The Spice Trail

Great place to hang out for a few days! Plenty of spaces great pool. Attached to a great restaurant and coffee place

Bit on the expensive side - but you know this when booking.

The property is in an amazing location in arugam bay, right by the restaurants & seafront. The pool is lovely with trees, a real bohemian vibe. Our hotel villa bedroom and bathroom were huge so spacious and we had a private garden also. The staff were so helpful with luggage, booking activities and generally being warm and welcoming. I celebrated my birthday whilst staying in Spice Trail and the staff did a lovely surprise in my hotel room, hung up a happy birthday banner, gave me a bottle of wine with ribbon tied on it and also got me a delicious cake from a bakers! Really made my birthday feel special.

Exceptional stay in Arugam Bay In my opinion, The Spice Trail is the best place to stay in Arugam Bay. Beautiful, spacious and spotless rooms, super comfortable beds, a fantastic pool, and an amazing location — right in the heart of town, yet completely peaceful inside. The breakfast is excellent, with a great selection of dishes and drinks. Above all, the staff are exceptional. When my daughter became ill, they cared for her like family, preparing special food and drinks and helping with everything we needed. It’s not cheap, but worth every dollar. Perfect for anyone looking for comfort, luxury and peace. If I could give more than 10, I would.

The only downside is that once you’re there, you may not want to leave the hotel and explore Arugam Bay!

We had an amazing week at Spice Trail! The rooms are huge and well appointed, with an outdoor area including an outdoor shower. The pool is lovely and the staff were awesome. The breakfast is good at the restaurant on the property. It’s perfectly located within Arugam Bay right in the middle of town but quiet enough for relaxing.

Everything was great!

Amazing place, right in the center of town. The rooms are spacious and have a little garden. The swimming is amazing and the food is delicious!

Good location, great pool

Management were rude to staff. Seemed like a few cultural issues. Toilet was loose off the wall and blinds did not work.

Sehr schöner Pool, Nähe zum Strand, sehr geräumige Zimmer mit einem großen Bad und eigenem kleinen Garten.

Frühstücksauswahl war sehr eingeschränkt, teilweise waren Gerichte um 10 Uhr auch nicht mehr verfügbar und die Qualität des Frühstücks war in anderen Unterkünften der gleichen Preiskategorie besser.

The hotel is a real gem in this area. The rooms are of a very high standard, and the pool is lovely, clean, and enjoyable.

The breakfast is average. However, the restaurant staff are very friendly, pleasant, and courteous.

Aquí tienes una versión natural y adecuada para una reseña en inglés: We loved everything about our stay. The accommodation was comfortable, beautiful, spacious, and completely independent from the rest of the property, which gave us a great sense of privacy. The pool was absolutely amazing—it was so inviting that you could spend the whole day there. Everything we needed was available, and the overall experience was wonderful

The only downside was the extra bed. It was full of ants, so my 15-year-old daughter couldn’t sleep in it and had to share my bed instead. As a result, neither of us was able to get a proper night’s sleep. This was disappointing, as everything else about our stay was wonderful.

המתקנים היו נקיים היה שקט ונעים

כלום

מקום מפלט מושלם בלב רחוב סואן של ארוגם . בריכה הכי טובה שהיינו בה בסרילנקה שאי אפשר לצאת ממנה. חדרים מרווחים נקיים ומיוחדים עם גינה טרופית. צוות אדיב

מבחר במסעדה טיפה מצומצם

La piscine le restaurant La végétation

Aucun problème

פרטי, חדרים גדולים, הבריכה, צוות, מיקום, אחלה זרם במקלחת, מושקע, המלצרים במסעדה מאוד נחמדים והמעסה בספא מקצועית

היה נחמד אם בכל החדרים הייתה טלוויזיה, שיקפידו יותר שלא יכנסו אנשים מבחוץ לבריכה מאחר ואין מספיק כסאות וקודם זה יהיה ראוי שמי ששילם יוכל להנות מהמתקנים

Location is excellent as is the pool area. The restaurant's Asian dinner was great. The rooms are excellent size.

הכל זו פעם שנייה שלנו במלון הזה וכנראה שלא הפעם האחרונה המיקום, השירות, הבריכה, האוכל, הניקיון והצוות הכל היה פשוט מושלם!

Rooms were spacious, clean, and well thought-out. They had everything you need- enough space to hang clothing, laundry hampers, nice TV, lots of seating, and the private courtyard was a bonus. The pool was nice (despite having a small population of biting bugs), breakfast was decent, and front of house staff were sincere and kind. We loved Ashan and Sekar especially.

