On the beach, beach towels, beach yoga
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Reviews of Talalla Retreat

3.5 out of 5
Talalla Retreat
Sampaya House, Talalla South, Gandara, Talalla

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 30 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 37 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 10 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 7 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 84 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

8.8/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Lauren

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I left my heart in Talalla Retreat. Incredible staff who were so welcoming and hard working, the Retreat itself is stunning. I had an upstairs bedroom so was able to fully enjoy the surroundings. The food was incredible. I felt super safe. I didn’t want to leave. A must visit - and please do as the Sri Lankan people need visitors right now.
Response from Janaka on 4 Nov 2022
Thanks Lauren and enjoy the rest of the days in Sri Lanka and look forward to welcome back you to Talalla next time.

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fabulous retreat! Will definitely return.
A beautiful retreat that really feels like a hidden oasis. Very friendly staff and the food was actually delicious. Wifi very patchy.
Stayed 14 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Nice property, simple rooms.
Overall a very nice property with a great location and a relaxed feel. Good and varied food. However, room standards even for the most expensive villas are extremely simple and has seen its best days regarding maintenance. In sum it seems a bit overpriced. The open air floors are very special and are not for every one's taste and comfort. Activities like surfing is extremely overpriced compared to what you pay elsewhere in the area. A specific negative to our stay: Just outside our bedroom window, for large portions of the day, the cleaners seem to locate their cleaning central for the sea view villas, "hanging out", storing cleaning appliances, gathering dirty towels and empty bottles and glasses etc on the ground. Visually not a nice sight and definitely compromising our privacy.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Thank you Talalla, we had a fantastic time. Also a big thank you to Wasantawe, our housekeeper, who always made sure our bed was lined with flowers, you made us feel very special.
Stayed 6 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Genevieve

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Peaceful and beautiful grounds
We loved the grounds of talalla retreat - absolutely beautiful and peaceful. The breakfast was fantastic and the spa facilities good, although a little on the pricey side. I was initially a little disappointed with the room itself as it was a little basic, but actually grew to like its simplistic style and open-air bathroom
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Jessica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely stay!
Beautiful property-great massages and service. Talalla is a nice lovely clean long beach to stroll down. Stayed in an oceanfront bungalow which was fabulous but the mosquitos are NO JOKE so make sure to tuck your net in tight use repellent and light the coil! My only complaint was my fan like barely worked so was super hot at night as the wind died down but asked the staff for an extra floor fan which they happily provided. Food and drinks were excellent as well. Would highly recommend!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Talalla Retreat
Beautiful, serene location to relax, swim and practice yoga in a secluded retreat environment. The buffet breakfast offers fresh fruits and Sri Lankan options. We did not eat any other meal in the restaurant as it was fairly Westernized, however if you need a change up from curries etc, I'm sure this food would be fantastic. Expect to pay about $10 for drinks and $5 for coffee. Overall, a comfortable stay with the beach right on the back doorstep.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

jinx

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Special place.
Wonderful relaxing beautiful retreat feeling. The grounds and pool are magnificent. Our room was up near the trees so no breeze and had to close shutters in case of monkeys...made for a very warm night. Also one of the shared bathrooms needed attention. Food and staff excellent. Beach is exquisite with local fishermen offering boat rides for $25 US....well worth. Would recommend but try for room near beach for breeze.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Phil on 7 Nov 2018
We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. Come again soon!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Shared bathroom with bungalows . Rooms better but mosi nets were essential . Great massage at the spa. Buffet not so good.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

Natasha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful setting and very relaxing. Bungalow rooms have a shared bathroom, which wasn't clear on the website. But overall lovely stay

4/10 Poor

josh, london, UK

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overpriced & extreamly pretentious
Relaxing atmosphere and the staff were excellent, as is standard for the whole of Sri Lanka. However the rooms are so open to the elements that we had multiple lizards crawling along the bed frame and woke up to people peering in at us from their balcony. Along with this the food and related activities are rediculously overpriced for what they are.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

Ramiz

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good food; great for singles, backpackers.
All in all good; mostly caters to singles or young couples; not many activities for children, understandable. Otherwise, rather quite place with good nature, clean, spacious. Good food! Rooms are very simple, no A/C, no TV, no WIFI.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Danielle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Chill for a couple of days here
Don't come here for a week - come here for a very chilled couple of days. This is a retreat so don't expect a luxury hotel - it's a bit of a hippy vibe and quite stripped back/basic in some ways. However we had an excellent time as it was just what we needed at the end of a busy holiday - backing onto a beautiful, very quiet beach and with a lovely pool. We took advantage of the surfing, yoga and massages and left feeling very zen!

