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Laya Safari

4.0 star property

Photo gallery for Laya Safari

Front of property
Front of property
Beach bar
Jungle Retreat (Standard Double Room)
Front of property - evening/night

Reviews

7.8 out of 10
Good

Popular amenities

  • Bar
  • All-inclusive
  • Spa
  • Pool
  • Gym
  • Breakfast available

Explore the area

Map
Palatupana, Yala, Thissamaharama
  • Yala National Park
    ‪8 min drive‬
  • Palatupana Beach
    ‪18 min drive‬
  • Kirinda Beach
    ‪23 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Jungle Retreat (Standard Double Room)

Jungle Retreat (Standard Double Room)

Jungle Retreat (Standard Double Room)

  • 57 sq m
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Queen Bed

View all photos for Deluxe Double Room with Balcony and Sea View

Deluxe Double Room with Balcony and Sea View

Deluxe Double Room with Balcony and Sea View

  • 61 sq m
  • Sea view
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Queen Bed and 1 Twin Bed

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The price is NZ$443
for 1 room
includes taxes & fees
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About the area

Palatupana

When you stay at Laya Safari in Palatupana, you'll be on the beach and 8 minutes by car from Yala National Park. .This beach hotel is 4.5 mi (7.2 km) from Palatupana Beach and 7.3 mi (11.8 km) from Kirinda Beach.

What's nearby

  • Yala National Park - 8 min drive - 4.4 km
  • Kirinda Temple - 18 min drive - 12.2 km
  • Palatupana Beach - 18 min drive - 7.2 km
  • Kirinda Beach - 23 min drive - 11.9 km
  • Tissa Lake - 26 min drive - 21.5 km

Restaurants

  • ‪restaurant@jetwingyala - ‬7 min walk
  • ‪Bar at Jetwing Yala - ‬7 min walk
  • ‪Roof Top Bar @ Cinnamon Wild Yala - ‬10 min drive
  • ‪Main Restaurant - ‬7 min walk
  • Laya Safari - Restaurant

About this property

Laya Safari

Family-friendly beachfront location with outdoor pool
Laya Safari offers 22 accommodations with minibars and safes. Rooms open to balconies or patios. Accommodations offer separate sitting areas and include desks. Beds feature down comforters and premium bedding. Flat-screen televisions come with satellite channels.

Bathrooms include separate bathtubs and showers with deep soaking bathtubs and rainfall showerheads. Bathrooms are also outfitted with bathrobes, slippers, and complimentary toiletries. Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wireless Internet access. Additionally, rooms include complimentary bottled water and coffee/tea makers. Irons/ironing boards and hair dryers can be requested. A nightly turndown service is provided and housekeeping is offered daily.

An outdoor pool and a children's pool are on site. Other recreational amenities include a fitness center.

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

Guests can pamper themselves by indulging in the onsite spa services. There are 2 treatment rooms including rooms for couples and outdoor treatment areas.
Make yourself at home in one of the 22 guestrooms featuring minibars and flat-screen televisions. Your bed comes with down comforters and premium bedding. Rooms have private balconies or patios. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and satellite programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with separate bathtubs and showers feature deep soaking bathtubs and rainfall showerheads.
Be sure to enjoy recreational amenities including an outdoor pool and a fitness center. This hotel also features complimentary wireless internet access, concierge services, and barbecue grills.
All-inclusive rates are available at this hotel. Meals and beverages at onsite dining establishments are included in all-inclusive rates. Charges may be applied for dining at some restaurants, special dinners and dishes, some beverages, and other amenities.

Enjoy a meal at the restaurant or snacks in the coffee shop/cafe. The hotel also offers room service (during limited hours). Wrap up your day with a drink at the bar/lounge, the beach bar, or the poolside bar. Full breakfasts are available daily from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee.

Featured amenities include a business center, express check-out, and dry cleaning/laundry services. Guests may use a roundtrip airport shuttle for a surcharge, and free self parking is available onsite.
Full breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM.
Laya Safari has a restaurant on site.
Room service (during limited hours) is available.

All-inclusive details

All-inclusive room rates at Laya Safari are available. These rates are higher because they include onsite food and beverages in the room rate (some restrictions may apply).

