Hotel Elephant Park - New Deal! Half Off Airport Pickups Available

Lets face it we only stay here for the elephants but Sadly just a money making venture. Nothing genuine about this place. Totally misleading description and I had no idea that I’d just paid to contribute towards mis treated elephants. Having come from Udawalawe the difference is insane. We stayed here to see elephants bathing naturally but they’re actually part of some god awful zoo up the road. I thought this would be wholesome but they’re followed with spikey sticks, hit and shouted at. There were elephants chained in the river and forced to lay down whilst eager tourists climbed all over them. Can’t leave the hotel as you get challenged every 2 minutes about having a ticket to the elephant “orphanage”. Which is a joke in itself. All they want to do is take your money. Foods ok but you’re ripped off for where you are. Had to pay $21 to check in 15 minutes early because my son was ill. This included paying for our driver who was dropping us of. When we spoke to the staff about our experience they weren’t interested then the lady behind the desk blanked us for the rest of our stay. Room was ok - no safe for our valuables, only one coffee cup for a family Of 3 and I called to ask for a pillow 3 times and it still never showed up. Room wasn’t cleaned either. Blaring and thudding music from the restaurant from 6am. Sadly I’d avoid at all costs. Only good thing was the lads in the restaurant, the view of the river and the Sri Lankan breakfast was tasty.

As an experience I’d highly recommend however the hotel itself had a few let downs. We only stayed here due to the location being on the elephant river, wanting to see the elephants in their natural environment was top on our list. I did a lot of research prior to booking also the orphanage where the elephants come from they are not completely WILD. The room was as described, I cannot complain. The view was unbelievable, the room itself was as comfortable, clean and as described as well as the bathroom. We had breakfast included, which was buffet style. They had a verity of food, from westerns to local which was nice. No complaints there. The restaurant at night, was nice, I personally didn’t like the food and didn’t eat it very spicy which was too much for me. They do offer western food however we were recommended but the waiter to try local. It was more expensive then we’d have thought, but thinking about it you’re in the hotel for the location it’s normal for them to have higher prices as you’re forced to pay it. The dinner wasn’t worth the money but it is what it is. I’d recommend the hotel alone for the experience just prepare yourself for the higher prices. The elephants come down to the river twice sometimes three times per day, they are brought down in groups of males then the rest of the herd, including mums and their babies. They start to come from around 9/10 stay for an hour or so then they are lead back and again at 2pm. It’s well worth staying in the hotel to experience. They aren’t WILD elephants they are semi wild as they have been rescued they don’t have much human interaction other than the handlers. It’s lovely to see them in their natural environment roaming as they like. Watching them play in the water was something I will never forget.

Why is this just 4 stars? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to stay in a beautiful hotel on the river's edge, with an entire majestic herd of magnificent elephants strolling past twice a day to bathe and enjoy themselves in as natural an environment as you could hope to see. I felt privileged to be able to watch these creatures and slightly troubled that these great beasts have been so close to extinction. We were lucky enough to have a table in the first floor restaurant right on the edge of the hotel, so we could watch the elephants, as well as heron, other river birds, and my wife saw what she took to be fruit bats in the evening (while I did not). The food was fantastic -if you do visit, you must have their hot cashew nuts appetiser - fabulous! The hotel seems to have regular live music which was local and/or funky and better than we have experienced in other places. Our room was good. Staff very friendly, attentive - excellent.

The view from the room is beautiful, the room though needs to be cleaner , the Washroom also need a revamping They don’t bother to give you a WiFi password and when they do it doesn’t work , Very Poor guest relations management The high point watching the Elephants bathe This Hotel is under renovation so check with the Hotel before making a booking

For locality this hotel is fab ..its right over the river ...however....it needs a revamp ..on arrival we found out tgat the road is blocked from 8.30am till 4pm ...for us to get to the hotel we were exoected to buy tickets for the elephant orphanage at 15 dollars each + ...we were not intending to vusit the orphanage during our stay just to watch them bathing in the river ...we had to waste a day because we did not think it fare to charge us when we were booked into the hotel ...if you have mobility probs this hotel is all stairs ...the rooms are dated and we had a broken balcony doir which was not fixed before we left ...food was ok we were half board but for veggies there is only 2 items on the menu ...it takes a long time to get food and drink the staff are lovely but not very organised the do not tend to you immediately somebody was cleaning ouside our room at 6.45am ..mozzies are rife here by the river

Excellent place to view the elephants. Rooms basic.staff very friendly and helpful especially Andrew, the transport manager who went above and beyond to ensure we had a great stay.. I would have liked the menu to have been more varied. We stayed for 5 nights and only ate dinner on 2 of them. Entertainment in the evening was terrible. Otherwise a great choice for seeing the elephants. We would of stayed just one night