machen und Fragen zu stellen, was das Erlebnis noch schöner gemacht hat.

Ein kleiner Verbesserungspunkt wäre ein etwas besseres Englisch, da die Kommunikation manchmal etwas schwierig war. Trotzdem konnten wir uns insgesamt gut verständigen. Alles in allem war es eine tolle Erfahrung, die wir gerne weiterempfehlen.

The house is really beautiful

Room was nice and large. Food was good

The property is unfinished, large upstairs area has tools all over the place. Also we organized a safari and specifically asked for an English guide. We spoke maybe 10 words of English during the entire safari which was disappointing. Overall it felt like bad value for money paying 215 euro for a nights stay and safari for 2 people

This is the second time we have stayed at The Sanctuary. It is amazing how successful the re-wilding project at the property has come on in the last 10 months and the small animal sightings were amazing. On the complimentary night safari, we saw several rare Loris and otters, the mouse deer, porcupine, several owls and any small reptiles. The guides Achini and Dula are very good at spotting animals and were able to share lots of interesting facts about the animals we saw. The accommodation is very spacious and clean and the food prepared by Dinesha was excellent. Unfortunately, on this occasion our stay was a short one, but we will definitely return for a longer stay. We will promote The Sanctuary to our friends and family on our return to the UK.

I am a return guest and on this brief visit I chose to take a bird watching excursion to Nelum Vila (a local water hole) with Appe Kale Adventures which is an arm of the Sanctuary. The excursion was led by Suraj who is a qualified wildlife expert and the bird sightings were amazing. Binoculars are provided and really enhance the bird watching experience. Suraj has a wealth of knowledge which he is very happy to share.

The staff are friendly and the food delicious. Nice big rooms in a very pleasant environment.

No hot water in one of the rooms. It didn’t bother me but some people will be annoyed. Hopefully it’s just a temporary thing.

Wir wurden sehr herzlich empfangen und grossartig bekocht. Das Zimmer ist sehr gross und bietet alles, was man braucht. Durch den Regen konnten wir leider nicht an einem Naturewalk teilnehmen, den man rund um das Anwesen machen könnte. Dafür war aber die Safari mit dem Sanctuary-Team am nächsten Tag super! Wir haben durch das gute Auge von Dula und Achini viele Tiere gesehen. (Leopard, Elefant, Bär und vieles mehr) Ausserdem hat uns Suraj, der Manager, sehr dabei geholfen unsere An- und Abreise zu planen und blieb in ständigem Kontakt mit uns. Wer ein herzliches, authentisches Erlebnis mit sehr naturverbundenen Personen haben möchte, ist im The Sanctuary bestens aufgehoben.

Attention to detail in building this property is amazing. Quirky furnitures and high ceiling rooms are very welcoming. The landscaping is accommodating wildlife. Staff are very friendly and helpful

Somehow, few mosquitoes seemed to have got into my room. And they disturbed my sleep. Mosquito net would have been ideal. Shower pressure wasn’t that great. That would have been part of the conservation ethos to save water.

Completelly new, authentic, extremelly clean, generious staff, totally unique vibe, delicious dinner and brekfast, large rooms… everything was excellent

The location is on the other less used entrance to the park but it was worth staying a bit further.

Ontzettend lieve mensen. We waren de enige gasten. Er werd ons van te voren gezegd dat de safari waarschijnlijk niet door kon gaan in verband met de overstromingen. Maar we wilden niet annuleren omdat ze al veel annuleringen gehad hebben. Toen we aankwamen werden we hartelijk ontvangen. De kamers zijn echt ongelofelijk mooi, ruim en prachtige badkamers. We hebben een middag safari gedaan. Dat was inderdaad spannend om er te komen, maar het was de spanning waard. We waren de enige toeristen in het park leek het wel. We hebben olifanten gezien, een krokodil, prachtige vogels. Echt een fijn verblijf.

Het ontbijt was erg mager.

El alojamiento tiene mucho encanto habitaciones grandes y muy cómodas comida buena y experiencia muy personalizada para el safari Wilpattu .

Un poco más de información en el tour hubiera estado mejor

+ Almost everything. Achini and Dula are amazing, we also had a Safari trip together, half day. + The residence looks fabulous. + They handle mosquitos very well. + Beautiful and clean glass. + Really felt taken care of and welcome!

- This isn't the place for people who have insect phobia. Thankfully, NO cockroaches, but many other flying and buzzing beetles, as well as the light bugs made quite a show at night!

This place is amazing. If you want to go to Wilpattu National Park, this is the perfect accommodation. We booked The Sanctuary half an hour before arriving and we were warmly greeted at the door by the owner Siraj. Siraj's passion for environmental protection is incredible. His knowledge of the ecology of the area is huge. Siraj and his team provided us with first class hospitality, beautiful food and a fully organized safari we will never forget (for a very competitive price). Extras like plentiful home grown bananas, a night tour of the grounds (seeing flying foxes and mouse deer) and free photos of what we saw on safari were the icing on the cake. It was a privilege to have stayed at The Sanctuary and we left enriched. I would not hesitate to return here in future.

