The Warden's House - Yala

Our stay at The Warden’s House was a delightful escape into nature. The rustic charm of the accommodations, combined with the surrounding wildlife, made for a unique and peaceful experience. The staff were welcoming and knowledgeable, enhancing our appreciation of the local environment.​ Big shout out to Kelum for the safari drives and Pradeepan who provided excellent attentiveness.

Great place to stay and do a safari in Yala. The hotel itself is excellent, the staff are very friendly and the food is great! The game drive offered by the lodge is incredible. The guides are very knowledgable and the drives are carried out in the block 5 area of Yala. The wildlife is diverse and abundant and being in block 5 makes the game drives far quieter in terms of the number of vehicles. Having done many safaris in Africa, this lodge is as good as anything there. We would highly recommend!

From the moment we arrived, till we departed, nothing was too much trouble. We arrived a little pressed for time, but no bother, they fit in a quick arrival greeting, a quick lunch, and next thing you know, we are on our first safari. The facilities are excellent, and the room was very comfortable. Sri was always there, with a welcoming smile, for whatever we needed, a drink or bite to eat. Oh and the food was excellent, the chef spoke with us at each dining, and made recommendations from the menu to suit us. Callum managed our 2 safari’s where we saw just about everything, Elephants, Leopard, Sloth bear, Crocodiles, and too many other animals and birds to mention. If you really want to spoil yourself, we highly recommend this accomodation

We would love to have stayed longer :)

Honestly such an incredible luxury experience. All inclusive with amazing food and huge drinks menu that will keep you more than full. Safari was unbelievable with exceptionally knowledgeable staff. Will definitely be back

The Warden’s House is worth a rare “10 out of 10” from me. The building is beautiful and tasteful - decorated authentically with Sri Lankan antiques and the most comfortable furniture on the terrace. All four rooms look out onto the pool and gardens, which back onto a beautiful river. It’s an incredibly peaceful and luxurious place to spend time before or after safaris and other excursions, especially as there are so few guests there. You often feel like you have the entire house to yourself. We chose the Warden’s House because we wanted to do safari in a quieter area of Yala (Block 5). We heard the main area (Block 1) is extremely busy and that it’s much harder to see animals like leopards. Even if they’re there, the number of vehicles can make it impossible to see them up close. We are so pleased with our decision! We did two safaris and saw three leopards, up close and personal! We saw many other beautiful animals and birds, but were ecstatic about the leopards. We also chose The Warden’s House because it’s a sister hotel of Galle Fort Hotel and Thotalagala, so we trusted the service would be exceptional. It didn’t disappoint - the food was some of the best we have had at any hotel and the service was incredible. We had breakfast and dinner in our own part of the garden every day, with candlelight and a fire in the evening. All our meals were included plus sundowners and food on the safaris. To give a glimpse of the service level - you are welcomed back from safaris with cold flannels and the entire garden is lit by candlelight from about 6pm for sundowners. The value for money is exceptional. If you are visiting Sri Lanka or Yala for a safari, we can’t recommend the Warden’s House highly enough, especially if you’re a fan of small luxury and authentic boutique hotels like we are.

Nothing! If I had one suggestion, it would be to reduce the portion size of some of the meals. The hotel is very generous and we couldn’t finish most of our meals, but this seems common in Sri Lanka!

My wife and I stayed at the Warden's House in December and I must say, we had an absolutely amazing time. The property is stunning and is set on 7 acres of land with a beautiful riverfront. The rooms are large and tastefully done. The staff at the property really made our stay very special, Kelum and team made sure that all our needs were met, both at the property and while on safari. The Safari was one of the highlights of the trip, we visited Yala block 5 which was much less crowded than the other areas of Yala, we were treated to a phenomenal sighting of a leopard as well as lots of other birds and wildlife. I cannot end this review without mentioning the food, this was the icing on the cake. The chef performed his magic at every turn with amazingly scrumptious meals.

Everything was perfect!