Our AC was broken for one night. The next day it was promptly fixed with no issues. Our toilet was leaking for our entire stay and stopped working (would not flush) for a total of 4 nights. Every day they would ‘fix’ it, it would half flush for a couple of hours during the day before failing again overnight. Meaning we didn’t have a working toilet for 4 nights of our stay. After the first night we offered to move rooms if they could not fix it, but this wasn’t seriously considered by staff, it was smiled off and ignored. They also never contracted an external plumber to just deal with it first time - a job I’m sure a first year apprentice would have nailed. On a couple of occasions when my husband was out surfing I had to use the men’s pool toilet (women’s was also not flushing), which was unclean with no toilet paper, at 6am, while holding a baby. Pretty bleak when you’re paying almost 200$USD a night. We spoke with reception repeatedly and asked to speak to management, and continuously got told they would speak to us, but never did, they were completely avoidant. The hotel didn’t offer us any compensation or discount despite not having a functioning toilet/AC for 5 out of 17 nights. They didn’t even wipe the $15 mini bar charge off our final bill. Will let you decide what you think that means, but for us, it’s poor behaviour and out of touch for a hotel we paid over $3000 USD for our stay.

Gute Lage, wenn auch nicht direkt am Strand. Sehr gutes Essen und extrem freundliches Personal. Ökologisches Bewusstsein.

Kissen haben « gemuffelt » Pool war sehr warm und es gibt nicht viele Liegen mit Schatten.

Beautiful boutique hotel with lush greenery, spacious rooms, and a lovely pool area. The coffee and pastries from the in-house café were delicious; the restaurant serves only breakfast and Japanese cuisine. Additional services such as laundry and excursions are not offered directly by the hotel, but the reception staff will connect guests with reliable local providers. The location on the main road is very convenient, yet the rooms remain quiet as they are set back from the street. Overall, we had a great stay and would happily recommend it, although it is a little on the pricier side.

No significant issues!

מיקום מעולה, צוות שירותי ואדיב, ארוחת בוקר טובה

Amazing location, friendly staff and super clean. Loved the pool and the room was comfortable and clean. So much space in the room too!

Lovely clean, big rooms. Great location for walking along the Main Street/to the beach. Relaxing to sit by the pool

Breakfast ok but I think would be better options outside property

מיקום מצוין במרכז, קרוב לכל החנויות והמסעדות. מלון שקט בסך הכל, חדרים גדולים ומרווחים, לנו היתה גם חצר פנימית נוחה וגדולה עם מקלחת חיצונית. ארוחת בוקר טובה ומספקת, לבחירה מתוך תפריט (לא בופה).

אין מקום ישיבה מחוץ לחדר כמו מרפסת או מקום לשבת בכיף. הניקיון בחדר דורש שיפור.. חייבים לשפר את התאורה בחדר.

Location Pool Staff Food

We went there on off season & there was a construction going on due to that other than that everything is good

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi il n’y a pas la cinquième étoile sur cet établissement. C’était parfait, chambre très bien, personnel extrêmement sympathique, petit déjeuner qualititatif, piscine très agréable. Je ne peux que recommander. Nous avons même effectués deux nuits de plus qu’initialement prévu.

Très grande chambre individuelle, Magnifique Piscine, Personnel,

Matelas pas très confortable et lit qui grince

Die zimmer, die lage und der pool war perfekt

Wir waren in der off season da und viele shops kaffees hatten geschlossen. Dafür kann das hotel aber nichts.

Roomy rooms, clean and cool. Great location. Good breakfasts

We were off season, so ongoing construction work started at 7am some mornings. Hotel bar poorly stocked. Very expensive spa compared with local alternatives.

Superbly clean, tidy, comfortable, big bathroom and good showers. Great staff

The bed and pillows in the king room were amazing , the whole room set out was very good and the best part of the stay. The staff were very attentive If you like to have a nice quiet time this is the place

The town is out of season this means it's a ghost town with 95% of shops closed The hotel front was all under renovation so it was like a work site with welding and paintin As nothing was open hotel food was limited in choice but was okay for 2 days When we checked out staff came back 3 times to claim more money from us as they say they forgot items we purchased..considering there were only a few people in the hotel,how they're gonna manage in the peak times.

We had a wonderful and relaxing stay. The room was very spacious and comfortable, located in a quiet neighborhood. The bathroom was clean and roomy with good water pressure, and comfortable towels were provided. The pool area was excellent - crystal clear, not too deep, with a separate kids’ pool and beautiful trees surrounding it, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Sunbeds and towels were also available. The restaurant was open for drinks and cocktails, and the bartender was super friendly, which made the experience even better. My car was parked inside the hotel premises, and although there were a lot of crow droppings on it, the staff kindly helped me wash the car, which was excellent service. Overall, it was a great stay and we would happily visit again.

Really stunning, the rooms are spacious, the showers wonderful and the bed really comfy. The beach is a 1 min walk away, lovely to see the sunrise while the fisherman are busy. Special shout out to Sehan, he is a really kind person.

