NH Bentota Ceysands Resort

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2026

Roshanthi

Friendly staff, great location and fun activities.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jan 2026

Heather

We stayed at this hotel in November and enjoyed it very much. Our room was spacious and we had a pool/sea view. The room was cleaned every day. The food was very good with plenty of choice. Very novel getting the boat across the lake to the hotel.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Nov 2025

Atchuthan

Loved the stay at Crystal Sands.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

10 Nov 2025

Sajiny

All was well, dinner buffet wasn’t that great! Could be better choice of options

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

03 Oct 2025

Gautam

Great property but unfortunately lacking finnesse with staff and activities. Eg. Kids have a daily program but it was never on time or even never happened

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2025

Vamsi

Pretty beautiful place, the staff are very friendly

10/10

Exceptional

08 May 2025

Helen

This hotel is chef's kiss. The pool and poolside are brilliantly thought out and massive so you can have a peaceful dip even if it's busy (I went out of season). My riverside room was the perfect way to start every day and the food, even the Western food, is really good. The service is unrivalled, it surpassed my expectations. I would say the hotel's greatest asset is its location in between the river and the sea, where you also you get lots of wildlife. And a 7 minute walk (plus couple of minutes shuttle boat to the town side) to Aluthgama train station. The minute you're out of the town side entrance, you're in the thick of town life but you wouldn't know it from the island oasis the hotel is on. It's walking distance to the Secret Island temple and Bentota Bridge, which are the only things Bentota offers other than beach. I would 100% stay here again and recommend it to everyone who comes to Sri Lanka for a relaxed, luxurious beach holiday.

Special shout out to Thilak the boatman and Masheshani on reception, who were both stars. Auic and all who work at Ceylon Club and the pool men.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

27 Apr 2025

Viraj

Room floor didnt mopped and drains were smelly dhower door making noise. Is

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Mar 2025

BHARAT

A large property with a beachfront on one side and a river on the other.

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Mar 2025

Anton

Amazing hotel

Great for family, perfect service. We tried many other hotels in Sri Lanka. This one is top level.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2020

MOHIT

Excellent Stay

Amazing property with awesome location.

You don't have to go anywhere else

Partner

4/10

Poor

05 Feb 2020

Chloe

Hotels.com rating is incorrect: only 4-star resort

At their own admission, Centara Ceysands Resort is a 4-star resort yet it is listed on hotels.com as a 5-star resort. The difference here is huge. The resort is clearly not 5-star, the rooms are run down, some with damp and unpleasant smells in them. The pool is huge and caters well for families with kids or people who want to \"get involved\" during their stay (e.g. water aerobics), but it is not the quality I was expecting.
We ended up moving out after 1 night as we were celebrating a milestone anniversary and wanted something more private and quality than this. The staff were very nice when I told them this and gave us many options (different rooms, upgrades, etc.) and were supportive when we finally decided to move on.
I would recommend this for family holidays, but not for couples who want privacy, or for anyone expecting 5-star quality.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

26 Dec 2019

Ahmed

Service very good but rooms should be cleaner

Team and service very good, food was delicious.
Needs to take care more about room cleaning “bed sheets not clean, many insects inside room”.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

25 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

There were some guys in front of hotel door. They didnt allow car to get inside which I booked via internet ro transfer other city. The boys argued driver. After 30 minutes argue driver refused to transfer us. It is shame for hotel. The hotel admijistration should prevent this incidents.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

13 Dec 2019

OmarBaryan

The river view is nice.

Pool depth is slightly shallow.

Some staff are hard to communicate with over the phone.

Poor room service.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

11 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

Location was good and staff were nice. Hotel was dated and looked a bit tied at a push a 4*. I left the hotel Early due to building work Starting in a couple of rooms next to me without any notice and was very loud. I was promised a email from the manager which I never received and still waiting for a four night refund I was promised. Not good service there.

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

06 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Friendly helpful staff, wonderful resort, extremely relaxing

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

05 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

Staff smile and service. Readiness to help. River view was nice.

