Amanwella

How lovely and special to “return home”. This is the overwhelming feeling that we get when coming back to the Amanwella in beautiful Sri Lanka. Hospitality goes hand in hand with the wonderful people in this country but at the Aman it goes beyond ……., Met at the front gate by Prem the Manager - who “welcomed us home” was the beginning of another wonderful 7 days and nights (although the last of our 3weeks) that never disappoint. We have travelled fairly widely in Sri Lanka and this is always the place that we choose to take the final week. It’s just like taking a huge exhale. You know you are in good hands and you can just totally relax. We were so happily taken back to the room that we had had on a previous visit and it was like time dissolved. Cool gorgeous interior that you always associate with the Aman chain, the most comfortable huge bed with fabulous linen and pillows - we always sleep so well here. Breakfast is abundant and delicious and a perfect way to start your day overlooking the most fabulous pool - which is where we ended our days - onto the ocean, beach and beyond 🏖️ Days spent on the beach on comfortable loungers with our lovely main guy “Ranga” - such a special person with a shy humble laugh and smile looking after us. We absolutely adore him. He treated us like family and was always just there with the iced water, some ice-cream, to take the sand off the bed or to move me into the sun or shade as required. He really made going down to the beach even more special 🏖️ But equally important to also mention lovely young Janaka and Mahesh - the other 2 guys on the beach that also remembered us from last time and were really attentive and wonderful. A couple of other outstanding people who always just appeared as and when needed and really looked after us ……… “Prem” - the Manager - who throughout our stay could not do enough for us and was always available Lovely “Thilina” - the continuously smiling and wonderful young man who looked after us at meal times - remembered us from last time and always remembering what we wanted for breakfast and anticipating our every need 🙏🏼 “Viraj” the loveliest guy whose smile lights up the room - always with the biggest welcome – also remembered us from last time. The best and most calm and restful place to be for delicious afternoon tea - out of the sun drinking lovely refreshing tea and eating delicious small bites of scones with freshly home made jam ☀️ Rooms boys Nimesh and sasika always discreet and doing the best job keeping our suite absolutely perfect. Also surprising us every night with either a gift or some gorgeous artwork on our bed 😊 And finally Ushan - the best masseur in the world !!! Most days I had an Abhyanga massage - in my room - which was sensational. I have massages wherever I go in the world and without a doubt Ushans is outstanding, memorable and just bloody fantastic - the best ! Also a nod and a big thank you to all those that I haven’t mentioned- all those that we haven’t seen - and yet they are the backbone of this and any hotel - so thank you to them too 🙏🏼 So overall another wonderful, memorable, relaxing visit and we are already planning our next Thank you for having us and looking after us …….. until next time ……..

We have just completed the Fort and Beach journey, spending 3 nights in the Premium Ocean Pool Suite. While we appreciated the lovely ocean view, the villa’s design felt dated and the room shows signs of age. We arrived on Chinese New Year’s Eve and we enjoyed very much the special dinner, complete with a cultural show and fireworks. Aside from the Tuk Tuk tour, which we felt was a waste of time, we found the elephant safari at the Udawalawe National Park, the Mulgirigala Rock Temple tour, and the Lagoon Floating Lounge to be quite interesting. Our cooking class with the delightful lady chef was so much fun, as we learned a great deal about Sri Lankan curries. Although there is no dedicated spa, treatments are offered in a converted villa room. While we were not fond of this arrangement, the massage was expertly done. However, more training is definitely required for some staff members. Our butler did not meet our expectations, prompting us to request a replacement. He forgot to provide our room key at check in, which was a poor start. During our excursion, he fell asleep soon after we began our journey. The driver attempted to wake him, but he continued to doze off. While we appreciated the driver pointing out sights along the way, we felt he should have kept his focus on the road. When we arrived at our destination, it was raining. The local guides were waiting for us, and we were asked to leave our car and join the guides to start the safari. We asked for an umbrella and were surprised to find out our butler did not bring one. We could not believe he is a butler of Aman. We also encountered issues at the front office. With our flight departing after midnight, we paid for an additional half day to keep our room until the evening. Since our butler did not confirm any details of our stay, we checked in with the front desk. They informed us our checkout time was noon, which is their regular checkout time, and no one seemed to aware of our prior arrangements. Thankfully, the GM stepped in to resolve the situation, which we appreciated, but it left us with a negative impression of the resort already. Additionally there were mistakes on our bill, which is unacceptable for any reputable hotel, especially an Aman, where guests are not required to sign for anything. Overall, Amanwella fell short of the Aman standard, resulting in an underwhelming experience.

