Reviews of The Sanctuary
12th Mile Post, 61306 Vannativillu, Sri Lanka
Loading
Guests also reviewed these properties:
How guest reviews work
Each review score is between 1-10. To get the overall score that you see, we add up all the review scores we’ve received and divide that total by the number of review scores we’ve received. We use a weighted review system which means that the more recent the review, the bigger the impact on the total review score calculation. In addition, guests can give separate ‘subscores’ in crucial areas, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money and free Wi-Fi. Note that guests submit their subscores and their overall scores independently, so there’s no direct link between them.
You can review an Accommodation that you booked through our Platform if you stayed there or if you arrived at the property but didn’t actually stay there. To edit a review you’ve already submitted, please contact our Customer Service team.
We have people and automated systems that specialise in detecting fake reviews submitted to our Platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible.
Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate.
Ideally, we would publish every review we receive, whether positive or negative. However, we won’t display any review that includes or refers to (among other things):
- Politically sensitive comments
- Promotional content
- Illegal activities
- Personal or sensitive information (e.g. emails, phone numbers or credit card info)
- Swear words, sexual references, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, or references to violence
- Spam and fake content
- Animal cruelty
- Impersonation (e.g. if the writer is claiming to be someone else)
- Any violation of our review guidelines.
To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out, and we may stop showing reviews once they’re 36 months old – or if the Accommodation has a change of ownership.
An Accommodation may choose to reply to a review.
When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones will be at the top, subject to a few other factors (what language a review is in, whether it’s just a rating or contains comments as well, etc.). If you like, you can sort and/or filter them (by time of year, review score, etc.).
We sometimes show external review scores from other well-known travel websites. We make it clear when we’ve done this.
Guidelines and standards for Reviews
These guidelines and standards aim to keep the content on Booking.com relevant and family-friendly without limiting expression of strong opinions. They are also applicable regardless of the sentiment of the comment.
Contributions should be travel related. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning Booking.com’s services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.
Contributions should be appropriate for a global audience. Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Comments and media that include 'hate speech', discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, and the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted.
All content should be genuine and unique to the guest. Reviews are most valuable when they are original and unbiased. Your contribution should be yours. Booking.com property partners should not post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. Attempts to bring down the rating of a competitor by submitting a negative review will not be tolerated.
Respect the privacy of others. Booking.com will make an effort to obscure email addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details.
The opinions expressed in contributions are those of Booking.com customers and properties and not of Booking.com. Booking.com does not accept responsibility or liability for any reviews or responses. Booking.com is a distributor (without any obligation to verify) and not a publisher of these comments and responses.
By default, reviews are sorted based on the date of the review and on additional criteria to display the most relevant reviews, including but not limited to: your language, reviews with text, and non-anonymous reviews. Additional sorting options may be available (by type of traveller, by score, etc.).
Translations disclaimer
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
Loading...
Reviewed: 1 August 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewI am a return guest and on this brief visit I chose to take a bird watching excursion to Nelum Vila (a local water hole) with Appe Kale Adventures which is an arm of the Sanctuary. The excursion was led by Suraj who is a qualified wildlife expert and the bird sightings were amazing. Binoculars are provided and really enhance the bird watching experience. Suraj has a wealth of knowledge which he is very happy to share.
Thank you for your great review. We look forward to seeing you again and please recommend us to your friends and family. The Sanctuary team
Reviewed: 31 July 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewThis is the second time we have stayed at The Sanctuary. It is amazing how successful the re-wilding project at the property has come on in the last 10 months and the small animal sightings were amazing. On the complimentary night safari, we saw several rare Loris and otters, the mouse deer, porcupine, several owls and any small reptiles. The guides Achini and Dula are very good at spotting animals and were able to share lots of interesting facts about the animals we saw. The accommodation is very spacious and clean and the food prepared by Dinesha was excellent. Unfortunately, on this occasion our stay was a short one, but we will definitely return for a longer stay. We will promote The Sanctuary to our friends and family on our return to the UK.