Beatiful place with a lovely pool. Rooms are huge and beds amongst the comfiest we had in sri lanka yet. Some special words about the staff which is absolutely lovely abd caring all the time. Thanks a lot to Natasha! We will be back for sure.

The rooms were huge with a private little garden. The breakfast was great The staff were very helpful

We stayed at The Spice Trail during off season. We really enjoyed our stay, the rooms are huge and really clean and the pool area is lovely. The restaurant also does really great food. The hotel is in a great location right on the main road of Aragum Bay. I would definitely come back here if I return to Aragum Bay!

The spice trail is located on the main road of Arugam Bay with the ocean on the opposite side of the road. Once you step inside, behind the walls its a very tropical oasis. We travelled in their low season (Jan) so some facilities were not available. Highlights were a very comfy bed, large rooms, a fabulous HOT shower in the large bathroom. The swimming pool was also a great place to cool off and large enough to have a proper swim. We had 1 breakfast and 1 lunch while we were there both were very tasty and reasonably priced. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful. The area was very quiet when we were there and not suitable for surfing or diving ( out of season) so if you want a break from the hustle and bustle in the off season its ideal. Also great coffee at Kaffi their roadside coffee spot!

That some things were not available as it was out of season.

Excellent location, lovely pool, nice staff

Not enough sunbeds, insects in the pool, dirty mud paths to the rooms

Die Unterkunft war ein Traum! Großes Zimmer, tolles Badezimmer, sehr bequeme Betten, Kühlschrank, Wasserkocher etc. alles was man sich wünscht! Die Sauberkeit war herausragend! Die Anlage war wunderschön, auch der Pool lud zum verweilen ein. Tolle Lage und nahe zum Strand. Viele Restaurants und Supermärkte und Cafe's drum herum. Betten waren sehr bequem!

Bei dem Preis, hätten wir uns gewünscht, dass Frühstück noch inkludiert ist. Ansonsten war es perfekt!

Amazing hotel, rooms are lovely with lots of space and super comfortable beds. Location is also very good and central. The staff are incredibly helpful and super friendly, we arrived during off season at arugam bay and decided to reduce the number of nights there as we had limited time in Sri Lanka and wanted to spend more of it in high season locations. The staff were very understanding and helped us with a taxi to our next spot so I couldn’t have asked for more support. It’s a shame as we loved the hotel so would have been nice to spend more time there or have been there during high season.

As it was off season most restaurants were closed so we ate at the hotel restaurant which was nice but nothing special. Other than that everything was great.

L’endroit est tout à fait charmant, la piscine les cases harmonisées dans une allée de végétations, la chambre grande et spacieuse, sans parler de la salle d’eau « royale » ! Et le petit plus, un petit jardin rien qu’à soit, le top. Mais nous sommes arrivés dans un moment de creux dans la saison, nous ne sommes donc pas restés plus d’un jour. Cependant l’endroit est top et à taille humaine.

Rooms were beautiful. Get out on a scooter and see the area - elephants, crocs, birds. Amazing few days.

Location of the hotel

Nothing

While the power was out to the entire area when we arrived, which we did not know, they thankfully had a generator. We arrived about a week after the Nov. ‘25 cyclone. The facility is a series of large bungalows in a nicely landscaped area. They were basic but clean & had small private garden space. Good location, but not sure where the actual beach was located.

Lovely rooms - spacious room well appointed and spacious bathrooms. Friendly and helpful staff.

The pathway to the rooms are not paved and during heavy showers the walkway was full of puddles which made it difficult to walk to our rooms. Also limited menu, though food is tasty, and personally, I was uneasy with the cats and dogs in the dining area.

Die Poolanlage ist schön gestaltet und lädt zum Entspannen ein. Besonders hervorzuheben sind jedoch die Zimmer: Sie waren riesengroß, unglaublich schön eingerichtet und boten richtig viel Platz. Ein echtes Highlight war der kleine private Außenbereich, der zu jedem Zimmer gehörte – das hat unseren Aufenthalt besonders angenehm gemacht.

A proximité du spot !

Sehr sauber und wirklich chick! Das Hotel wird sehr gepflegt

Es war alles top

Excellent size rooms. Modern and new with good fixtures and fitting, good spacious showers with loads of hot water. Good AC and comfortable beds. One of the better rooms we have seen in Arugam Bay.

Restaurant was a little empty and uninviting but to be fair we were there in start of low season. Friends had told us the food was good. Coffee shop in grounds had first class coffee and pastries.

Petit hôtel fait de bungalows avec petit jardin privatif. Jolie piscine. Personnel au top avec mention spéciale pour la barmaid. Bons petits déjeuners.

Service un peu lent au petit déjeuner.

