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Talalla Retreat

3.5 star property
your current months are December, 2024 and January, 2025.
December 2024
January 2025

Photo gallery for Talalla Retreat

On the beach, beach towels, beach yoga
On the beach, beach towels, beach yoga
In-room safe, desk, free WiFi
Bamboo Hut
Outdoor pool, pool loungers

Reviews

8.2 out of 10

Very good

Popular amenities

  • Bar
    Bar
  • Breakfast available
    Breakfast available
  • Pool
    Pool
  • Spa
    Spa
  • Room service
    Room service
  • Laundry
    Laundry

Explore the area

Map
Sampaya House, Talalla South, Gandara, Talalla
  • Talalla Beach
    1 min walk
  • Gandara Beach
    6 min drive
  • Dondra Lighthouse
    7 min drive
  • Koggala (KCT)
    71 min drive

Room options

View all photos for Deluxe Villa Ground Floor

In-room safe, desk, free WiFi

Deluxe Villa Ground Floor

  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Sea View Ground Floor

In-room safe, desk, free WiFi

Sea View Ground Floor

  • 23 sq m
  • Sea view
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Sea View First Floor

In-room safe, desk, free WiFi

Sea View First Floor

  • 30 sq m
  • Ocean view
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Bamboo Hut

Bamboo Hut

Bamboo Hut

  • 18 sq m
  • Beach view
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Deluxe Villa First Floor

Deluxe Villa First Floor | Living area

Deluxe Villa First Floor

  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

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About the area

Talalla

With a stay at Talalla Retreat in Talalla, you'll be on the beach, just steps from Talalla Beach and a 3-minute drive from Gandara Beach. .This beach resort is 12.8 mi (20.7 km) from Mirissa Beach and 1.3 mi (2.1 km) from Noonnawella Beach.
View more Resorts in TalallaOpens in a new window

What's nearby

  • Talalla Beach - 1 min walk - 0.2 km
  • Dondra Lighthouse - 7 min drive - 6.0 km
  • Dickwella Beach - 17 min drive - 8.9 km
  • Hiriketiya Beach - 24 min drive - 12.0 km
  • Polhena Beach - 30 min drive - 13.9 km

Getting around

  • Midigama Railway Station - 37 min drive
  • Bandaranaike Intl. Airport (CMB) - 158 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Smoke & Bitters - ‬12 min drive
  • ‪Mahi Mahi - ‬9 min drive
  • ‪Malu - ‬13 min drive
  • ‪KFC - ‬11 min drive
  • ‪Duni’s Hoppers - ‬12 min drive

About this property

Talalla Retreat

Beachfront resort with relaxing spa services
Talalla Retreat offers 83 accommodations with safes and bathrobes. Rooms open to patios. Accommodations offer separate sitting areas and include desks. Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wireless Internet access. Bathrooms include showers. Housekeeping is provided daily.
Recreational amenities at the resort include an outdoor pool.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.

Guests can indulge in a pampering treatment at the resort's full-service spa. Services include deep-tissue massages, Swedish massages, Thai massages, and facials. A variety of treatment therapies are provided, including aromatherapy and reflexology.
Make yourself at home in one of the 83 guestrooms. Rooms have private patios. Complimentary wireless internet access is available to keep you connected. Bathrooms have showers and bathrobes.
Relax at the full-service spa, where you can enjoy massages, body treatments, and facials. You can take advantage of recreational amenities such as an outdoor pool and bicycles to rent. Additional features at this resort include complimentary wireless internet access, concierge services, and gift shops/newsstands.
Satisfy your appetite for lunch or dinner at Main Restaurant, a restaurant which specializes in international cuisine, or stay in and take advantage of the room service (during limited hours). Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at the bar/lounge. Buffet breakfasts are available daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee.
Featured amenities include express check-in, express check-out, and dry cleaning/laundry services. Planning an event in Talalla? This resort has facilities measuring 495 square feet (46 square meters), including conference space. A roundtrip airport shuttle is provided for a surcharge (available 24 hours), and free self parking is available onsite.
Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
Main Restaurant - This restaurant specializes in international cuisine and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Guests can enjoy alfresco dining (weather permitting).
Room service (during limited hours) is available.