Leisure Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

05 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

Nothing , they stole my sun glasses from the table

Leisure

6/10

Pleasant

24 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

The hotel was great, the food selection excellent.
Some of the staff however left a lot to be desired. We had experiences where we were totally ignored when reporting problems. Twice on booking in we were offered inferior rooms to what we booked. Some of the staff were good but the others require more training

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Feb 2019

Luke

Beautiful resort with great staff

Beautiful beach resort with great staff and pool. Functional comfy rooms, 3 restaurants, solid buffet breakfast, overall a great experience

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

Excellent location, lake and beach combination simply majestic.
Well maintained property, it was a pleasure spending time at the property.

4/10

Poor

08 Jan 2019

Byron

Overrated Hotel

The staff were friendly and extremely accommodating. However, the hotel is rundown and desperately needs refurbishing. The toilet emitted a bad order and had mold build up. The large glass windows/doors tool a lot of effort to close/secure. My brother Johann who stayed on for shared the same sentiments.

Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

Nice hotel on a beach. The breakfast hall was too busy. Staff were courteous but could not keep up with the volume..

6/10

Pleasant

22 Dec 2018

Neha

Bit of a mixed review on this hotel. It was a pleasant stay, and by no means wasn't terrible at all however I wouldn't say this is a 5* hotel. It may have been many years ago. We paid for a deluxe luxury room and with that expect some luxury treatments and perks, and we didn't receive any of that I.e bathrobes, slippers etc. So I question what we actually paid for compared to the regular rooms. The bathroom had a constant sewage smell. Spa service was great. The nightly entertainment was okay, little cheesy but pleasant.

Family

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2018

Cath

Great swimming pool, lovely friendli staff, excellent breakfast

10/10

Exceptional

05 Sep 2018

Joseph Peter

Very Relaxing

We stayed at Ceysands to relax for a few days after a tour around Sri Lanka. We took the half board option which was perfect. Buffet dining is not one of our favorite things to do. What we ate here has changed our minds, so fresh and the variety was huge. As long as you sat outside near the waters edge, you would think you are eating at a first class restaurant. Service was first class, very attentive staff.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Great hotel and very friendly staff! Had an ocean view but the river side view looked great too.

Partner

4/10

Poor

27 Aug 2018

Stephen

I booked an ocean view deluxe room but was given a pool side room after many interactions managed to get a partial ocean view. The room was very slippery and awfully smelling (to much chemicals) the pool is amazing

8/10

Excellent

27 Aug 2018

Nath

The hotel is out dated. It looks too old. It does not look clean at all. The service in the restaurants is extremely slow. The staff are not friendly. You cannot sit on the beach., no chairs etc...nothing. The food is average. We booked an Ocean view King Bed Room, we were provided a twin bed room with partial ocean view.

2/10

Poor

28 Jul 2018

Bronji

a lot of issues and problems

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jul 2018

Verified traveler

Relaxing, friendly staff, great pool, excellent breakfast buffet

8/10

Excellent

27 Jun 2018

Maria

Bentota Paradise

The hotel was beyond expectation. Slight hitch at check-in but resolved with great efficiency. The rooms were amazing and view fantastic. The staff were so friendly and could not do enough. No need to leave the resort so it is very relaxing with an amazing SPA.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2018

Masaki

Happy

Location, Pool, Activities and Staff, It was so good precious time for us

Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2018

Morpet

Don't go anywhere else

Perfect.

Your stay starts with a boat ride across the river. There is a 24 hour service. The hotel is located on a quiet beautiful sand spit between beach and river.

Rooms are nice with space and big beds. Sea or river view are both good and every room has a balcony and convenient clothes line. There is a fridge with mini bar and kettle. Nice cosmetics though the bathroom had a slim design with dark tiles. TV had some limitations but always some channels in English.

Food was good and lots of variety. Breakfast featured crisp delicious hoppers. Plenty of eggs and pastries but also yummy curries as well. Lunch was particularly good. The evening buffet has a nightly theme. You can buy full board with alcoholic beverages from 1000 to 2300 for $US65 which lets you have pina colodas at the social swim up bar. There is the great Ceylon Club bar which has music every night.