10/10 Excellent

Maisie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect beach escape
Great stay in Talalla retreat, staff were very helpful and friendly.

8/10 Good

Sylvia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful setting, yet very premium pricing
The property is beautiful and we really enjoyed the yoga - however having travelled around a lot we were quite taken aback by the premium pricing on drinks for example (double everywhere else) .also Ayurveda massage was double the usual prices around albeit the facility was more upmarket. Surfboard rental was even 3 times more expensive than right on the actual surf spots. It partly seems to rip off people a bit who stay for a whole week only at talalla and don't actually compare. However that said the property is beautifully maintained and we had overall a great time!

4/10 Poor

older traveller, London

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Gorgeoud location
Close to beautiful beach over priced, chaotic but relaxing

10/10 Excellent

Gary, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Secluded bliss
Beautiful grounds with plenty of space to find your own solitude. Good pool and dining area with with great food. A range of room options for a variety of budgets. We had a downstairs room on the beach side which we really enjoyed.

4/10 Poor

Beatriz, California

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Worst room ever. Rude staff. Misleading informatio
I had booked a bungalow with a desk, safety box, sitting area, wifi and garden view. Instead, I'm assigned a windowless room, with walls that don't reach the ceiling, no desk, box, seating area, wifi, hardly any place to move around or place our luggage, nothing! What they called a "bungalow " was a house-like building with all these rooms around a sitting area and a bathroom outside, around the building. Wifi is only available in the dining area. When I spoke with the manager about the booking, they said that's what they meant as a bungalow and the information in Hotels.com was mistaken. If I had booked through their website we would've known what we were actually getting. I was offered a better room for an extra charge. They were incredibly rude. When I demanded a cancellation and a refund, I was told it had to be done through the site. They "kindly" offered another room at the far end of the property, in the service area, overlooking the sheets and towels drying on lines and all over the floor. Totally disappointed. The hotel is on the beach but there is nowhere to be as the waves go up to the property. You have to walk several hundred meters to find beach to sit down. There are several hotels and guest houses close by so we later moved to another one for half the price. This hotel is overpriced and the information providedis completely misleading. I would never go back.

4/10 Poor

Brian, St. Catharines

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible resort, but very good yoga.
My wife and I went to Talalla for rest and some yoga. The yoga was very good and professional. However, the resort was a disaster. We booked the sea view rooms, which are their best rooms. The outdoor bathroom is nice, but the rest of the room is 4 off white walls, one wooden chair and a bed. The double seat outside was occupied by beach dogs at night, so we chose not to sit in wet, dog smell cushions during the day. There are no beach chairs. The restaurant is expensive and the food was bland at best. Added to that, the dining area is swarmed with constant flies.

10/10 Excellent

Mr Wogglesworth, Brisbane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great chilled out retreat, incredible beach.
Loved our time here. We took the higher end room with air con closer to the beach. This meant we were away from the crowds by the pool (really not that crowded, could always find a couple of sun loungers and some shade) and had quick access to THE MOST AMAZING BEACH IN THE UNIVERSE. And I have travelled a lot and seen many beaches so this is a huge compliment. Unfortunately the yoga was possibly one of the worst classes I've ever been to and there was only one teacher on site at the time, and two independent yoga retreats staying at the resort as well. The classes are run two a day (7:30am and 4:30pm) and cost $15USD. Expensive for a 3rd world country and not a good quality teacher so was disappointed. But that's all part of it and I'm sure it was perfect for a different traveller to me. The restaurant only has buffet options really, and weren't cheap ($10USD for lunch, $15USD for dinner, all plus fees plus taxes or something) but were good quality. Mostly vegetarian with a couple of good proteins being grilled on the side (eg chicken and fish) but fantastic choice for the vegos for sure. Breakfast was included and delicious. Pool area was very nice and green. Wifi only in the restaurant/bar/pool area and very slow but free.

10/10 Excellent

Sara, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing relaxing stay at Talalla
My boyfriend and I stayed at Talalla for a week and had an amazing time. When we arrived, we had originally booked a room in the main house, however this was quite small so we enquired about changing to stay in one of the Deluxe Rooms. The staff were super helpful and even offered us a reduced rate to swap for a Deluxe Room, so we did this at an additional cost of $35 a night and it was definitely worth it! We stayed in one of the ground floor rooms which are great if you want a little more privacy as they have shutters, whereas they top floor rooms have bamboo blinds. The rooms are all very clean. The open air shower was amazing, however we did get a few frogs in the there in the evening/at night, but they weren't any trouble! The food was delicious and very reasonably priced for what you get considering it's a buffet. All the salad is washed in mineral water too, which is good to know if you're worried about picking up any bugs. The staff were always very helpful and lovely. We arrange lots of various excursions through them and had no trouble whatsoever. The onsite yoga is great too - there are two classes per day, one at 7.30am and another at 4.30pm - both are for 90 minutes at $15 per class. The pool was great - very clean and the perfect temperature! The beach was just a couple of minutes away too and it was so quiet it felt like a private beach! All in all we had a fantastic stay and were very sad to leave!

