Hilton Yala Resort Review -Sri Lanka-

I went to Yala National Park, famous for jeep safaris in Sri Lanka, and stayed at the brand-new Hilton Yala Resort, which just opened in 2023. Let me share my experience with you! 🐘😊

About Hilton Yala Resort

Located just 30 minutes by car from the entrance of Yala National Park in the southeastern part of Sri Lanka, Hilton Yala Resort blends seamlessly with the surrounding rich nature. Having opened in 2023, and being a Hilton flagship brand hotel, it offers exceptional luxury and cleanliness, ensuring a comfortable stay even amidst the great outdoors.

Review of Hilton Yala Resort

Access

This time, we arranged a taxi from Colombo. Since the journey was 5 hours long and we were concerned about our two kids possibly getting car sick, we booked a taxi the size of a Hi-ace van. It worked out well as both the adults and kids had plenty of space to sit, and the kids were able to sleep on our laps for about half of the journey, which was a relief.

The one-way cost was about Rs. 60,000 (using Kangaroo Cab).

Most of the drive to Yala was on the highway. We gave the kids motion sickness medicine just in case, but thankfully, they didn’t get carsick and we arrived comfortably.

Lobby / Check-in

The path leading to the lobby. From the entrance gate, you can already feel the resort vibe.

The sofa area with an amazing view. During the day, the sunlight is so strong that the temperature feels like around 38°C 😇

We arrived at the beautiful lobby area. This hotel has a central building with the lobby, restaurant, and bar, as well as separate buildings for the gym and guest rooms. Since it was Pink Ribbon Month, the welcome drink was a pink-colored juice.

In Sri Lanka, the professionalism of hotel staff can vary, but at this Hilton, everyone was extremely well-trained, and the service was excellent 🥹.

The view outside is absolutely stunning ✨. Although the hotel is located in the midst of a vast natural forest, the sea is just nearby. I was told that if we wanted to take a walk in the morning, a staff member would accompany us, so we could feel free to go whenever we liked.

After checking in, we took a cart to our room. The kids absolutely loved the cart ride as it zoomed through the hotel grounds ☺️. On the way, we passed a pond where crocodiles live, and the driver kindly stopped to let us see if we could spot any crocodiles.

Room

The room we were guided to was a Premium Suite. It is located on the ground floor of a villa-type building, with the Deluxe Rooms on the second floor.

The room has large windows on two sides, giving it a spacious and open feel✨ (The curtains open and close with a button!). The walls are made of stylish brick in the same color as the exterior walls, which is lovely. The floor is tiled and impeccably clean, so I felt comfortable with the children walking around barefoot. ⭕️

Since I booked for one child over elementary school age, they provided an extra bed. There’s also a mini bar space. The liquors and wine bottles available are priced around Rs.15,000-17,000 each, which is quite expensive 💡. However, Nespresso coffee, delicious Sri Lankan tea, and milk in a carton were complimentary ☺️. There’s also a refrigerator.

The bathroom was very clean✨

The shower room, bathtub, toilet, and sink are all separate, providing great convenience.

The shower room is quite spacious, with enough room to sit comfortably. The bathtub is large, and the water flow is great🙆‍♀️. The toilet is a TOTO washlet model💡 The sink is a double sink type, and behind the sinks, there is a lovely dressing table🥹 which my eldest daughter was thrilled about☺️. Behind the sink area, there’s a large closet where all four of our clothes fit comfortably with plenty of room to spare.

And then, there’s the wide terrace.

The terrace comes with a sofa, dining table, sunbeds, and an exclusive pool for guests. Occasionally, monkeys would come to drink from the pool, which made me a little hesitant to swim in it…☺️

By the way, if you stay in the Deluxe Room on the second floor, there’s a Jacuzzi on the balcony.

This is also really nice🥹

Amenity

As expected from a five-star hotel, all the essential amenities were provided. There were shampoo, conditioner, and body soap in the shower room. In addition, there were herbal soaps, bath salts, body cream, and eco-friendly items like a comb, toothbrush, and cotton pads☺️

There were also slippers and bathrobes for adults✨ (since many hotels don’t provide slippers).

They also provided a plug-in mosquito repellent🙆‍♀️.

Pool

Many hotels in Sri Lanka have pools, but the one at this hotel, in particular, became a favorite for the whole family.

Let me first share a picture of the hotel to give you an overall view of the pool.

The pool, which is over 50 meters long, is simply fun to wander around in! 😊 The cabana (or gazebo?) with its fluffy bed is also amazing! ✨

There was a jacuzzi, and there was also a shallow jacuzzi, possibly for children. The staff were always around, making sure everything was okay, and the pool was kept clean with leaves and debris regularly removed. The water temperature was quite warm, almost like heated water, even at 5 PM, likely due to the strong sunlight. Could it be that the new pool has a heating function?

Important points about the hotel considering the natural surroundings

There were some important guidelines that reflect the hotel’s design blending with nature:

• No food service outside of the restaurant: Due to ecological conservation, room service and similar services are not available. However, guests are free to enjoy snacks and drinks in their rooms.