The pool is big and beautifully situated adjacent to the golden sand beach. There are water sports on the river and a very nice spa.

Staff were courteous, friendly and fun. Always obliging and happy. Especially Dylan. The piano player at night though should probably be retired but did entertain us for all the wrong reasons.

The Centara offers a fabulous resort experience. You don't need to leave but the railway is just 5 minutes from the boat dock for a day trip to Galle or Colombo. All up it is beautiful, good value and very relaxing.

Highly recommend.

8/10

Excellent

26 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Had a lovely stay in this hotel! Staff were very friendly and the location is beautiful and would recommend this hotel to anyone!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

This place is nice, but costs way too much for what it is. The spa does meet 100% expectations.

6/10

Pleasant

05 Jan 2018

Amit

Could be so much better

Good rooms, pool and location. Reception staff generally rude and unhelpful. Check your bill as they will try to overcharge you. Visited many top hotels and restaurants during our holiday around Sri Lanka, and Centara was the only one that added large tax and service charges to everything! We were given complimentary drink tokens for cocktails on the beach. We did not use them and were charged for them on check out!! Obviously a scam to try and rip off unwitting customers. Staff very rude and argumentative. Left a bad taste at the end of the holiday. Nuwan, who serviced our room was superb however.

6/10

Pleasant

24 Dec 2017

P D

People and Service needs improvement

Too pricey for what is offered. Service is pretty mediocre and definitely need improvement. Did feel and also SAW instances of negative treatment towards the local (Indian/ SL) looking crowd !!! That needs to be changed !!! Can’t believe that was happening, given all pay the same for the hotel services offered ??? Hotel management is a mess ... took more than 30 mins to checkin and allocate room. In this modern world l, you’d assume it should be straight forward. But ... not here.
Restaurant food was ok and pool was great too. Just the people need to educated, trained or removed to make this hotel a much better place!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Dec 2017

Verified traveler

A Must stay Hotel

It definately was an amazing stay

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Dec 2017

David

Average hotel, nothing special

Average to poor breakfast.
Hotel requires a boat journey to get to / from - nice at first but becomes a pain.
Restaurants good but not pricey, plus tax and 10% service on all bills. Outside restaurants are a good 15-20 min walk away. Along a non-lit road if at night.
Hotel is worn a little around the edges but still nice enough. Grounds and pool facing on to the public beach are good.
Would expect more from a 5 star hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Oct 2017

Michael

Amazing stay!!

Fantastic!!! The staff were so friendly and the location was just perfect

Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 Jun 2017

Stanley

Nice hotel. Great stay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 May 2017

Verified traveler

Smell of mast everywhere even in the room.

Smell mast every where and food is bad and also in the rooms and hall ways.

6/10

Pleasant

05 May 2017

Sonia

Ok stay

the resort was amazing , but expensive. If you are looking for local culture, markets and shopping this place would probably not be right for you. its across the lake and they provide 24 boat service. But coming back at night on side street i bit worrying- especially with wild dogs . If you like resort stay only its prefect for you.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Nice resort close to the beach

The location is So beautiful.
Its really relaxing close to the beach.
They should only have more professional staff a specially for there breakfast lunch and dinner buffet.
The staff from the kids club is amazing!
We had several times miss Nilukskika as a babysitter in the evening.
Congratulations Centara to have someone like her

8/10

Excellent

11 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Very nice location \n

The location is so beautiful.
Its so relaxing close to the beach.
They should only have more professional staff a specially for there breakfast,lunch and dinner buffet.
The staff from the kids club is amazing.
We had several times miss Nilukskika as a babysitter in the evening.
Congratulations Centara to have someone like her!

