Ella Rock Grun Cottage

Really nice and friendly host…and lovely breakfast

Fantastic place to stay. At the base of Ella Rock, right by a river with great swimming hole. Many walking trails from your door step. Warm welcome by the owner and staff of this lovely gueshouse in nature. Fabulous room, tasty dinner and breakfast. A rural retreat only 3km from Ella town. We're very glad we chose to stay here. Thanks to the wonderful people who run this place!

This was one of my favourite places that I stayed in Sri Lanka, particularly due to the hospitality from Dumindu who was incredibly kind and helpful throughout my stay. He would come to meet me with his torch when walking back from the station in the dark, allowed me to use their laundry facilities when I was in desperate need for clean clothes, and was quick and proactive to respond to messages. I felt very at home at this place, and enjoyed relaxing in their restaurant. The breakfast was delicious and very filling, and I ate dinner a few times in the evening too which was great too. I would have happily eaten there every night, but thought I ought to experience some of Ella's other dining spots too!! The location is very peaceful and relaxing, nestled in the lush greenery at the bottom of the Ella Rock trail. Thank you so much Dumindu and team - it really was an exceptional experience!

As you would expect staying in the middle of nature, I was conscious of leaving windows open to avoid insects coming in. This didn't bother me too much, but did mean it sometimes got a little hot and humid in the room. The downside of such a peaceful location was that as a solo female traveller, it was a little tricky to get back from Ella at night. However there are options if you don't have your own transport - it is about 15min tuktuk ride, you can walk along the train tracks which takes about 30-45min (need to have a torch for this!), or can take a short train ride from Ella to the nearest station, which is only about 500m walk along the tracks from the Cottage. Dumindu's kindness and helpful nature meant that I felt safe and comfortable to take this option, as on multiple occasions he came to meet me at the station to accompany back to the Cottage.

Very clean room! Beautiful Scenery! Good food! The kindest Staff!

The entire property was surrounded by fruit trees, gardens, rice fields and felt very true to Ella village lifestyle. The land is nestled between a river and the scenic railroad. If you’re someone who loves the off the beaten path sort of places and doesn’t mind to hike your luggage in—this place is truly an Sri Lankan oasis/ gem close to the Ella Rock Trail—which has incredible hiking and Mountain Views. The room I stayed in was beautiful for a quiet getaway. Great for a yearning poet or writer. Highly recommend the rice and curry here. Their portions are large so bring a friend to share the abundance in!

Everything was really good, really nice located just one hour to go to ella rock. Kind and helpful host and good breakfast ☺️

This place is perfect for those that want a good dose of nature. The surroundings are scenic and tranquil and the echoes of nature are constant. You also have easy access to the route for the Ella Rock hike which was great. The rooms are located beneath the restaurant which is highly convenient if you would like to enjoy lunch and dinner on site (I recommend the mixed noodles). The host is extremely helpful and proactively made suggestions for things to do in Ella which made my stay feel effortless. I would book here again and believe the natural scenery is a major focal point.

My friend and I stayed at the Ella Rock Grun Cottage for 4 nights. And we have to say the accommodation was amazing. The room was very big with an entire wall window to look right into nature. It is an amazing escape from reality and to be right in nature. It’s directly located at the starting point of the Ella Rock hike which gives a great opportunity to watch the sunrise up there. Into the city it’s an 45 minutes walk over the railway or an 10 minutes tuktuk drive which is both totally fine. The owner of the Cottage was the most caring and helpful person we have met in Sri Lanka so far. He helped us with everything, arranging tuktuks, giving us extra blankets for in the night, arranging a blowdryer so we could dry our wet clothes and he even woke up with us at 4.30am before our sunrise hike to make sure everything worked out well and even made us coffee before the hike. The breakfast contains of various fruits, an omelette and bread with butter and jam and coffee/tea and we even got some extra Joghurt and everything was delicious. You can also buy other drinks and some food at the cottage directly in case you’re too lazy to go out for lunch or dinner. We can really recommend the Chicken Kottu. In total we can really recommend the accommodation!!

the owner was very helpful. He talked about the herbs of the country. He made every effort to make you feel comfortable. Very quiet place in the nature