The Rainforest Ecolodge - Sinharaja

This place took us by surprise - we knew we were staying in the rainforest but didnt realise we would have to leave our normal car transport in a car park and then travel for 45 minutes up the mountain to where we were staying. it was well worth it though with excellent views and great treks through the forest spotting birds and other wildlife. The fist pedicure was an added bonus. The only moan is that we were asked to book breakfast and then they run out of what we had ordered. other than that fantastic stay in a beautiful location.

We arrived as a tour group of 10 with mercury holidays. We stayed two nights. This place is fantastic! It totally took out breath away how they built this place up here, with all modern cons! Yes the “containers” are a little rustic on the exterior, in my opinion added to their charm. We had a lovely private decking area where we could hear the monkeys playing in the trees. The bed is comfortable, showers fantastic, spacious bathroom. The staff are friendly and the guided tours full of information and we certainly wouldn’t have found anything without them! It’s was a really fantastic experience. It is a shame about the alcohol licence ( we were advised in advance , so bought some with us) . The food was all good and afternoon tea served was nice.

Enjoyed the journey in the safari jeep up the track/road to access the property. You need to be able to negotiate steps and rocky paths to get to your chalet. We loved the guided nature walk through uneven and sometimed steep paths to the waterfalls.. they provide walking poles which were a great help. The only think that was disconcerting was the saloon style bathroom doors which gave no privacy ... might be an issue! Also the lovely large bed set up as a double only gave access on one side (the other adjacent to the wall) if you want easy access you could ask for twin so easy access between each bed!

I had the pleasure of chauffeuring another lovely couple from the UK, and one of their destinations was the Ecolodge nestled in Sri Lanka's lush rainforest bordering Deniyaya. Situated amidst the breathtaking beauty of the rainforest, this eco-friendly hotel offers unparalleled views of the verdant surroundings.

Frankly, this place disappointed us. Firstly it is in a lovely location and the guided walks were very good. Our guide had terrific knowledge and took all our best pictures for us! The early morning forest walk to see the birds and the waterfall trek were both enjoyable. One was included with our package the other costing USD 40 for the two of us. The concept of an Eco Lodge is fantastic. The “lodges” are all converted out of containers and must have looked fabulous at some early stage. Sadly they are now very badly weathered, tatty and lacking any sort of kerb appeal – they look like what they are; rusting, paint peeling old container boxes. The place needs some maintenance both inside the lodges and also the main building where some of the timber decking is lifting. There is currently no alcohol licence so the advertised bar does not exist and we were not advised until arrival. It is an 8km (40 minute) drive each way in a land rover (cars cannot access the Eco Lodge because of the roads and steep ascent) to get into town so that is not practical. The onsite café advertised also doesn’t seem to exist and neither does the games room (door is so badly warped it won’t open although there is only a chess board inside apparently). Due to the climate, being in a rainforest, it rains heavily, sometimes for several hours. There is no viable entertainment other than staying in your lodge reading. A bar, café or games room would help this. The food (we were on half board) was distinctly average. My wife’s first dinner being pork with noodles was actually more like pork fat and gristle and she could only eat a very small amount. Nobody queried if there was an issue or offered anything in substitution. I’m very sorry, but this is not somewhere I could recommend until things change quite radically to improve the customer experience. It’s a shame, the staff all seem nice but the accommodation product is poor.

We only stayed here for one night but if you get a chance I would recommend staying for at least a couple of nights. The journey to the lodge is interesting and largely off-road tracks with the final 6km from their car park for road cars (where you transfer into an off-road jeep) taking an hour. The welcome at the lodge is super-friendly and all staff are like this throughout the stay. The food is very good with an option of local or more traditional western cuisine. There is no alcohol on offer so bring your own if you require any. The lodges are a very interesting concept. You’ll need good grip on your shoes getting access to and from but once in they are of a good size and have more amenities than you may expect. There is a good bathroom with a decent shower, plenty of lighting and good Wi-Fi. However, you are in the rainforest so ensure you bring your insect repellent and don’t be surprised to see some guests during your stay, we had a frog in our bathroom!! We did a bird spotting walk, taking 2.5hrs and covering 4km, seeing plenty of different birds (many only seen in Sri Lanka) and monkeys with our excellent guide. In total there are about 5 or 6 different walks on offer and more than enough to keep you busy for a couple of days. Whilst here you really have escaped the rat-race and have come into an area of amazing beauty so make the most of it and take it all in.

To keep it short: Good: fantastic location near the rainforest, great for walks and seeing birds and other animals and plants. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Medium: they offer three ‘standard’ walks: nature, birds and waterfall - they could have a little more inspiration and offer more variety, one get’s a bit the feeling this is ‘of the shelf…’ The accommodation is ok but you can tell the place has seen better days ! The container bungalows are rusting, the windows don’t close, and they can leak. Management should consider some renovations and upgrading. English language skills of staff is rather mixed. And they assume too much (e.g. when you order ‘water’ they bring a plastic bottle which is not ok at an eco-lodge - but when you ask they bring a jug ! Not good: of course it rains in a ‘rain’forest - and then what do you do? They are no activities for that occasion, no books, no games, a ‘cafe’ with no coffee / snacks, anything! Walking to the containers is on slippery rocks - which can be tricky. Also: there is next to no vegetarian food. The chef is a nice guy but he needs to be more creative with veggie options Final remark: there should be more attention to make guests ‘comfortable’, there are almost no comfy chairs, nobody comes to offer you something when you just sit on the lobby… Overall, there are things that need fixing hut can be fixed easily. The location is worth a visit but when you travel that far - they should try a bit harder to make you feel welcome and looked after

We had a great experience at Rainforest Eco Lodge. It is surrounded by nature and if you’re a nature lover, this is one if the best places to be. Rooms are clean and the Vibe it gives is amazing. There are many nature activities to do while you stay too. Cons - - They definitely need a renovation. - They charge 750/- LKR for every time they bring food to the room, which is totally unacceptable and disappointing (added couple of 750s to our bill) - When we ask for shot glasses, they said they don’t have ‘em , But when we went all the way to the restaurant they gave couple of glasses (they should’ve give them n the first place) - Food was tasty, but need more varieties (especially for breakfast)

Very nice location, very good staff. Very difficult road to navigate from Deniyaya so need to arrange pick up from Deniyaya. There’s secure parking at Deniyaya and hotel will arrange. Best is two nights minimum. Need to do the tracking to the stream and get a pedicure by the stream fish who cleans you dead cells. Not a place for children but otherwise it’s a once a lifetime experience