2/10

Poor

06 Feb 2017

Manish

Terrible Hotel

Terrible experience - I would never come to Centara again nor I would recommened anyone to stay there. They did not give us the rooms which we paid for.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

31 Dec 2016

Magz

idyllic location close to beach

As soon as we arrived we were given the hard sell to avail ourselves of the Christmas festivities and some other offers which seemed very convoluted , As we had been travelling around SK for the previous8 days, the cost seemed far from good,we were told that we could not join if we did not pay up front we declined, gladly, as the Christmas festivities turned out to be Butlin's transported to Sri LANKA. We also found out later that we could just turn up no payment in advance was needed.
360& THAI RESTAURANT good
Breakfast was good views lovely, but I don't want a sales pitch re the spa or other activity as I leave breakfast. it does not add to the holiday.
Hotel cost for the 5 days over Christmas did not live up to its said status: rooms was ok but fixtures were grubby , towels were stained cleaning could have been better

6/10

Pleasant

26 Dec 2016

Verified traveler

OKish, not great

The hotel is near the beach. It is a nice hotel... but everything is just OKish. Service is not terrible but not good, just OKish.
One thing that was really bad was the buffet restaurant. They say they open at 19h for dinner but 3 out of 4 of my dinners you had, what seemed to be the restaurant manager, talking to staff until 1905-1910. You could see the staff signaling the manager that 20 people were waiting outside, the guy didn't budge. Then you had the firendly staff scrambaling to diffuse a situation the manager created while he just happily went back inside.

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2016

Oscar

Romantic and Perfect Resort for All Things Fun!

Wonderful stay! Great place for couples. We had so much fun at the pool where there is a poolside bar. Imagine sipping mixed drinks at poolside, or playing pool volleyball. So much fun! The rooms are so nice, too. Great shower and other amenities! There are some wonderful restaurants in the resor, and Odel's is on the premise for your shopping pleasure. The Bar & Lounge had live entertainment one evening, and the mixed drinks are exceptional. I will definitely stay at Centara Ceysands Resort & Spa again when I'm in Sri Lanka.

Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Oct 2016

SURJIT

Good breakfast and clean.

This hotel is clean and most convenient for proper holidays.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Oct 2016

Avinesh

best hotel in bentota

Absolutely fabulous

10/10

Exceptional

09 Oct 2016

Steve

Fantastic value hotel modern and clean with great

Amazing three night stay we wanted to stay longer. Great restaurants especially the 360 for food and servive.

Partner

4/10

Poor

30 Sep 2016

Verified traveler

This is not a 5* hotel...

Rooms are substandard and need modernising....bathroom was in poor condition. Food was not great but kitchen staff were helpful and flexible. General state of hotel requires an upgrade

6/10

Pleasant

19 Sep 2016

Verified traveler

Newish hotel in picturesque setting

Nice hotel, clean but very limited options food wise, especially with the in room dining. The Thai restaurant does its best but it's banana coconut dessert is literally chopped bananas sitting in coconut milk. And watch out for the salt which is very liberally used here. The pool gets very busy by 9am with lots of guests reserving spots pre breakfast and what appears to be a healthy culture of tipping pool boys to maintain this. Guests will need to get there early but be prepared to deal with an irate pool staff who gets very cross when you try to get an unreserved spot he is holding for another guest!
Lots of great water activities, nice beach which is not very utilised by guests and overall, a pleasant short stay option.

4/10

Poor

16 Aug 2016

TomoRRM

Nice hotel with poorly trained staff

On arriving at the hotel we were given an exhausting sales pitch about upgrading our meal plan. When you have been travelling to your location this is the last thing you need or want. We went to the room and there was no extra bed for our daughter as arranged at the time of booking and when they brought the extra bed it was to large for the room and dirty, covered in dust and wall plaster. We told them to take it away and we requested a change of room to a twin bedded room. Which they did the following day. When we moved to the new room which was larger, the reception staff member informed us that these rooms are kept for the Germans as they prefer more space. We were some what surprised this comment. The hotel is general clean but the bathrooms in the room could but a whole lot cleaner particularly around the floor level of the shower screen and the tiles on all walls. There were some days when our room was not cleaned until between 3pm and 4pm, so every day we had to ask for our room to be made up at a specified time. The buffet breakfast was good, always fresh food and an okay selection. The evening buffet was okay but not always suitable to young people's needs and it was only by accident that we found out about there being a child,s menu available. Lots of people on all-inclusive making it very busy and rowdy. Alternative restaurants nice but menu very limited. The choice of appetisers was very poor and again no child's menu.