Languages

English, Spanish

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and public transport

  • Free self-parking on site
  • Motorhome/coach/lorry parking on site
  • 24-hour return airport shuttle (surcharge)
  • Airport shuttle on request

Food and drink

  • Buffet breakfast available for a fee daily 7:00 AM–10:00 AM: USD 7 per person
  • 1 restaurant
  • 1 bar
  • Room service available

Restaurants on site

  • Main Restaurant

Things to do

  • Beach yoga
  • Bike rentals
  • Full-service spa
  • Outdoor pool
  • Yoga classes

Conveniences

  • Banquet hall
  • Front-desk safe
  • Gift shop/newsstand
  • Library
  • Water dispenser

Guest services

  • Concierge services
  • Daily housekeeping
  • Dry-cleaning service
  • Front desk (limited hours)
  • Laundry facilities
  • Luggage storage
  • Multilingual staff
  • Porter/bellhop
  • Tour/ticket assistance
  • Wedding services

Business services

  • Conference space (495 square feet)

Outdoors

  • Beachfront location
  • Garden
  • Pool sunloungers
  • Terrace

Spa

  • Aromatherapy
  • Body scrubs
  • Body treatments
  • Body wraps
  • Facials
  • Manicures and pedicures
  • Massage - deep-tissue
  • Massage - Swedish
  • Massage - Thai
  • Reflexology

Accessibility

  • If you have any requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • This property does not have any lifts
  • Accessible airport shuttle

More

  • Beach towels
  • Designated smoking areas
  • Mosquito nets

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Ceiling fan

Bathroom

  • Dressing gowns
  • Shower
  • Towels

More

  • Desk
  • Safe
  • Separate sitting area

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; Check-in end time: 10:00 PM
Late check-in subject to availability
Express check-in available
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before noon
Express check-out available

Special check-in instructions

This property offers transfers from the airport (surcharges may apply); to arrange pick-up, guests must contact the property 72 hours prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
The front desk is open daily from 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Front desk staffed during limited hours
This is a designated quarantine resort. The property can only accept bookings from travelers who are required to quarantine (i.e. international travelers). You may be asked to provide evidence of this on arrival.
This is a certified Sri Lanka Tourism Level 1 property. Sri Lanka Tourism Level 1 is a health and safety certification issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Access methods

Front desk (limited hours)

Pets

Pets not allowed (service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees)

Children and extra beds

Children 6 and younger are not allowed at this property from December to January; the rest of the year they are welcome
Rollaway/extra beds are not available
Cribs (infant beds) are not available

Payment types

Important information

Fees

You'll be asked to pay the following charges at the property. Fees may include applicable taxes:

  • Christmas Day (25 December) Gala Dinner per adult: USD 65
  • Christmas Day (25 December) Gala Dinner per child: USD 45 (from 6 to 10 years old)
  • New Year's Eve (31 December) Gala Dinner per adult: USD 65
  • New Year's Eve (31 December) Gala Dinner per child: USD 45 (from 6 to 10 years old)

We have included all charges provided to us by the property.

Optional extras

  • Fee for buffet breakfast: approximately USD 7 per person
  • Airport shuttle fee: USD 110 per vehicle (one-way, maximum occupancy 6)

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a security system, and a first aid kit
Please note that cultural norms and guest policies may differ by country and by property; the policies listed are provided by the property

We should mention

This property does not have elevators
Reservations are required for massage services; reservations can be made by contacting the property prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
Children 6 years old and younger are not permitted from December to January
Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms

Property is also known as

Talalla Retreat
Talalla Retreat Hotel
Talalla Retreat Resort Devinuwara
Talalla Retreat Devinuwara
Resort Talalla Retreat Devinuwara
Devinuwara Talalla Retreat Resort
Talalla Retreat Resort
Resort Talalla Retreat
Talalla Retreat Devinuwara
Talalla Retreat Resort
Talalla Retreat Talalla
Talalla Retreat Resort Talalla

Talalla Retreat Reviews

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 30 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 37 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 10 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 7 out of 84 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 84 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

8.8/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Lauren

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I left my heart in Talalla Retreat. Incredible staff who were so welcoming and hard working, the Retreat itself is stunning. I had an upstairs bedroom so was able to fully enjoy the surroundings. The food was incredible. I felt super safe. I didn’t want to leave. A must visit - and please do as the Sri Lankan people need visitors right now.

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fabulous retreat! Will definitely return.
A beautiful retreat that really feels like a hidden oasis. Very friendly staff and the food was actually delicious. Wifi very patchy.
Stayed 14 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Nice property, simple rooms.
Overall a very nice property with a great location and a relaxed feel. Good and varied food. However, room standards even for the most expensive villas are extremely simple and has seen its best days regarding maintenance. In sum it seems a bit overpriced. The open air floors are very special and are not for every one's taste and comfort. Activities like surfing is extremely overpriced compared to what you pay elsewhere in the area. A specific negative to our stay: Just outside our bedroom window, for large portions of the day, the cleaners seem to locate their cleaning central for the sea view villas, "hanging out", storing cleaning appliances, gathering dirty towels and empty bottles and glasses etc on the ground. Visually not a nice sight and definitely compromising our privacy.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Thank you Talalla, we had a fantastic time. Also a big thank you to Wasantawe, our housekeeper, who always made sure our bed was lined with flowers, you made us feel very special.
Stayed 6 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Genevieve