8/10 Good

Lisa, England

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice resort on Fabulous beach - grumpy staff
Wonderful Stay at Talalla beach which must be one of the most beautiful & peaceful beaches in Sri Lanka. Talalla retreat was clean & our seaview room was gorgeous. Sadly staff seemed very miserable which was a pity and the booked bamboo hut we'd booked ended up being a hut overlooking rubbish and up a steep hill beside a noisy laundry room and kitchen, it certainly wasn't what we'd seen in the photos & not the romantic birthday hut I'd hoped for. On advising this wasn't what we'd booked we were told the only option was a seaview room but we would have to pay more!!! Too tired to argue we looked at the room and agreed to pay more for it. Not a great start especially when I then saw all the other bamboo huts and were annoyed we'd been fobbed off with the other one. We did enjoy our 3 nights, the buffet provided was overpriced & the worst food we'd had during our 2 week stay, they also advertise everything is USD which is simply to hide the high prices. All odd when the final bill actually comes in rupees! We enjoyed our stay, the grounds, pool, delux seaview rooms are gorgeous and its a fab location. However 3 nights of the poor food would be enough and any longer and I think we would have found more faults for the prices being charged. On plus side I had the most amazing massage and the beach is to die for!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Nice enough resort, check out the independent restaurants/bars along nag the beach.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Expensive place to relax
We stayed 5 nights. I was shocked when they try to put us in a stuffy dark shared bathroom room which I did not book. After speaking to the manager 30 min later we were moved to the room that I reserved. Nice pool,beautiful gardens and clean beach. Yoga is very Expensive at$15 per class. Not really a yoga retreat. Dinner buffet was also expensive at $15. Great salad but no real entree variation. Hotel is far from other resteraunts so eating is limited. Beer us pricey at $4.50. Walk down the beach to your left and enjoy ocean front beer for $2.75. No wifi except for dining room.

6/10 Okay

keith, london

It does what it says
Not a bad place, sort of like an upmarket backpackers place. Thought I would hate the sleeping in an open sided room but it was ok - slept really well. This place is ok For a stop gap but not as your final destination.

10/10 Excellent

Simon, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A wonderful end to a fabulous trip
We arrived at Talalla Retreat for a bit of R&R after 10 days of travelling around the island. It fully delivered on its promise. We had a great three nights there, waking up to the sunset and the sound of the sea. The food was excellent (as were the local seafood restaurants) and the beach fantastic. Highly recommend.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Andre, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Come for the beach - stay for the food
This place is the perfect place to relax at the end of the trip through Sri Lanka. The grounds are beautifully kept and the beach is absolutely tranquil and beautiful. However what really stands out is the food. Having been slightly disappointed by the food in other places in Sri Lanka this place made up for it. Amazing fresh, local produce beautifully flavoured - really really good. The staff are all lovely and helpful. We stayed in the big house and initially were given a room looking out the back - with are rather drab view of the resort walls and clothes drying area. However upon asking we were able to move to a front facing (garden view) room that was much nicer. All rooms in the big house could do with a bit of and spruce-up but generally were quite nice (shower was hot with good pressure).

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A little slice of paradise
Very beautiful hotel grounds & lovely beach. It was a relaxing & friendly place to stay. Loved the yoga classes, pool, gardens & food. The budget accommodation (villa bungalows) feels expensive for what you get but the other options are lovely. Really enjoyed (& extended twice!) my stay.

10/10 Excellent

ali, CA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great!
Great beach, great yoga, great pool. Quiet and peaceful.

8/10 Good

Husain Ali Abdulla, Bahrain

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Enjoyable stay if you are prepared!
We stayed here for 4 nights and our stay was comfortable and enjoyable. The staff are excellent and check in was very easy with a very warm welcome. Here's some advice: You should expect to see lizards and bugs inside your villa. And don't forget to prepare your earmuffs to use during sleep. Had a nice time there!