8/10

Excellent

08 May 2016

Verified traveler

Great hotel. Great location

Stayed May 2016. Weather was great, despite a forecast that it wouldn't. The hotel's proximity to the airport (1.5hr drive away) and on a next to secluded beach was amazing. the pool, restaurants and food were great, too. We stayed in a family room. It was 2 room and could be closed off if we wanted. 2 separate tvs, bunk beds and a patio that was open to the beach for perfect evenings. the bean bag chairs were a nice touch for the kids. Went out on a water safari. We went out for an hour with an amazing guide (from the hotel). We saw crocodiles, lizards, mongoose, etc. It was amazing.
We will definitely recommend.

8/10

Excellent

12 Apr 2016

JANE

Relaxing hotel

Friendly staff. Good food - absolutely fantastic breakfast buffet. Gorgeous sunsets. Large and comfortable rooms with decent sized balcony. Lovely restaurants and bar. Makes it special for the children taking a boat over to the hotel. Very relaxing. Allow 2.5 hours to airport during the day due to the traffic. Large pool - water testing not carried out sufficiently though. Decking around pools breaking in numerous places and a real trip hazard - yet hotel not yet 2yrs old - warn your youngsters.
If you have a driver for your trip around this wonderful island, please be aware that their accommodation here is below par at the moment, although they do hope to add some air-con or windows soon.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

07 Apr 2016

Marie

Such a dissapointement

Hotel very well located with a lot of potential... incerdible beach! but needs to be cleaned and properly managed! We had to change rooms because od very foul smell and dirt. Sheets had not been changed before us... restaurant service very bad... such a dissapointement to be in a beautiful location and be so poorly accomodated!
Spa was very good however.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2016

Sugumaran Raju

Beautiful hotel right on the beach

Great location with very helpful staff. The meals were wonderful and the service is very good.

8/10

Excellent

08 Mar 2016

margaret

Good overall-would stay again

Great location, good view, beach, river and pool. Excellent breakfasts.
Only issue the room wasn't ready on time and during the stay we had to call housekeeping to clean the room other wise they would not clean it also we where there 2 weeks and we had to ask the to change sheets as they didn't do that on their own either.
Most of the staff was very nice but a few people at the front desk were rude.

8/10

Excellent

19 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

Our winter hollyday

We were staying in this hotel for 4 nights.
I paid for 2 deluxe rooms with sea view, but I got a deluxe room with a view of garden and a superior family room with sea view.
The resort is quite OK, only breakfast is pretty shabby. I expected to have a greater variety of food.
For the last 3 nights we chose to buy HB so we have dinner included.
Dinner was more OK than breakfast, but serving drinks at meals was less than desirable. From order to bring drinks each time lasted more than 30 minutes.

8/10

Excellent

31 Jan 2016

Christian

Very nice but internet is not up to standard

Great overall experience and we extanded our stay. However, I would not recommend this hotel if they do not fix internet connection:
- in the room it is hardly working, slow and impossible to use for skype or facetime
- it is faster in Lobby area, but for making business work, it is not convenient
- internet is not available in restaurants or at bar
- you have to constantly log in again with code once you lost connection because you went out of room or out of lobby area.

Not everybody wants to stay online, but if you want, this hotel is not convenient.

People are very nice.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2016

nick

Fantastic hotel,

Great hotel, great staff, great location.
Difficult to fault - we had an amazing holiday and would recommend the hotel and location to everyone.
One thing - the pool bar meals were quite poor. Lots of items not available and the menu itself was uninspiring. The menu should perhaps be changed to bring it more in line with Sri Lanka and not European fast food outlets. Likewise breakfast - good selection but I could have been in Magaluf.
But the rest was just first class.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jan 2016