Thank you for your great review and visiting us again. We look forward to seeing you again and please recommend us to your friends and family. The Sanctuary team
Reviewed: 4 March 2025 · Stayed in March 2025
Verified reviewSpacious, comfortable and stylish room. Lovely staff (Dinesha is a fabulous cook - our breakfast and dinner were both superb; Achini and Dula were knowledgeable and passionate about nature and we enjoyed our walking tours). It was a shame we couldn’t get to Wilpattu National Park due to flash floods making the road impassable
Felt it was overpriced compared to other places we’ve stayed. We were given welcome drinks (fresh juice) on arrival and surprised to find that we were charged 600 each for them! Also expected that the taxes/ charges would be obligatory payments but, when we queried the $18 payment on top of the $58.23 paid for the room, we were advised it included 10% service charge for the “hard work of the staff”!! Surely such a charge would normally be included in the room rate???
Dear Caroline. Thank you for your Review and feedback. I would like to clarify that the advertised room rate on Bookings.com clearly specifies the taxes and charges included in your booking. The service charge of 10% is considered acceptable in the hospitality industry, including in the UK. The welcome drinks you received (2 orange juices) were free but the 2 Avocado juices you ordered the next day at breakfast were charged as these were ordered from our menu. This was again explained to you when you queried the final bill at the hotel and you were happy with the explanation.
Dear Caroline. Thank you for your Review and feedback. I would like to clarify that the advertised room rate on Bookings.com clearly specifies the taxes and charges included in your booking. The service charge of 10% is considered acceptab… Show more
Reviewed: 26 February 2025 · Stayed in February 2025
Verified reviewThe family who run The Sanctuary are friendly and helpful and mum’s cooking is lovely. The grounds are well kept and attractive, although the pond was dry when we were there. The room was spacious and the bed comfortable. We used it as a base for the safari at Wilpattu, and booked our safari through The Sanctuary too, and for that it was good value. We had a wander around the village but there wasn’t much else to see. The safari was amazing but we found the full day to be too long and too tiring. The morning was perfect, many birds, deer, crocodiles, leopard and much more, but by midday it was very hot and had become much quieter. Our driver and guide finished at about 4 (we thought it went on until 6), so the elephants hadn’t yet come out for the cooler late afternoon, which was disappointing. Our advice would be to book a half day.
It was hot while we were there and we found it a struggle without air con (there is a fan). Earlier than stated finish to the safari, so missed the elephants.
Dear David. Thank you for your Review and feedback. But I would like to clarify that The Safari to the park was carried out by a third party jeep provider not by the hotel. Only the safari was guided by one of our trained staff on a complimentary basis. The guide and driver had asked you 2 times if you were sure to end the Safari early even though you will miss the Elephants that only come out out around 5pm and you were not going to get money refunded if you finish early. But you insisted on leaving at 4pm since your wife's back was hurting. On the matter of the room, you selected the non AC room, when Ac rooms were available on Booking.com but at a different price point. When you mentioned the room was hot our staff provided you with an extra fan free of charge.
Dear David. Thank you for your Review and feedback. But I would like to clarify that The Safari to the park was carried out by a third party jeep provider not by the hotel. Only the safari was guided by one of our trained staff on a complim… Show more
Reviewed: 13 February 2025 · Stayed in February 2025
Verified reviewThe Sanctuary is an outstanding place. The building itself it’s beautiful designed and decorated, fitting in well to the natural surroundings. The room and all the fittings feel high quality and a luxurious, a real treat when budget back packing. The nature that it is surrounded by is truly beautiful and peaceful. The perfect place to sit back and relax! What makes The Sanctuary so special is the staff. So welcoming, friendly and accommodating. Their knowledge of the animals and plants that you will see on walks around the premises is amazing, so well educated and genuine. The food cooked by mum is 10/10 and you will not leave hungry. They made our safari day so enjoyable and truly perfect!! I can not recommend this place enough, it’s a new venture for the team and they do it so well!! Thank you so much to everyone involved.
Thank you Fay for your great review, we really appreciate it. We are glad you enjoyed yourself and look forward to seeing you again. Please recommend us to your friends and family. The Sanctuary team
Reviewed: 13 January 2025 · Stayed in January 2025
Verified reviewAmazing hospitality, attentive staff, very comfortable rooms and the food was lovely too!We saw some amazing animals on the property on our guided walks, and the guide was very knowledgeable. Strongly reccommended
1 night was not enough!
Thank you for your great review. We look forward to seeing you again and please recommend us to your friends and family. The Sanctuary team