Our stay at Walatta House exceeded all our expectations. The house and pool were perfect for our family of six and would surely be perfect for other groups. We loved the house and felt that our trip to Sri Lanka was greatly enhanced by both the house's location and Madhura and his team's accommodating nature.
Madhura was an excellent chef and made us delicious meals of various curries and other local dishes, and was extremely efficient in the organisation of trips to temples, whale watching and to Uda Walawe national park. On the morning of our whale watching trip he even made us breakfast before we left at 5am, and he was more than happy to teach the whole family how to make some of our favourites of his dishes as well as to show us the local fruit, vegetable and fish markets.
Siranga and his team kept the house and pool in perfect condition (which isn't easy with four kids around!) and were always charming, kind and friendly to us. There were fresh flowers in the bedrooms which were kept tidy and clean, much like the rest of the house and garden.
We were doubtful, before we arrived, of whether we would be able to swim on the beach below the house, but the beach was safe and perfect on so may levels: it had a tyre swing, great snorkelling and hundreds of hermit crabs, as well the tracks of some extremely elusive turtles.
Wally the dog was also lovely and was always there to greet us when we got out of the van from a day trip or from tuk-tuks on visits to the closer landmarks and attractions near Walatta House. I would definitely recommend staying at Walatta House to anyone visiting Sri Lanka and would love to visit again in the future.
Everything about this place is perfect. The architectural design is breathtaking - blending seamlessly into the tropical landscape. The house (if that's what you can call it) is so comfortable - we loved lounging on next to the pool and on the day bed overlooking the ocean. The bedrooms and bathrooms were gorgeously appointed, spacious and comfortable.
As you can tell from all the previous reviews, the absolute highlight was the service we received from Madhura, Suranga and team. Attentive, kind, discrete, and the most delicious food ever, it was like dining in a michelin star restaurant every night! I am counting down the days until we can go back and visit again.
We stayed at the Walatta House with my three children for eight nights from the 26th December to the 4th January. We've been to Sri Lanka before so we were less interested in sightseeing and more in relaxing and enjoying the setting as well as the weather. Walatta did not disappoint. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel at home by Madura and his team who had made the most fantastic Sri Lankan curry for our arrival. The accommodation is just wonderful as is the setting. The morning bird song, with the sound of the sea in the background, was just so relaxing and exactly what we were looking for. Madura's cooking was something we looked forward to every evening and it was just lovely to relax after diner with the family together. I can't recommend it too highly. I'd also like to thank all the guys at Walatta for the fantastic new years eve celebration that they put on for us. It was great to have you there with us and we look forward to coming back one day.
We stayed at the Walatta House towards the end of our Sri Lankan trip.
The house exceeded our expectations - we loved the architecture. We were taken great care off by the team who organised the best Yoga, surfing and massages. But the real star was Madura, the chef and manager, by far the best food we’ve had on the trip. Be sure to ask for a cooking lesson!
Our family stayed for 5 nights and had a wonderfully relaxing time in this beautiful house. The architecture is amazing, the open plan living area is airy and spacious. The owner clearly had good attention to detail when they designed the building. The pool is great. Deep on one end and long enough for laps.
The beach nearby is accessible via a steep-ish roughly paved path. This was fine even for my (able bodied) grandparents who were both in their 80s, although we didn't let them attempt going down when the grass was wet with rain.
At low tide you can explore the rock pools and watch the sunset on the beach. There is a beach bar on the left side.
The house is securely guarded with a gate and a guard on duty so we felt safe.
The team are available to meet all your needs - madhura's cooking is spectacular and diverse, and you can tell everyone else felt the same way from the guest book. He is a highly trained chef who has worked in Dubai, maldives...Don't bother with eating out. Unfortunately we only discover on the last night that he is a trained sushi chef! Otherwise we would have requested sashimi. We went to the market with him to buy ingredients and had a cooking lesson on the last night.
The rest of the team are lovely and very professional and discreet, making sure you are comfortable and having fun. They will do your laundry and bring you snacks/drinks back from the supermarket if you ask.
Wally is the villa dog. She is very cuddly and will walk on the beach with you. We did meet a few other dogs on the beach - very friendly, but they tend to follow you back and refuse to leave. Not a problem for us as we love dogs, but might not be good to encourage this behaviour with the local dogs as other guests might not like it.
We wish we booked longer here and are already planning our next trip back. Thank you for a wonderful stay!!