HEBAH

Relax and Enjoy the Beach Scene

The Hotel location and the atmosphere is amazing and so quite and relaxing, The Beach is clean and nice, the staff at the Hotel are so friendly and willing to help you in anything you require .. One of the Best Hotels I stayed in and will come back to it soon.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Dec 2015

ruani

Place to stay

Shame it was just one night...
Perfect place to stay relax and have a great holiday.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Dec 2015

Ali

a fantastic hotel with very helpful staff

There was almost nothing to complain about. Everything was near perfect. The hotel is an ideal place to stay at for relaxing.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Nov 2015

Matt

Quality hotel with an excellent spa and food range

A very good hotel, with great facilities and a varied and quality range of food and thoroughly recommend the 360 Seafood restaurant.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2015

Brent

We went here for 5 nights as part of our Honeymoon - the hotel and staff were terrific. Could not fault any of them. Dilshan at reception was fantastic as was the pool bar manager, Zohan. This was the most attentive and enjoyable hotel stay we've experienced. Highly recommend!!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Nov 2015

thomas

Amazing location

Lovely hotel right on the ocean. Reception staff could do better. Porters & restaurant staff where great. Breakfast was excellent. Spa & general facilities where excellent. For what we paid I expected a turndown service.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2015

ramyas

A place for tranquility

Chosen for relaxation after a hectic couple of days and that is what we experienced- relaxed. Fantastic , attentive staff. Peaceful surroundings. Looking forward to a longer stay!

8/10

Excellent

02 Oct 2015

Nisha

Great hotel, will be even better are renovations

The hotel was great - the staff were incredibly helpful, great onsite activities (daily morning yoga, good gym), beautiful pool, and friendly staff. My only criticism would be the construction noise. It would start around 9 am daily and would vibrate through the room for hours. Lucky for us we were early rises, but the noise does make it a little unpleasant to stay in the room during the day.

10/10

Exceptional

07 Sep 2015

Vasant

Bentota beach

Centara's Resort is very good and we had a nice stay

Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Aug 2015

um Shahir

Picturesque between river and ocean

The hotel is at an excellent location between a river on one side and the sea shore on the other, excellent boat service to from hotel. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained, excellent outdoor swimming pool. Staff very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately the rooms are not ocean view as per claims, the viwes of ocean obscured by palm trees and balconies are at an angle anyway so you can hardly see the see. The rooms and facilities in the room are good, but the first room we were given had a dank musty smell, we were moved the next day after complaining, The Bathrooms have wet room shower cubicles we found water doesn't drain quick, so water sips out and one need to keep an eye while showering. no bath. Cleanliness not very good. The mattress we found lumpy and not comfy, also sheets duets were not of good quality and crumpled.

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jul 2015

Cara

Great place to unwind

My partner and I came here for 3 nights after spending a but over a week in mount lavinia/Columbo. Was a great place to escape and relax for a few days before going home. The staff were fantastic, and did what they could to make our stay very comfortable. At first the room we were given had a faulty lock, but we were quickly changed to a similar room on another level. One note I will make is that they say the room was an \"ocean view\" but you got mostly trees, and you could only just see the ocean in the background, which was a little disappointing, but nonetheless, it didn't sour our stay too much. We just didn't spend any time on the balcony.

Overall the stay was great, the pool was fantastic and it was a great place to unwind. The highlight for me was the seafood restaurant and long walks down the very accessible beach at sunset!

Oh, and for anyone who isn't \"kid-friendly\" this place attracts a lot of families, which while is nice, it can be a little annoying for people who want a quiet, chilled day by the pool.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2015

Verified traveler

Great Staff!

One of the best hotel staff I have ever seen anywhere.

Family

8/10

Excellent

02 Jul 2015

Maya

Very comfortable hotel next to the beach.

Very comfortable rooms and beds. Great pool with lovely pool staff. Food was excellent. Grounds are maintained well. Beach is nice for walking... not swimming.

8/10

Excellent

22 Jun 2015

kiran

Great staff and a great place to chill out

It's a great hotel with minor teething problems. It has a wonderful set of employees who will go out of the way to make your stay comfortable. The food is awesome as well. Rooms are great, as long as it is not near the bar. We were given rooms next to the bar and the loud music that was blaring through midnight ruined our rest for one night. Drunk guests were loitering outside our door and with a young daughter with me, it was not a welcome sight. Mohan, one of their managers, was the most helpful and he had the volume reduced. We should have been checked in away from the bar location.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jun 2015

Verified traveler

Perfect stay

Excellent stay, will come back.

