Turtle Bay Boutique Hotel

It's the kind of place where you immediately feel at home, yet pampered. The hotel is set it a coconut grove just off the beach with the crashing waves providing the back drop. Early morning and evening you can stroll along the 7km beech, an exceptional experience to have such a beautiful place to yourself. Wonderful staff, great rooms and excellent food. In the evenings you could opt to dine in the garden by the pool, very romantic. An early morning boat trip around the Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary is a must.

Wow, wow, wow! We have just spent a week at this fantastic small hotel and, if I could give it more than five green dots, I would. Firstly the location is absolutely stunning. Every morning I had to pinch myself to check I wasn’t dreaming as the view was perfect, a palm fringed, empty beach, white topped waves and the sun shining in the blue sky. If you want quiet serenity, then this is the place for you. It is a place for rest and relaxation, reading, swimming and eating delicious food. If you want something to do, there is a little harbour to walk to, a beautiful lagoon which forms a bird sanctuary to visit as the sun comes up, miles of almost empty beach to walk along and, if you ask, the chef will organise a cookery demonstration. The hotel can arrange excursions further afield for you, but they do not push, rather they wait for you to ask. I’ve mentioned the food which was scrumptious. Fresh seafood and fish are bought from the harbour each day and there are Sri Lankan and some western meals on the menu too. Breakfast is a buffet and I recommend asking the young chef to make you a fresh hopper which you can fill from a selection of Sri Lankan dishes. Best of all were the staff. They looked after us so well and really went out of their way to make our stay perfect. They gave us little gifts, cleaned our room twice a day and replaced the drinking water faster than we could drink it! I hope you can tell just how special this hotel is.

We booked a single night in September as we travelled from Ella to Galle. It’s a little gem of a hotel. The whole place is a little dated but the room was big and a had balcony with an ocean view. The staff were amazing and quite funny, and it was great to speak with Fernando the chef. The food at dinner was excellent, especially the black pork curry, and it was exceptionally good value. I’d definitely consider staying longer next time we’re in Sri Lanka.