The staff were really friendly, amazing food and really gorgeous place. They took us on a wildlife tour where we saw otters and loris all on their grounds! There is not much in the local area so you need to keep this in mind if planning to visit a shop or restaurant during your stay, it’s not really possible

Spacious, comfortable and stylish room. Lovely staff (Dinesha is a fabulous cook - our breakfast and dinner were both superb; Achini and Dula were knowledgeable and passionate about nature and we enjoyed our walking tours). It was a shame we couldn’t get to Wilpattu National Park due to flash floods making the road impassable

Felt it was overpriced compared to other places we’ve stayed. We were given welcome drinks (fresh juice) on arrival and surprised to find that we were charged 600 each for them! Also expected that the taxes/ charges would be obligatory payments but, when we queried the $18 payment on top of the $58.23 paid for the room, we were advised it included 10% service charge for the “hard work of the staff”!! Surely such a charge would normally be included in the room rate???

The family who run The Sanctuary are friendly and helpful and mum’s cooking is lovely. The grounds are well kept and attractive, although the pond was dry when we were there. The room was spacious and the bed comfortable. We used it as a base for the safari at Wilpattu, and booked our safari through The Sanctuary too, and for that it was good value. We had a wander around the village but there wasn’t much else to see. The safari was amazing but we found the full day to be too long and too tiring. The morning was perfect, many birds, deer, crocodiles, leopard and much more, but by midday it was very hot and had become much quieter. Our driver and guide finished at about 4 (we thought it went on until 6), so the elephants hadn’t yet come out for the cooler late afternoon, which was disappointing. Our advice would be to book a half day.

It was hot while we were there and we found it a struggle without air con (there is a fan). Earlier than stated finish to the safari, so missed the elephants.

The Sanctuary is an outstanding place. The building itself it’s beautiful designed and decorated, fitting in well to the natural surroundings. The room and all the fittings feel high quality and a luxurious, a real treat when budget back packing. The nature that it is surrounded by is truly beautiful and peaceful. The perfect place to sit back and relax! What makes The Sanctuary so special is the staff. So welcoming, friendly and accommodating. Their knowledge of the animals and plants that you will see on walks around the premises is amazing, so well educated and genuine. The food cooked by mum is 10/10 and you will not leave hungry. They made our safari day so enjoyable and truly perfect!! I can not recommend this place enough, it’s a new venture for the team and they do it so well!! Thank you so much to everyone involved.

Amazing hospitality, attentive staff, very comfortable rooms and the food was lovely too!We saw some amazing animals on the property on our guided walks, and the guide was very knowledgeable. Strongly reccommended

1 night was not enough!

HR Solo traveller I visited the Sanctuary on the recommendation of a friend and thoroughly enjoyed my brief stay there. Great care and much thought has been given to the furnishings of the house. It has an extensive collection of books on wildlife and birds and I could have spent many hours browsing this collection. The food was delicious and I was looked after very well by Dula and his team. There is a good choice of excursions on offer, but I chose a half day tour to the Wilpattu National Park which is only about 30 minutes drive from the Sanctuary. Dula and his wife, Achini were my guides and they took a great deal of trouble to ensure that I had a memorable experience. We were fortunate to see leopard, elephants, sea eagles and much more. I will definitely return on my next visit to Sri Lanka.

The Sanctuary is hidden gem in the Wanathavillu town. The accommodation was very comfortable and the rooms spacious. The grounds have been imaginatively re-wilded and is now a haven for many species of birds and mammals. We were looked after very well by Dula and Achini and nothing was too much for them to ensure we enjoyed our stay there. The food was delicious, prepared and beautifully presented by Dinesha. We were taken on a night walking tour of the property and were thrilled to have a rare sighting of a Slender Loris, a roosting green snake and several roosting birds. During our brief stay at the Sanctuary we also saw the shy and secretive Mouse Deer, a mongoose and her baby and many varieties of birds. Will definitely return for a longer stay and would highly recommend this property to our overseas friends.

We stayed for two nights and planned a boat excursion on the Puttalam lagoon as well as a safari in Wilpattu National Park. The Sanctuary is located a convenient 14km from the park and a similar distance from the lagoon. The team arranged every single detail of our trip, and it was absolutely wonderful. From the delicious welcome drink, to the exceptionally tasty food, and superb excursions with the most well trained guides we had the holiday of a lifetime. The property itself is probably the best in Wilpattu and also on the island, with spacious, authentically decorated rooms. Every single little detail from the little wooden electrical switches to the well thought out living and dining spaces and incredibly beautiful bathrooms made the stay a real pleasure. The team led by Dula catered to our every need and anticipated everything in advance. They took us on walks around the property and were able to let us know when there were great bird sightings, especially a couple of barbots one more morning. The food was so good and so tasty, authentic, delicious Sri Lanka dishes like milk rice, hoppers and the most delicious pork curry on arrival made our food loving family's stay even more delightful. The highlight of the trip was the safari arranged by the team, where we saw multiple leopard, samar, deer and even an elephant in musth! The property has one of the best stocked wildlife libraries on the island and any wildlife and animal enthusiast will be inspired!