Family

8/10

Excellent

07 Jun 2015

marieke

Nice hotel on beach and river

The pool is amazing. Very big! Nice pool bar. You have to take a boat to get to the hotel which runs constantly. Room was very spacious. People are very friendly. Don't like the 25% surcharge on everything you order, but all in all great hotel.

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jun 2015

rahul

A superb holiday resort for family / couples.

Its a very nice resort, uniquely located between the beach & back-waters.
Only advise is to take little precaution while choosing a room, if you are looking for a sea view room.
The very first impression is great when you arrive on the land-side at the parking-gate and take a boat to reach the resort located across the watres.
It was a surprise for us and we just loved it.
The rooms & over-all resort facilities are very good. F&B is good.
They have a small section for kids play & games, which is very good when travelling with kids.
The pool is huge & with two separate pools for different aged children's, apart from the main pool. Very good water sports facilities.
Had good fun with family during the stay.
Rest all great.

Family

8/10

Excellent

05 May 2015

Verified traveler

IT manager is lazy git

The food staff, romm condition, and hotel location are excellent. THE ONE issue is no wifi in the rooms and when the IT manager was asked to fix it, the answer was he is on leave and we should restart our devices, which did not work. So we ended up having to use reception computers to do our online business.
The maintanance man also took forever to fix our leaking air conditioner, in fact he arrived a whole three hours later to fix our aircon leak.
Apart from those two issues our stay was fantastic.

8/10

Excellent

14 Apr 2015

Verified traveler

Good place and facilities but very expensive food and drinks

8/10

Excellent

09 Apr 2015

Greg

Dont trust the math!

Outstanding location,Great ammenities (Spa was wonderful) Restaurant/breakfast was great! Plenty to do in the area .
Only drawback is you cannot pay cash for anything (It all goes on your room tab and if you do not get a chance to review it until checkout. I had a dispute on a charge (Not all that significant but nonetheless an overcharge)and the process was gruelling, It took over 40 minutes and I had to explain my side to no less than 4 people and they kept getting higher and higher management to hear the dispute and eventually frustrate me to the point of leaving with the matter unresolved...Shame on them! I suggest you stay at the hotel but use the services ..ie Spa and restaurants in town The Beach was amazing!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 Mar 2015

ziad

vacation holidays

amazing location the hotel between the river and the ocean.
Kids where very happy, service is amazing.
I suggest some healthy menu options at the pool restaurants will help.

Family

8/10

Excellent

13 Mar 2015

Zouz

Nice hotel and nice staff

Overall we had a great time at the hotel and we loved it a lot. Hotel staff were very nice and friendly. The rooms are new as clean and have what you need. What I would love to see better is the food variety as it was very limited specially at the pool bar and restaurant. They changed the menu the second day we arrived and of course hiked the prices up a bit and made it really difficult to choose something to eat. They changed the type of burger but still served the old type despite the complete change in ingredinse, so little SOP in place is needed here. Afternoon high tea time was also annoying as it was only between 3 and 6 pm and times were not flexible. Sometimes we got really hungry at 1 or 2 and didn't want to have lunch but high tea could do the work and that was not possible.
However, lovely hotel and staff I would definitely recommend it but if you are young and looking to have a lot of fun and love parties then this is not the hotel for you as 90% of the guests in the hotel ate above 50 years.
Forgot something, adding some music to the pool would really make it a better experience for a lot of people.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2015

Marcelo

Excellent choice ! You will not regret it at all !

Amazing experience !
Super hotel with amazing service
Seafood restaurant well recommended

8/10

Excellent

07 Mar 2015

Warana

One of the best if not the best in Benthota

Hotel has a nice view and so many facilities that you can make use of. The check in and check out was quick and the hotel staff was very nice. The only thing that I have noticed that I didn't like was in the restaurant Cafe Bem. The staff was so busy during lunch and during dinner. I felt that we were not attended well. But it might have been just that staff during that rotation because during the breakfast they were very active and did a pretty good job. I would recommend this place highly I only intended to stay there one day but ended up staying 3 days.