Schönes Zimmer, gute Lage nähe Strand

We had a wonderful stay at Spice Trail - our room was very quiet (most important), clean and comfortable. The team looked after us like we were long-lost relatives!

We like everything

The location

Poor Value for Money Due to Persistent Service Failures! While the hotel's location was convenient, the overall value for money was significantly low due to multiple shortcomings in service and amenities. The housekeeping process was confusing and inconvenient. Although daily cleaning is standard, we received an unsolicited text message every morning asking if cleaning was required, which felt both intrusive and poorly managed not to mention that towels and bedsheets were not replaced. On our departure day, we received another unnecessary text asking for our exact check-out time. We are frequent travelers and it never happened before! The basic amenities were subpar. The Wi-Fi connection was poor and unreliable throughout our stay, making it difficult to work or stream. Furthermore, there was no dedicated service at the pool area. The dining experience also reflected a lack of care. The restaurant only offered black coffee at breakfast, 1 cup per person, and the staff's apparent indifference to guests buying coffee from nearby shops was quite telling of the general approach to customer satisfaction. These accumulated service issues and unreliable basic facilities made the hotel feel substantially overpriced. We expected a much higher standard of operation for the price paid.

החדר גדול ונוח, מאובזר ובעיצוב מודרני המיקום הכי מרכזי שיש בארוחת בוקר טובה החופים במרחק 5 דקות הליכה כולל מסעדות יש בית קפה טוב ממש ביציאה מהמלון

המלון יקר ולדעתי לא מצדיק את המחיר למרות שלהבנתי מדובר במלון הכי טוב באזור. אם מתקלחים שניים אחד אחרי השני לשני כבר אין מים חמים הWiFi לא עבד טוב בכלל

המקום הכי נעים נקי ונוח בארוגם ביי והמיקום מעולה

נקי מסודר מקלחת מטורפת ממש ליד בית חב״ד י בית קפה בכנסיה מטורף ליד כל המסעדות וליד החוף

אין מספיק מקום ליד הבריכה מספיק שהגיעו זוג הורים וילד ואין הרבה מקום לשבת כבר ליד הבריכה הצוות לא הרגיש שירותי עד הסוף ונתן הרגשה שהוא עושה לנו טובה

Location, pool, staff, SPA

Electric breaks, room cleaning only upon request

Le confort idéal La piscine est top Les chambres sont grandes et propres Le café dans l’hôtel est génial C’est vraiment un super endroit on s’est régalés

Rien à redire peut être simplement nous aurions aimé nous sentir plus sur un service “personnalisé” et non un numéro. Mais c’est vraiment un détail car le Personnel est très gentil

L’emplacement et la taille de la chambre Le personnel qui demande tous les jours comment se passe notre séjour

Les dytiques dans la piscine Le rapport qualité prix

loved my stay at spice trail <3

Lieu exceptionnel, vraiment magnifique

Bruit de la jungle avec les singes sur le toit un peu bruyant mais globalement super

היינו ב2 חדרים במלון,המלון מהמם, בריכה כייפית, חדרים ענקיים ויפים. הצוות מדהים! המסעדה והספא במלון מעולים!!

The location was 10/10, couldn't have been better. The staff were so helpful and couldn't do enough to ensure we had everything we needed.

The pool was a little bit cramped but still lovely

One of the best arugam bay has to offer

At some point we had to leave;)

everything it was PERFECT

Adorable staff, they kindly changed our booking from 3 nights to 2 nights, arranged us a late check out and made sure we could use the showers after we checked out. Very responsive, consistently checking if we needed anything. Highly recommend. Very nice location in the centre of Arugam Bay. Rooms are large and lovely, with a cute private little garden.

This was a beautiful little boutique hotel in a great location in arugam bay! The pool was amazing! Perfect temperature! Lots of nice shade to relax and sun if you wanted it! The rooms were huge! Loved the canopy bed with the mosquito net! Great coffee place attached with beautiful morning buns and museli!

We would have liked to have been able to order coffee to our rooms in the morning.

The accommodation was the best we had in Sri Lanka. The location is in the middle of Arugam and you can reach all the good places by walk. The guys working there are so sympathic and they helped us with everything we needed. We felt like friends from the beginning on. Last day we got a sandwich for our next trip because we couldn’t stay unti breakfast. The small lodges are pretty and all the area with cafe, reception and restaurant is very very nice and authentic. You feel like home after a few hours.

The Spice Trail was hands down the best accommodation of my trip! Everything about it was exceptional — from the warm and welcoming staff to the incredible food. The location is perfect, and the atmosphere is so peaceful and relaxing. The spa was a real highlight, and every detail felt thoughtfully done. They were so accommodating throughout my stay, making sure I had everything I needed. I honestly didn’t want to leave. Highly recommend!

N/A

Highly priced with no service and beach too is across the road

Nothing was good.