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Boulder Garden Hotel – reviews, photos

Sinharaja Rd | Koswatta, Kalawana, Sri Lanka
Hotel amenities
Boulder Garden Hotel
Ranked #1 of 1 hotels in Kalawana
3.0 of 5 stars 33 Reviews
28 January 2011 -
Oldfeller
21 January 2011 -
Hanuman-Haa
 
 
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33 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
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    10
    6
    7
    5
Date Rating
Lausanne
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Wierd but Wonderful”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 28 January 2011
1
person found this review helpful

Boulder Garden, as its name suggests is built into the rocks. There only a small number of rooms and they are all different. We had a suite which was very comfortable but make sure you close the shutters when tou leave the room or you might return to find a monkey or mongoose sitting on the bed. The service was charming and helpful.
The food was slightly tricky as there are no other restaurants for miles. You are offered a menu of western food, not our choice. There is an alc, again mainly of western food and the curry has to be ordered in advance. As we were there for two nights, we had one curry and one nasi goreng, both good. Breakfast on the terrace is great fun with an excellent tropical fruit plate.

  • Stayed January 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Bangkok
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
Reviews in 17 cities Reviews in 17 cities
35 helpful votes 35 helpful votes
“Absolute Disgrace”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 21 January 2011
1
person found this review helpful

For sure, this place has the potential to be wonderful! However, there is absolutely nothing, that I can in truth, recommend. Our room, which came in around $340 per night (inc. $63 deluxe supplement), was dirty and poorly appointed. The well vaunted jacuzzi was out of order and the toilet pan is in the combined bathroom come bedroom. The restaurant toilets were filthy. The food can only be described as "cheap supermarket chain" food. The evening menu boasted a seven course meal. That may be correct if you count the Coffee-1 course, Fruit juice- 2 courses, Cheese- 3 courses, Palate cleanser- 4 courses, and so on. The entrance road is so poor that our driver refused to bring his vehicle back for us and we had to take a tri-shaw to meet him! Finally, a boulder garden walk was recommended to us which we undertook. As interesting as this was, I can only warn people that this is NOT a garden walk! It is a hike through caves and up a wild mountainous area and for some may well be dangerous!

5 Star Prices for 1 Star Delivery

  • Stayed January 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Staffordshire
Senior Reviewer
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Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“First impression didn't last”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 1 January 2011

I agree with the other review. At first it seems amazing as the concept is good (the hotel is built around the landscape) but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The staff are very helpful but the dehumidifier didn't work and therefore everything is damp. You are in a tropical rainforest so you have to accept "visitors" but we arrived at night and it is very difficult to see where you are going as the hotel is not very well lit. Beware also that if you arrive at night the bats fly out over your head as you enter the hotel through a type of "cave". This is also not the place for children or adults that are not sure footed! It is different though and I can see that some people would love it. If you like everything immaculate though don't go!

  • Stayed December 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask ElCubo about Boulder Garden Hotel
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Milton Keynes
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Damp and gloomy”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 29 December 2010
1
person found this review helpful

Spent two nights here in December. Arrived and first impression was amazing, which lasted about 5 minutes. The room was damp which meant that the sheets , towels and everything else was also damp. We did not unpack once we noticed this but the few bits we did put in the wardrobe were damp and musty smelling after only one night . We could not wait to leave this place and move on to somewhere to dry out our clothes and sleep in sheets that did not have a health warning attached. The food was OK and the staff were lovely.

  • Stayed December 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Walker77 about Boulder Garden Hotel
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
London, United Kingdom
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“Good hotel in the jungle”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 1 November 2010

Stayed here in Feb for a couple of night in February. If you want a decent hotel in the middle of the jungle, this is the place. It was a bit expensive but guess the competition out there isn’t that great. The hotel had interesting architecture and me and my fiancé enjoyed dining under a large cliff with the background noise of whatever wild animals that was out there in the bushes. The arrangement with our Sinharaja rainforest trip didn’t run smoothly and we lost a bit of time due to this. I don’t remember who was to blame for this but communications with the park (and the road!) wasn’t great. The seven course dinner surprisingly good and staff was very friendly.
Overall, interesting and decent hotel in the middle of the rainforest but a bit expensive for what it is.

  • Stayed February 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Boulder Garden Hotel Also Known As

  • Boulder Garden Kalawana
Address: Sinharaja Rd | Koswatta, Kalawana, Sri Lanka

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