8/10

Excellent

02 Mar 2015

Rick Hin Fai

Nice rest before hitting Colombo

The pool is a good size, and the beach is seconds away from the pool. Service by the pool is not up to the best resort tradition of Thailand though.

Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Mar 2015

Christine

Great New Hotel

Great new hotel in Centara, rooms are spacious and comfy. So close to the beach with a great pool area itself. Food at the hotel is a bit lacking, but a great stay overall. Staff is very friendly but can be seen to need a bit more training. You'll enjoy staying here while the hotel is still \"fresh\" and new.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2015

Verified traveler

perfect vacation spot

beautiful spot. didn't realize when booking that you actually reach the place by boat across the lagoon! very romantic. absolutely perfect beach. loved the pool bar too!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Feb 2015

Nivine

Fabulous. Highly recommended!

Staff are friendly, hotel is great.,
Designed for people to relax and have a good vacation.,

Family

8/10

Excellent

11 Feb 2015

Rob

Nice hotel, next to golden sandy each.

We stayed for 4 nights, very relaxing. Spent most time at pool with occasional water sports activities. On a half board basis, the food was good, particularly for dinner in the evening.

8/10

Excellent

03 Feb 2015

tarun

Hopefully helpful

The rooms could have been bigger.
There are no arrangements for beach chairs or towels or any shade on the beach, which is unusual for a resort of this stature.
Over priced rooms - please ensure you get a full pool/ocean view else no point at all.
Good but not great food.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jan 2015

John

Lovely new hotel on a sand island

A lovely new hotel in Bentota with the river on one side and the golden wide sandy beach on the other. The arrival by boat across the river is a wonderful touch. Rooms are very nicely appointed. Pool next to the beach is great, as is the buffet restaurant by the river for breakfast..The beach is excellent for swimming.

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2015

Verified traveler

Good choice for beach holiday stay

Nice hotel with all the amenities expected from a 4 star. Especially liked the room deco, pool and lounge. Impossible to regulate the air conditioning in the room so it was like sleeping in a fridge! Had to call maintenance 3 times before this was sorted out. Service was okay but not great and most staff were friendly. Overall it was a pleasant stay but the whole feel is somehow impersonal compared to other hotels we stayed in Sri Lanka

Family

6/10

Pleasant

30 Dec 2014

Mark

Nice hotel in need of improvement

The initial impression of the hotel was favourable as the welcome and check in was quick and friendly. This impression faded however as the week progressed. The room smelt of damp and drainage which appeared to come from the open drain in the bathroom, and this was there throughout our stay. We had daily power cuts and some people were without power for hours.
The food was of acceptable quality although the choice was a little restricted, and the table service for water and other drinks was erratic. We found that the male staff in this hotel were OK but the manner of many female staff was unacceptable. One example of this is when we left the breakfast and my wife was carrying a very small banana in her hand for our 8 year old. She was confronted by a female staff member who was quite rude and demanded that my wife return the banana, which my wife did. We were shocked by this effrontery which demonstrated the lack of respect this person had for my wife.
This episode was enough to spoil the last days of our holiday and we wouldn't return to this hotel.

10/10

Exceptional

06 Dec 2014

Neha

Great hotel and service

Great for families - they have a kids pool which was great. And the beach is right there so you can easily go back and forth. Hotel has the best beach - very clean, soft sand and superb water. Waves were just right. Definitely pay for half board as the dinner buffet is very good, though pricey if you pay for it separately. Only issue is the electricity kept going out because of thunderstorms and it wouldn't come back on until the fuse was manually flipped. Very frustrating when you can't use the bathroom because it's pitch black.

Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Nov 2014

KAYUR PATEL

Good but pricey

Pleasant and comfortable, building looks like it needs beautification. A bit too much concrete.

Partner