• Close glass doors when stepping onto the balcony/terrace: This is to prevent monkeys, insects, and frogs from entering the room.

• Feeding wild animals is prohibited.

• After 6 PM, use carts to move around the property: This is to avoid potential encounters with elephants, water buffaloes, and other wildlife.

Although the hotel is set in nature, it is not completely closed off from animals, and elephants and buffaloes sometimes wander into the forested areas of the property. Monkeys have also been seen drinking from water sources nearby. It is okay to walk around during the day, but the carts are available for easy use. The resort does not offer food or drinks outside the restaurant areas, so there are no pool bars or similar facilities.

Dining (All-Inclusive Plan)

The hotel has two restaurants: “Sandali” for grill and seafood, and “Dhira” for Asian cuisine. However, currently, only the “Dhira” space is operational, and it offers both menus.

The hotel offers Half Board (breakfast + dinner) or All-Inclusive (breakfast, lunch, and dinner with free-flow drinks during meals). Since my husband and I enjoy drinks, we opted for the All-Inclusive plan. Both lunch and dinner consist of three courses: appetizer, main course, and dessert.

Lunch (Arrival Day and Day 2)

We were able to start our meals with lunch on the day we arrived. After a long morning of travel, it was a relief to have a meal ready and waiting.

I was so happy to see that there was a great variety of kids’ menu options! My eldest daughter ordered a set of nuggets and fries, while my youngest opted for a mini pizza. I had the Sri Lankan curry set. The curry was mild in spiciness, with delicious ingredients, and honestly, it was the best Sri Lankan curry I’ve ever had!✨ For dessert, there was a wide selection, including ice cream, gelato, and cakes. The drink options were also abundant, with beers, cocktails, mocktails, smoothies, coffee, and a variety of teas.🤗

For the next day’s lunch, the shrimp was delicious, so I started with a shrimp appetizer. The burger and chicken wraps were also amazing! 🥹

Dinner（Arrival day・Day 2）

The day we arrived was a full moon day (Poya Day), when alcohol is prohibited in Sri Lankan restaurants. Even though we had the all-inclusive plan, we had to sadly forgo alcohol that day. However, the food was still delicious!

When they heard it was our wedding anniversary and that our birthdays were near, they surprised us with a cake! ✨ Additionally, the buffalo cheese cheesecake was delicious 🍰.

On the second night, I ordered tuna and avocado tartare for the appetizer, stir-fried shrimp with XO sauce for the main course, and panna cotta for dessert. The cocktail I ordered was called “Crouching Leopard,” inspired by the leopards you might be lucky enough to spot in Yala. It was adorable!

Breakfast

For breakfast, we could order as much as we wanted from the menu.

In addition, there was a buffet with bread, spreads, jams, nuts, dried fruits, and fruits like bananas, allowing us to choose whatever we liked.

Not only the famous cashew nuts of Sri Lanka, but also pecans and hazelnuts were available. The bread and jams were also delicious!

And here’s what we ordered:

The fruit was so sweet and delicious, it was hard to believe where they sourced it from. Even in Colombo, it’s hard to find such stylish and tasty meals, but in Yala… I was truly impressed, as expected from Hilton. Everything was delicious, but what stood out the most was the hopper. It’s a classic local Sri Lankan breakfast or snack, but here they topped it with sweet and savory caramelized onions and hollandaise sauce. A perfect mix of Sri Lankan and Western flavors, making it both delicious and easy for foreigners to enjoy. The chocolate chip pancakes that my kids had were lightly sweetened, fluffy, and easy to eat too. 🥞✨

If you’re looking for a special dining experience, the “Lanthaaruma” restaurant offers the opportunity to have a table set up with a view of the sea. You can enjoy customized dishes and drinks that are tailored to your preferences.

Check out

At checkout, they gave us a paper bag with water for each person. The water in the room was in glass bottles to be environmentally conscious, so I appreciated the thoughtful gesture of providing additional water just in case. It was a wonderful hotel experience from start to finish. 😊

Hotel activities

This hotel offers not only jeep safaris to Yala National Park but also various activities that allow guests to interact with nature.

• Guided game drive (jeep safari)
• Guided bush walk
• Bird watching
• Coastal dune walk
• Visit to Amaduwa Fishing Village
• Various historical site tours
• Diving/snorkeling at the Great Base Reef
• Fishing
• Stargazing
• Junior ranger program for children

During our 2-night, 3-day stay, we only had time to experience the 4-hour jeep safari, but there are many other activities that would be enjoyable if you had a longer stay. The Junior Ranger program is an educational nature-based activity for children aged 5 and above, and it costs around Rs. 50,000, making it quite a thorough program. During our stay, there were many families with young children, so we’re not sure if the program was running, but it seemed like a great opportunity for families to engage with nature!

How to book the hotel

You can see the price and book hotel from the below links:

Thank you for reading!