Looking for a place to stay when you want to see wildlife in Sri Lanka? I have found a perfect place.

I stayed in a town called Tissamaharama in the South of Sri Lanka. We had hired a travel agency to book the trip for us for some wildlife experience.

We were going to see the famous National park called Yala and also the bird sanctuary called Bundala national park. The travel agency recommended Priyankara hotel. It is little expensive if you compare with small hotels in Sri Lanka but it is worth it. This is a popular hotel and there is a nice pool just right outside the hotel room. I didn’t swim in it but it would have been nice since it was really hot weather when I was there in May. This hotel is at number 1 on Tripadvisor over hotels in Tissamaharama. When I was there they were renovating the front desk area, so I think now they must have a nice entrance when the guests enter the hotel.

My travel plan

I took the Bundala bird sanctuary the afternoon that I arrived in Tissamaharama. The next day in the early morning I went to Yala national park. In the afternoon the same day I took a tour near the lakes to see more birds. The next day I returned to Colombo. That was how I spend 2 nights in Priyankara hotel and made the most of my time.

Just look at this place with pool and everything

When I arrived I was showed to my room and I walked out on the balcony and enjoyed the view of palm trees and the clear blue pool outside. It is very nice and green beyond the hotel area and you can see far away as the eye can see and still just see nice greenery. You can see the paddy fields on the picture below and get a idea on how nice it is here. In the lake that you see after the pool there will usually be ducks and geese swimming across there, they are really cute when they all come in a straight line after each other.

View from hotel room

I could also see the dining area from my room it is located on the ground floor. It is only young men working in the restaurant, actually in the whole hotel. The staff are very helpful.

Dining area

We had breakfast and dinner included in our hotel package. The dinner would contain a pre-course, main course and dessert. The only thing you pay for are the drinks. The breakfast is either American style or Sri lankan style. If you are in Sri lanka you have to try the Sri Lankan breakfast. It beats the American style any time and it is also a more healthy choice.

The restaurant

Here are some examples of the food I tried when it was dinner time.

Pre-course

Main course

Strawberry mousse as dessert

The hotel room is decorated nicely and there are lots of lights coming in from the big windows that leads to the balcony. There are AC in each hotel room and also a additional fan on the roof. There is a sofa, a desk, a flat screen TV and lots of closets to put your clothes and bags. There is also a safe in the closet. I have never needed to use those.

My hotel room

In the cupboards there are complementary water and you can also make your tea or coffee with the water boiler. There were also some snacks. You will also find a little fridge for more cold beverages.

Something that I always take extra notice to is the bathroom. It says a lot about the hotel. Priyankara hotel is going all out with a fancy bathroom. It looks very nice. I especially like the big shower head which is modern and it feels like you are standing in a waterfall when you use it. It is nice!

The bathroom is kind of small but has lots of functions. Unfortunately the toilet is cramped up in a corner and the glass from the shower makes it hard to sit on the toilet, you have to sit on the side. Not so good designed. You can see what I mean when you look at the picture below.

The bathroom

I also like to look at what you get extra when it comes to shampoo bottles and shower caps etc. In Priyankara hotel you get all of that! Plus points for that!

Below you can see the location of the hotel in south of Sri Lanka marked with a red dot. It is near both Yala and Bundala national park. It is a great place to stay over for 1-2 nights so that you can explore the whole area. We also took a a tour near the lakes to the left of the hotel seen on the map as well. There are lots of wild birds near the lakes.

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