Palmstone Retreat - Kithulgala

8/10

Excellent

05 Feb 2019

Sankha

Luxurious stay in the middle of a jungle

I went with my wife and four year old daughter. 6km small Road to the hotel is horrible. Need a high clearance vehicle. My honda fit nearly escaped any damages. Otherwise the stay was superb. Location is unique.rooms were great. Food was ok,slightly more expensive than similar class hotels,may be because of the location, wifi is terrible.my Dialog mobile had moderate level of signals,but no 3G. Any way,I actually staying unplugged.There is a nearby waterfall with clear water.its an unique experience. Can recommend to nature lovers and any body wishes to spend time in a calm and quiet environment.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

This hotel was the highlight of our trip. The property is located quite a ways from the main road, deep inside the jungle; however ‘going the extra mile’ is completely worth the experience. Upon arrival, the hotel staff greeted us with a ‘Welcome’ juice and checked us in our bungalow, which was located right next to the small river running by the hotel. The room is very spacious, with floor to ceiling windows. The bathroom is huge with both a shower and a jet pool. The environment is very relaxing and tranquil, which feels nice after the everyday ‘hustle and bustle’ of life. Breakfast is amazing and prepared by a chef, who used to work at one of the Jumeriah resorts in Dubai! His milk rice and dhal curry was the best I have tasted in Sri Lanka! =) The hotel had an awesome tour guide, who took us on a hike to the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen in my life! Unfortunately we have only stayed 1 night at this resort; however I would love to return in the near future. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wishes to get away from the ‘touristy’ stuff and have a truly unique and world class experience!

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

05 Nov 2018

Colin

Two night family stay during 3 week Trip to SL

This hotel is sold as a five star retreat but it isn't as well-maintained as it should be. The little things that you would expect weren't quite done.
The two jacuzzis next to the swimming pool weren't working and we were told that they were too expensive to repair, the jacuzzi with our room was initially freezing cold. The TV room (with pool table and outdoor terrance) was too hot and basically unused. Despite the large TV, there was no DVD player to play a film, etc. The daybeds on the balcony had no mattresses and cushions to sit on (by day two they appeared). There were therefore very simple fixes to this if people applied a little thought.
As a retreat, it is of course in the middle of nowhere. No complaints about that - but the hotel gave little assistance about what you could do. There is plenty of wildlife around and white water rafting, etc., but you have to find out about it practically by yourself. Having said that, the food was very good and the service at dinner excellent.
In all this, the best thing about the hotel was one of the staff - LAKMAL. He clearly has the guest's welfare at heart. He took us, including our girls (5 and 7) on a nature trail, organised a walk to a waterfall and rockpools to dive in/swim. He showed them how the locals extract rubber. Every morning he checks for wildlife to later show them to guests. He showed us where we could feed the fish. If they take his attitude (and a bit of thought) this could be a really great hotel!!!

Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Oct 2017

A

Nice relaxing resort in the middle of rainforests

Very peaceful and beautiful natural environment. Great food and service.

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2017

Kristy

Relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable

Palmstone Retreat is exceptional. We were here for our honeymoon and so glad we chose something different to the main resorts. An adventurous drive into the resort by 4x4 from town, approx 30 mins around windy roads, you arrive at paradise. Set in the middle of the rainforest is a boutique resort with 6 rooms, therefore with very few guests they have time to focus on what you want. The service is amazing, very attentive and there to assist with everything you need. Our room was sensational, a jacuzzi and sauna in our large room overlooking the river! All faculties are very clean. The chef does a great job cooking from a decent sized menu for a small resort, all meals very reasonably priced and tasty. They don't have a license to serve alcohol but no problems if you want to bring your own in (buy from the wine store or the staff will be happy to organise for you during the day if you wish!) We organized activities through the hotel including tuk tuk rides to white water rafting and canyoning through Action Lanka, we loved every bit of it. Also a waterfall tour by the hotel where we swam in fresh water with lovely views! DVD's also available to hire. We would highly recommend Palmstone Retreat and hope we will be able to return one day!

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2017

Verified traveler

Excellent boutique hotel

Excellent boutique hotel and service in beautiful area, though a little remote. Rooms are luxurious and clean, service is excellent and friendly, food is very tasty.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Apr 2017

Leann

Couples retreat

We loved our stay. It really gave us some down time after climbing mountains and rafting. The hotel room was massive: steam room and plung pool were in the room! We had a view of the river and the room was private. Lakmal offered us excellent service. Helping me into the river and taking us on a jungle walk. He even lit candles around the pool for us as a surprise whilst we had dinner! I'd highly recommend you take alcohol and snacks as you can't get these once at the hotel. The food is nice at the restaurant. You should leave your car at the bottom of the hill and call the hotel to pick you up. The road is currently being re-paved which will be less daunting of a ride to the secluded hotel. You can do rafting around this area but we stayed in the hotel. We loved it as a couple but there was also a family there and the kids enjoyed the large shared pool. We will be back if we can. I'd recommend more than 1 night here.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2017

AS

Incredible experience

Palm stone is a very special amazing experience on its own!! The room view is out of this world and the stuff is very helpful and friendly whom went to the extra mile to make our stay more than comfortable. Me and my wife loved the place and will definetly come again as soon as we can.