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Peaceful and beautiful grounds
We loved the grounds of talalla retreat - absolutely beautiful and peaceful. The breakfast was fantastic and the spa facilities good, although a little on the pricey side. I was initially a little disappointed with the room itself as it was a little basic, but actually grew to like its simplistic style and open-air bathroom
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Jessica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely stay!
Beautiful property-great massages and service. Talalla is a nice lovely clean long beach to stroll down. Stayed in an oceanfront bungalow which was fabulous but the mosquitos are NO JOKE so make sure to tuck your net in tight use repellent and light the coil! My only complaint was my fan like barely worked so was super hot at night as the wind died down but asked the staff for an extra floor fan which they happily provided. Food and drinks were excellent as well. Would highly recommend!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Talalla Retreat
Beautiful, serene location to relax, swim and practice yoga in a secluded retreat environment. The buffet breakfast offers fresh fruits and Sri Lankan options. We did not eat any other meal in the restaurant as it was fairly Westernized, however if you need a change up from curries etc, I'm sure this food would be fantastic. Expect to pay about $10 for drinks and $5 for coffee. Overall, a comfortable stay with the beach right on the back doorstep.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

jinx

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Special place.
Wonderful relaxing beautiful retreat feeling. The grounds and pool are magnificent. Our room was up near the trees so no breeze and had to close shutters in case of monkeys...made for a very warm night. Also one of the shared bathrooms needed attention. Food and staff excellent. Beach is exquisite with local fishermen offering boat rides for $25 US....well worth. Would recommend but try for room near beach for breeze.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Shared bathroom with bungalows . Rooms better but mosi nets were essential . Great massage at the spa. Buffet not so good.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

Natasha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful setting and very relaxing. Bungalow rooms have a shared bathroom, which wasn't clear on the website. But overall lovely stay

4/10 Poor

josh, london, UK

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overpriced & extreamly pretentious
Relaxing atmosphere and the staff were excellent, as is standard for the whole of Sri Lanka. However the rooms are so open to the elements that we had multiple lizards crawling along the bed frame and woke up to people peering in at us from their balcony. Along with this the food and related activities are rediculously overpriced for what they are.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

Ramiz

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good food; great for singles, backpackers.
All in all good; mostly caters to singles or young couples; not many activities for children, understandable. Otherwise, rather quite place with good nature, clean, spacious. Good food! Rooms are very simple, no A/C, no TV, no WIFI.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Danielle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Chill for a couple of days here
Don't come here for a week - come here for a very chilled couple of days. This is a retreat so don't expect a luxury hotel - it's a bit of a hippy vibe and quite stripped back/basic in some ways. However we had an excellent time as it was just what we needed at the end of a busy holiday - backing onto a beautiful, very quiet beach and with a lovely pool. We took advantage of the surfing, yoga and massages and left feeling very zen!

10/10 Excellent

Maisie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect beach escape
Great stay in Talalla retreat, staff were very helpful and friendly.

8/10 Good

Sylvia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful setting, yet very premium pricing
The property is beautiful and we really enjoyed the yoga - however having travelled around a lot we were quite taken aback by the premium pricing on drinks for example (double everywhere else) .also Ayurveda massage was double the usual prices around albeit the facility was more upmarket. Surfboard rental was even 3 times more expensive than right on the actual surf spots. It partly seems to rip off people a bit who stay for a whole week only at talalla and don't actually compare. However that said the property is beautifully maintained and we had overall a great time!

4/10 Poor

older traveller, London

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Gorgeoud location
Close to beautiful beach over priced, chaotic but relaxing

10/10 Excellent

Gary, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Secluded bliss
Beautiful grounds with plenty of space to find your own solitude. Good pool and dining area with with great food. A range of room options for a variety of budgets. We had a downstairs room on the beach side which we really enjoyed.

4/10 Poor

Beatriz, California

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Worst room ever. Rude staff. Misleading informatio
I had booked a bungalow with a desk, safety box, sitting area, wifi and garden view. Instead, I'm assigned a windowless room, with walls that don't reach the ceiling, no desk, box, seating area, wifi, hardly any place to move around or place our luggage, nothing! What they called a "bungalow " was a house-like building with all these rooms around a sitting area and a bathroom outside, around the building. Wifi is only available in the dining area. When I spoke with the manager about the booking, they said that's what they meant as a bungalow and the information in Hotels.com was mistaken. If I had booked through their website we would've known what we were actually getting. I was offered a better room for an extra charge. They were incredibly rude. When I demanded a cancellation and a refund, I was told it had to be done through the site. They "kindly" offered another room at the far end of the property, in the service area, overlooking the sheets and towels drying on lines and all over the floor. Totally disappointed. The hotel is on the beach but there is nowhere to be as the waves go up to the property. You have to walk several hundred meters to find beach to sit down. There are several hotels and guest houses close by so we later moved to another one for half the price. This hotel is overpriced and the information providedis completely misleading. I would never go back.

