The Sanctuary

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.