Habarana Village

Having lived in Sri Lanka as an ex-pat now for a year we have visited many excellent hotels across the country and Chaya Village has been one of our favourite places to stay. On our last visit there though, standards had certainly began to decline. Two problems, one being the food. The choice is very limited and ingredients obviously kept to a budget which is a poor substitute to the menu of only a mere 6 months ago. Secondly, the hygiene in the rooms has much to be desired. The first thing that hits you is a damp musty smell which plays havoc with anyone who suffers from Asthma as my husband found out. Also there were many unwanted guests lurking in the wardrobe, bathroom and even scurrying across our bed. Cockroaches the size of mobile phones are not exactly my idea of a perfect room companion. It's a shame to have to write this review because the hotel used to be wonderful, relaxing first class resort and we looked forward to staying there, but never again.

We stayed at this fantastic hotel while on the cultural triangle trip round Sri Lanka. it was a perfect stop off to go on the Elephant ssfari and then to Dambulla ect The hotel is actually little mini cottages in the middle of what looks like an african safari watering hole. The beds were clean comfy, the bathroom was amazing - more of a wetroom. The food was very good and the staff so accomodating. The best thing about the hotel is the infinity pool which after a long safari, elephant ride or trip round the local area is so inviting, expecially when a large local family of monkeys come and watch you swim

Chaaya Village in Habarana is absolutely fantastic. Rooms are superb, staff are fantastic and food is very good. Relaxed atmosphere provides a perfect base to discover the surrounding areas of Sigiriya and Dambulla. Will definately be visiting again.

We booked our 14 days through Kuoni and spent 5 days in Habarana, and loved it. The weather was fantastic throughout. So much has been written in the press about the Tsunami, and the civil strife that 'grips' sri lanka, but in reality it is not like this. I thoroughly recommend taking a trip (with Sri Lanka Air) down to their beautiful country. Most of the vegetation is evergreen, so the place always looks lush, the village itself is set on the edge of a nature reserve, so is very quiet and secluded. All the hotel staff treated us incredibly well, and always with a beaming smile, the only pity we felt was that this beautiful place is generally under utilised; we were 2 of 20 guests, in an 85+ room hotel - not that it mattered to us! To get to the hotel you must first travel 130km which on any normal road would be over in a couple of hours - this however takes 5, so make sure you stop somewhere for a break on the way. We went through Kuoni, and had Bernard as our tour leader - a man with unbelievable knowledge of his country and its history, and certainly helped us enjoy the trip fully. I will go back to Sri Lanka, and stay either here, or at the Mount Lavinia Hotel (see review).

Only stopped one night while doing a three day tailor made tour and it bucketed down all evening and maybe all night because it was still raining the next morning when we left but they seem to expect the weather because all the cottages have an umbrella supplied. The cottage was spacious, the bed king sized and comfortable, the shower room and wash area large (shared with the permanent resident ants) and a kettle and range of hot drink sachets supplied together with a flask of filtered water. The TV worked and a room safe was built in. Although we did not have any luggage to speak of we did a check of the wardrobes and cupboards and there would have been sufficient space for enough clothes to cover a two week stay and we don't normally travel light. The buffet style restaurant is roofed but not walled and there was a plentiful supply of beautifully prepared food with a multitude of choices. On the evening we stayed there was a magic show in the adjacent lounge bar area which may not have been the greatest but was certainly worth while watching. As you approach the driveway leading in there is a sort of safari company but an offput to us were the three or four elephants chained in view of the road. At dusk we couldn't see much of the lake through the misty monsoon but what we did see looked calm and beautiful and the morning light did not change that. Would we go back? Definitely and for a longer stay, this is the sort of place where you could really comune with nature but still have all the modern comforts. The only drawback for us: as you approach the driveway leading in there is a sort of safari company but an offput to us were the three or four elephants chained in view of the road. It's a personal thing but unless these animals are working at logging or something like that they should be given their freedom and not used as some sort of advertising medium.

I must endorse the great reviews of this establishment, for it is truly excellent. We were there for a week with Kuoni’s Travel Collection on an all-inclusive basis and enjoyed every minute. The whole of The Village was extensively refurbished in Autumn 2005 so that now it is arguably better than its more expensive neighbour, The Lodge, which is under the same management. The setting by the lakeside, known locally as a tank, is wonderful with lots of beautiful bird life, langur and macaque monkeys, water monitors, lizards etc inhabiting the 12-acre site that is shared with The Lodge. You are free to wander round the whole delightful parkland area. Accommodation is in semi-detached bungalows and it is peaceful, spacious, clean, and comfortable, with something of an oriental feel. The pool area is lovely (see photos) and the food served in the open sided restaurant overlooking the terrace, pool and lake is absolutely first class. A large array of buffet style dishes is available and there are plenty of non-spicy alternatives for those prefer their food that way. To drink, Lion beer is far better than the poor quality standard wine offered to all-inclusive guests. And the staff are as helpful and welcoming as can be. Before you leave they give you one of those guest comments forms. It includes the question ‘How can we improve?’. You know, apart from the dubious wine, I couldn’t think of a single thing!

This is the most fantastic hotel. The surroundings are excellent, small villa type rooms with excellent decor and furnishings, satellite TV, tea and coffee, hairdryer, safe, wet room, all spotlessly clean and well kept. Lots of wild life, monkeys, lizards, birds, squirrels, mongoose. Excellent food and dining area. Staff brilliant, always smiling and helpful. Short walk into village, elephants and jeep safari. Would thoroughly recommend and would certainly stay there again if ever lucky enough to return to beautiful Sri Lanka.

we have just stayed here for 1 week, the first part of our tour with the travel collection, nothing too fault nice rooms staff very friendly and the food was good at all times, it was buffet at all times but a very good choice of main meals,vegatables,if you like hot spicy food or mild it was there,or non spicy. the Lion beer was also good and the local rum, wine was only included with your meals, but not very nice. Outside the Hotel grounds near the elephants there were pleanty of locals ready too help you, and the elephant ride there was great fun would i return here? yes

We stayed here foe 2 nights in the middle of our tour of the island, we loved it so much we spent 5 hours in a car to spend the last 3 days here, fantastic place!! Staff were excellent so was the food, place was spotlessly clean, cannot praise it enough

I spent two nights at the Village Habarana with my boyfriend and absolutely loved its relaxed, peaceful atmosphere. The friendly staff cannot do enough for you and are always there to spoil you without being intrusive. The hotel consists of rows of modern sloped roof terraced apartments with an open sided restaurant and bar. Our driver advised us that the hotel had recently undergone a revamp which that was evident from what we could see. We were both impressed with the room, which was very clean and spacious. The set lunch we had when we arrived was by far the best we had in 2 weeks in Sri Lanka (staying in 5 different luxury hotels). We had an unexpected guest during lunch, who happened to be the largest squirrel I have ever seen! Breakfast was buffet style with continental, English and Sri Lankan breakfasts available. Our only complaint with the food was with their omelettes, which were a little undercooked. There is a tennis court and bicycles available and a clean and tasteful pool. We took a 2 hour Elephant ride around the lake which sits alongside the hotel for $30 dollars each (see picture of a very soaked me). I would love to go back one day, as it was a particularly pleasant experience.