4/10 Poor

Brian, St. Catharines

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible resort, but very good yoga.
My wife and I went to Talalla for rest and some yoga. The yoga was very good and professional. However, the resort was a disaster. We booked the sea view rooms, which are their best rooms. The outdoor bathroom is nice, but the rest of the room is 4 off white walls, one wooden chair and a bed. The double seat outside was occupied by beach dogs at night, so we chose not to sit in wet, dog smell cushions during the day. There are no beach chairs. The restaurant is expensive and the food was bland at best. Added to that, the dining area is swarmed with constant flies.

10/10 Excellent

Mr Wogglesworth, Brisbane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great chilled out retreat, incredible beach.
Loved our time here. We took the higher end room with air con closer to the beach. This meant we were away from the crowds by the pool (really not that crowded, could always find a couple of sun loungers and some shade) and had quick access to THE MOST AMAZING BEACH IN THE UNIVERSE. And I have travelled a lot and seen many beaches so this is a huge compliment. Unfortunately the yoga was possibly one of the worst classes I've ever been to and there was only one teacher on site at the time, and two independent yoga retreats staying at the resort as well. The classes are run two a day (7:30am and 4:30pm) and cost $15USD. Expensive for a 3rd world country and not a good quality teacher so was disappointed. But that's all part of it and I'm sure it was perfect for a different traveller to me. The restaurant only has buffet options really, and weren't cheap ($10USD for lunch, $15USD for dinner, all plus fees plus taxes or something) but were good quality. Mostly vegetarian with a couple of good proteins being grilled on the side (eg chicken and fish) but fantastic choice for the vegos for sure. Breakfast was included and delicious. Pool area was very nice and green. Wifi only in the restaurant/bar/pool area and very slow but free.

10/10 Excellent

Sara, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing relaxing stay at Talalla
My boyfriend and I stayed at Talalla for a week and had an amazing time. When we arrived, we had originally booked a room in the main house, however this was quite small so we enquired about changing to stay in one of the Deluxe Rooms. The staff were super helpful and even offered us a reduced rate to swap for a Deluxe Room, so we did this at an additional cost of $35 a night and it was definitely worth it! We stayed in one of the ground floor rooms which are great if you want a little more privacy as they have shutters, whereas they top floor rooms have bamboo blinds. The rooms are all very clean. The open air shower was amazing, however we did get a few frogs in the there in the evening/at night, but they weren't any trouble! The food was delicious and very reasonably priced for what you get considering it's a buffet. All the salad is washed in mineral water too, which is good to know if you're worried about picking up any bugs. The staff were always very helpful and lovely. We arrange lots of various excursions through them and had no trouble whatsoever. The onsite yoga is great too - there are two classes per day, one at 7.30am and another at 4.30pm - both are for 90 minutes at $15 per class. The pool was great - very clean and the perfect temperature! The beach was just a couple of minutes away too and it was so quiet it felt like a private beach! All in all we had a fantastic stay and were very sad to leave!

8/10 Good

Lisa, England

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice resort on Fabulous beach - grumpy staff
Wonderful Stay at Talalla beach which must be one of the most beautiful & peaceful beaches in Sri Lanka. Talalla retreat was clean & our seaview room was gorgeous. Sadly staff seemed very miserable which was a pity and the booked bamboo hut we'd booked ended up being a hut overlooking rubbish and up a steep hill beside a noisy laundry room and kitchen, it certainly wasn't what we'd seen in the photos & not the romantic birthday hut I'd hoped for. On advising this wasn't what we'd booked we were told the only option was a seaview room but we would have to pay more!!! Too tired to argue we looked at the room and agreed to pay more for it. Not a great start especially when I then saw all the other bamboo huts and were annoyed we'd been fobbed off with the other one. We did enjoy our 3 nights, the buffet provided was overpriced & the worst food we'd had during our 2 week stay, they also advertise everything is USD which is simply to hide the high prices. All odd when the final bill actually comes in rupees! We enjoyed our stay, the grounds, pool, delux seaview rooms are gorgeous and its a fab location. However 3 nights of the poor food would be enough and any longer and I think we would have found more faults for the prices being charged. On plus side I had the most amazing massage and the beach is to die for!