It was our second stay at AMANWELLA for nine nights. The Ocean Hill Pool Suites are equipped beautifully. The GM Carl Palmlund and Tharuka (Front Office Manager) take care of the facility with love and passion. Everything is of the highest level. It feels like coming home! We were overwhelmed that the Amansantis still knew all our special preferences. After 2 years!! We were particularly impressed by the great people who spoiled us every day. Lahiru (our butler), our one and only amazing Dilip, the fantastic Housekeeping-Team (Gahesh and Sameera) with all the creative decoration ideas keeps us speechless, smiling Chamil + Damith - the best Tuk-Tuk-Service, Ranga + Mahesh (Beach ) were magical – first-class service at its best. Every day starts with a Yoga Class. Amal is the best Yoga instructor you can have. And we love the wise thoughts about life from Hascha in "Team Blue". We will always remember the Streetfood Festival, Seafood Night at the beach, New Year Event with the great shows. Special thanks to Chef Anoj – the Cusine are so tasteful and loving. I will never forget my first spontaneous Dancing Class with the lovely Dancing Queen Piyumi!! We needed lots of tissues after the overwhelming farewell. If you seek serenity and the perfect place to unwind in the most beautiful scenery, this is most definitely the place for you. We will be back! Thank you for this warm hospitality. AMAZING!!

My husband and I took my parents to Amanwella and Amangalla for Thanksgiving. Both were amazing, offering a nice contrast in experiences. Amanwella is a stunning property, with beautiful architecture, an impressive pool, and spacious rooms. Our second-level room overlooked the water, with a private plunge pool in a front courtyard. We shared a patio with my parents' room, offering both connection and privacy. What sets Aman apart is its exceptional service, and Amanwella was no exception. We loved our butler, Rujitha, driver, Chamly, and the entire team, including Omila, Niroshan, Dinusha, and Piyumi. We practiced yoga each morning with Amal, who was great, and my mom and I enjoyed a private cooking class with Executive Sous Chef Priyantha. Munga gave an amazing massage, though the spa operates out of two hotel rooms, lacking facilities like a sauna or cold plunge (a minor detail, really). We also did a safari at Yala, where we spotted a leopard and several elephant families. Chamly and our safari guide were fantastic at finding the animals. Thanks to the wonderful staff at Amanwella for making this such a memorable holiday. We’ll definitely return! xx

After staying at Amangalla, which was absolutely fantastic, we came to Amanwella. We were a little apprehensive after having had such a great time at the first hotel. But Amanwella was great, too! The architecture by famous Australian, Kerry Hill, is stunning and smack dab in the middle of a dreamy tropical beach! The infinity pool cantilevers over the serene and gorgeous view, with beautiful sunsets a-plenty. We enjoyed spending time in the attractive library, read and saw books on local history, to Nixon. The whole place was immaculate. We really enjoyed our safari to Yala National Park. Rujitha and an our driver Chummly accompanied us and they were awesome! Thank you guys! We had a blast! We saw monkeys, elephants and even a leopard! We got very lucky. We enjoyed the food and the people who served us in the two restaurants and the people at the front desk and even the tuk tuk drivers. We happily did yoga everyday! We also went up to the rock temple. Definitely got our steps in for the month, but it was worth it. Our room was large, comfortable, and beautiful with a great view of the ocean. We can’t say enough about the place. It’s relaxing and beautiful and the people who work there are both well trained but also kind. If you go, don’t forget to eat the ice cream! Honestly the best we’ve ever had. We also took a great cooking class with the Executive Sous Chef, who was patient, friendly and knowledgeable. So fun and interesting. We enjoyed the musicians, too! We had fun meeting a few of the other guests, and ended up having very interesting conversations with people from the other side of the world. But it’s also a place you could go and if you wanted to , you could just spend time quietly by yourself. Highly recommend Amanwella. We will treasure our memories forever.