10/10

Exceptional

11 Dec 2016

Ahmad

Amazing place!

What can I say! The place is an mazing in the middle of the jungle with river running a few meters away! This place is one of the most beautiful places I ever seen! The rushing of the river water a few meters away was an enjoyable and very relaxing experience! The staff were very friendly and very helpful! the Manager; Mr. Tyrone was extremely helpful and very kind! He made an upgrade for us! The chef was so kind -- came to our table to ensure our food was done to our satisfaction! The staff made everything possible to ensure we are comfortable!

Thanks to Mr. Tyrone and the staff for making our stay a very enjoyable experience!

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jul 2016

Prasad

Great Place

It was a amazing experience. Location is very beautiful. Nelum suit is great with private pool and steam bath. Food was good too. Staff was very friendly. Overall great stay and waiting for the next visits. Highly recommend.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Feb 2024

Janica

Perfect for relax

We stayed in the Araliya Suite 24.2-27.2. Which was absolutely spotless and modern. We loved having our own private pool, sauna, and river view, where we even went swimming a few times.

The staff was incredibly friendly, especially Indunil. He arranged an adventure for us to the waterfalls, a short jungle hike, and also acted as a guide to a nearby cave. He also guided us to safely swim at the waterfall behind the hotel. And to top it all off, he arranged a candlelight dinner by the river! Five stars for service! Everything went smoothly in English.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2019

Linus

Bra hotell i djungel

Häftigt hotell mitt i djungeln med fina vattenfall att gå till. Väldigt lugnt området 2 nätter är perfekt!

Partner

4/10

Poor

01 Dec 2017

Hassan

اقامة سيئة

يوجد اتساخ بالمفارش الخاصة بالاسره وتقطيع وعند الطلب تبديل المفارش تم الاهمال منهم ولم يبدلو المفارش ايضا تم الطلب منهم تغيير الغرف لوجود حشرات بالغرف وتوجد ادله عليهم وتم تسجيل فيديو كامل واخبروني انهم لا يهتمون بما سيقوم من حفظي للفيديو تم الاتصال حينها على ارقامهم ولا تجد اي رد من قبلكم بالاقارم التي تم الانصال عليها يتم اخباري من النظام الالي انها غير صحيحة

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Mar 2017

Fam. Aurora

Idyllic & modern place in the middle of the Jungle

Very idyllic & modern property in the middle of the Jungle. Outstanding Sri Lankan food & great hotel stuff, which was very helpful during our stay.
Indunil and the manager took personal interest in taking care of our every need.

Our room was exquisite and the waterfall nearby is spectacular.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Apr 2016

Susanna

Natur och äventyrssemester

Ett mycket fint nybyggt hotell som ligger mitt i djungeln, nära ett vattenfall. Vi var där för äventyr - rafting och canyoning, vilket var perfekt. Mycket bra standard på rummen och en otroligt fin plats men djungel och djurliv direkt utanför fönstret!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2016

Angela

Everything is so great!

If U like to experience Safari, Palmstone Retreat is the place. The hotel has been open for only 3 months when we were there. The hotel is very beautiful. U can look out into the woods and stream first thing when U wake up in your bed. Rooms are huge. The manager, Cavindi, is by far the most friendly one I have met. The only thing that need to improve is the road that lead from the main road to the hotel. It is very narrow, dark at night, bumpy and steep. It took us 40 mins one single trip everytime to go out and come back to the hotel. And other than checking in and out, we need to pay for the transportation(Rs4000, round trip)everytime when we go out. But overall everything is so great. We will definitely go back again.

Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Dec 2015

Thomas

Nur über eine sehr schlechte Straße zu erreichen

An der Abbiegung der Hauptstraße wäre ein Hinweisschild zum Hotel hilfreich gewesen. Danach geht es 8 km über eine sehr schlechte Straße in Richtung Hotel. Am letzten km steht dann ein Schild mit einer Telefonnummer unter der man die Abholung von diesem Punkt mit dem Hotel absprechen kann. Ziemlich sinnlos! Denn wer es bis hierhin geschafft hat, schafft auch den restlichen km.
Das Hotel liegt mitten im Grünen direkt an einem Flusslauf. Sehr idyllisch. Die Zimmer sind großzügig und luxuriös ausgestattet. Allerdings sollten bei dem aufgerufenen Preis auch die Kleinigkeiten stimmen. Beispiele: Der Jakuzzi hatte ein Leck, so das permanent Wasser im Bad stand, an einem Schrank war der Griff defekt, die auf dem Boden liegenden Handtücher im Bad sind nicht getäuscht worden. Beim guten Abendessen dann eine Überraschung: Da das Haus unter moslemischer Leitung steht gab es kein Bier, Wein oder sonstigen Alkohol zu kaufen. Da für mich aber ein gutes Getränk zu einem guten Essen gehört war ich ziemlich enttäuscht. Dies führte dazu, das wir die nächsten Tage dort nicht mehr essen waren und den beschwerlichen Weg in den nächsten Ort gefahren sind, um uns anderweitig zu verpflegen. Ein Hinweis im Prospekt wäre hilfreich gewesen, dann hätten wir dieses Hotel sicher nicht gebucht.
Die Sauberkeit nach dem Reinigen war auch nicht so wie man es in einem 5-Sterne Haus erwartet.

Partner