Uga Chena Huts - Yala - All Inclusive

Beautifull hotel in the jungle.. Sea view is very Beautifull

I may struggle to put into words just how much we have enjoyed the last few days staying at Uga Chenna Huts. It was deservedly voted best small hotel in the world in 2023 and as far as I’m concerned it may well receive that honour again in 2024. The standard of everything is literally top notch. Most of all the whole team as individuals and collectively genuinely make you feel as though you and your friends and family are the most important people in the world. Let’s start with the welcome - outstanding. We went on two visits to the National Park and our Ranger was so knowledgable and enlightening we all feel we have learnt a huge amount and to some extent experienced it for ourselves. We witnessed nature in action, close up in the form of Crocodiles spotting and securing their supper of wild boar. Horrible but fascinating to watch but impossible not to as we saw it live so to speak. We saw so many elephants, leopards, water buffalo and other animals and birds and received a terrific explanation of how things are working g in the national park. Our bedroom was literally fabulous and I believe all are the same and of the same high standard with incredibly comfortable beds and each with a completely private plunge pool and terrace. I will share pics. Each evening we were hosted to sundowners on the beach with delicious nibbles made there and then. The restaurant and the service is outstanding with a good selection of western and Sri Lankan dishes. Communal pool is beautiful with a waterfall if you wish and drinks served if you so choose. I literally cannot recommend Uga Chenna Huts highly enough if you are visiting Sri Lanka and can stretch your budget then do so with confidence.

This has to be one of the best hotels we’ve ever stayed at. Everything about it is amazing. The staff are all charming, polite and very helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. The rangers leading the included game drives were very knowledgeable and excellent at spotting and identifying the multitude of birds and animals. The resort is right on the edge of the reserve and we were visited by monkeys,buffalo and an elephant. There is an excellent choice of both Sri Lankan and international food. Words are not enough to describe the wonderful place. Thank you to everyone for making our stay so memorable.

We recently had an amazing stay at Uga Chena Huts; the room, bed and food were just gorgeous but what really made our trip was the extraordinary attentiveness and kindness of the staff and getting to see the animals in their habitat. While there are many great people there who went above and beyond, I have to make mention of our safari guide and driver whose knowledge and love of animals will stay with us forever. Dushmantha was our guide and Supan was our driver for 3 days, twice a day, we were SO lucky to have them. While some of the tour guides just want to see an elephant in order to make their clients happy and get a better tip, Dushmantha clearly had a deep respect and love for the animals. With Supan pointing out the tinniest exotic bird that only a trained eye could see, and Dushmanta’s knowledge of the animals and the terrain, we were in awe from start to finish. Yes, we saw a leopard [very rare], and elephants, which was so exciting but it was almost as exciting to see the buffalo neck deep in water and hear Dushmanta tell us why they do this [they have a certain oil that insects are attracted to so need the water to get the bugs off them]. We learned so much on this trip of a lifetime and when we go back there will be no other guide for us than Dushmanta. Just one other note, one day there was a big family of Grey Langur monkeys on the beach in front of Uga Chena; they ran up to the interior pond of the resort and we were able to just hang out next to them for almost two hours [people do not feed them so they do not have the bad behaviors that you see in places that tourists do]. What a glorious trip.

Unique property with beach and wilderness feels. Spacious well lit , clean and well furbished rooms. Would have given 5 stars had the food been slightly better. The chef did his best to accommodate our food requests but for a property charging as much as they do our food expectations were more and i think they can improve on that. Apart from that cannot fault the service , the location , the naturalists who accompanied us for the safaris. Would recommend this property and if you are a vegetarian give your food preferences before visiting to have a better overall experience.