10/10 Excellent

cindy, Halifax, NS, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful Staff, Spa, Surf, and Yoga!
The best part of my stay was the very kind and very skilled spa employee, named Dulanjana. I had a pedicure and several different types of massage treatments. He was able to identify the tight muscles and loosened them easily. At one point I asked if he had three hands! I tried surfing for the first time and the instructor was informative, patience, and friendly. The yoga was relaxing and challenging at the same time. The upstairs accommodations were open to the sights and sounds of the beautiful greenery, birds, and monkeys. I showered under the sun and stars. I left feeling completely happy and content :)

10/10 Excellent

Maksim, Brest, Belarus

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing getaway into nature and ocean
A wonderful hotel with all you need to unwind, enjoy the nature and spend time away from the busy world. The ocean access is very convenient, with the beach being just gorgeous. The beach is perfect for swimming, jogging and tanning. It's about 1km long, with a totall of less than 30 people. So you feel very exclusive and peaceful. Hotel rooms are nice, basic and clean. You sleep almost on the outside, surrounded by fresh air and bird sings. Surprisingly, you don't hear your neighbors. One of the best sleeps I've ever got. Food was ok. Not a lot of choice, but priced reasonably. You can get chicken and some veggies, and be full. I would highly recommend this place!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Aimee, San Francisco

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Time at Talalla
The resort and rooms are basic and clean. I enjoyed the outdoor shower and the open air room on the second floor. The ceiling fan and mosquito net are life savers. The towels, sheets and pillows were nice but the mattress on the bed was thin and so uncomfortable. I took the long cushion from the couch and layered than onto the bed for a comfortable night sleep. It was the only way really. The massage at the spa was good but the decor and service could be better even for this rustic retreat location. The buffet food and fresh BBQ fish and chicken every night were great. The service was not great and even though they allow drinks at the pool, no one ever comes to offer you one. Seems like a missed opportunity on their part. I arranged side trips and drivers and all went really smoothly. I would recommend the hotel to other travelers that are looking for a clean rustic retreat. The biggest downside is the local area. Not much around and the beach is very rough water. There was a local kid that drowned while I was staying there. One night there was chanting in a loud speaker from 5pm to 4am, so that was hard to sleep through. Another day there was a local wedding with blaring music from lunchtime through the night.

10/10 Excellent

Mark, West Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
Fantastic retreat, beautiful gardens, large swimming pool, rooms cleaned everyday and they even leave fresh flowers on your bed. Restaurant food was superb. Highly recommend staying here : )

8/10 Good

Amdo7, Dubai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful beach & great outdoor feel
Breakfast was ok (we had it included) and food overpriced, bit far from anything other than the beach and no air condition. We didnt didn't try the surfing but everyone around us seemed to be enjoying it, there were also yoga classes for a fee. Great place to chill out and beach is breathtaking, like a postcard!

8/10 Good

Lukas, Warsaw

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
really nice place, beautiful beach close to hotel
I enjoyed stay in Talalla Retreat. Rooms are very nice and clean, service was perfect. Very nice and clean swimming pool. Great area to have a rest. Beach is almost empty and very clean, The only one thing I didn't like was charging guest with three different taxes!! Never find this all over Sri Lanka. If you decide to go there you have to remember that to all prices you have to add + 25 % taxes!!

10/10 Excellent

Sarah, UAE

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Facilities: Distinctive; Value: Reasonable; Service: Good; Cleanliness: Spotless; At first seemed a bit like a holiday camp, but after an hour or so in our room open to the sounds of the sea and the trees we were sold. We'll be back

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Lovisa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

Øystein Holm

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

6/10 Okay

Thor-Martin

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Claus

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Claus

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 6 nights in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Steffen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sehr schöne Anlage aber zuviel Fokus aus Yoga
Das Retreat an sich ist super. Das Personal ist sehr freundlich und zuvorkommend. Die Bungalows sind schlicht eingericht. Hier fehlt etwas der Charme. Die offene Bauweise lädt besonders im Sanitärbereich Mücken ein. Was nervt waren drei teilweise große Surf und/ oder Yogareisegruppen. Teilweise gab es Streit zwischen den Yogaklassen wegen den Locations. Doppelt oder Falschbelegung. Weiterhin sind solche Gruppen meist eine geschlossene Einheit. Als Individualreisender kommt sich da mitunter verloren vor, weil man kaum Gelegenheit hat, andere Menschen kennenzulernen. Die Yogazeiten der Privatklassen sollten eingeschränkt werden. Man muss nicht unbedingt halb sechs mit Yoga starten und andere Gäste durch Weckerklingeln oder das Singen von Liedern mit aus dem Schlaf reißen.
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2018