Land activities

Fitness facilities

Entertainment

Onsite live performances

Languages

English, Russian

Property amenities

Internet

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

Parking and transport

  • Return airport shuttle (surcharge)
  • Free self parking on site
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking available

Food and drink

  • Daily full breakfast available 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee: USD 14 for adults and USD 10 for children
  • A bar/lounge
  • A beach bar
  • A coffee shop/cafe
  • A poolside bar
  • A restaurant
  • Couples/private dining

Things to do

  • Beach volleyball
  • Billiards/pool table
  • Children's pool
  • Gym
  • Outdoor pool
  • Playground
  • Private wine tours

Family friendly

  • Children's pool
  • Laundry facilities
  • Outdoor pool
  • Playground
  • Rollaway/extra bed (surcharge)

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • Laundry facilities
  • Lockers
  • Luggage storage
  • Newspapers in lobby
  • Safe at front desk

Guest services

  • Concierge services
  • Dry cleaning/laundry service
  • Housekeeping (daily)
  • Proposal/romance packages
  • Tour and ticket assistance
  • Turndown service

Business services

  • Business centre
  • Meeting rooms

Outdoors

  • Barbecue grill
  • Beach loungers
  • Beach towels
  • Beach umbrellas
  • Free pool cabanas
  • Garden
  • On the beach
  • Pool loungers
  • Pool umbrellas
  • Terrace

Spa

  • 2 treatment rooms
  • Couples treatment rooms
  • Outdoor treatment areas

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • Lift
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking
  • Wheelchair-accessible path of travel

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Blackout drapes
  • Down comforter
  • Premium bedding
  • Rollaway/extra bed (surcharge)

Bathroom

  • Deep soaking bathtub
  • Dressing gowns
  • Free toiletries
  • Hair dryer (on request)
  • Private bathroom
  • Rainfall showerhead
  • Separate bathtub and shower
  • Slippers
  • Towels provided

Entertainment

  • Flat-screen TV with satellite channels

Food and drink

  • Coffee/tea maker
  • Electric kettle
  • Free bottled water
  • Limited room service
  • Minibar

More

  • Air conditioning (climate-controlled)
  • Desk
  • Iron/ironing board on request
  • Safe
  • Separate sitting area

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 2 PM; Check-in end time: midnight
Minimum check-in age: 16

Check-out

Check-out before noon
Late check-out subject to availability
A late check-out fee will be charged
Express check-out available

Special check-in instructions

Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

No pets or service animals allowed

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome
2 children, up to the age of 1, can stay for free if using existing beds when occupying the parent or guardian's room
Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 10 per night
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 Eve (December 24) Gala Dinner per adult: USD 60
  • Christmas Eve (December 24) Gala Dinner per child: USD 30 (from 3 to 11 years old)
  • New Year's Eve (December 31) Gala Dinner per adult: USD 60
  • New Year's Eve (December 31) Gala Dinner per child: USD 30 (from 3 to 11 years old)

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

Optional extras

  • Fee for full breakfast: approximately USD 14 for adults and USD 10 for children
  • Late check-out is available for a fee (subject to availability)
  • Rollaway bed fee: USD 10 per night

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
The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, a security system, and a first aid kit

We should mention

Reservations are required for spa treatments; reservations can be made by contacting the property prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
No pets and no service animals are allowed at this property

Property is also known as

Laya Safari Hotel Kirinda
Laya Safari Hotel
Laya Safari Kirinda
Laya Safari
Laya Safari Hotel Palatupana
Laya Safari Hotel Tissamaharama
Laya Safari Tissamaharama
Hotel Laya Safari Tissamaharama
Tissamaharama Laya Safari Hotel
Hotel Laya Safari
Laya Safari Hotel
Laya Safari Tissamaharama
Laya Safari Hotel
Laya Safari Thissamaharama
Laya Safari Hotel Thissamaharama

Laya Safari Reviews

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 62 out of 148 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 41 out of 148 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 19 out of 148 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 14 out of 148 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 12 out of 148 reviews

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

6.6/10

Amenities

7.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

4.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

ramin

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2025

2/10 Terrible

Priya

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024

6/10 Okay

Lalith

Travelled with partner
Didnleave the hotel after 1 day because of hot water issue
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Andie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I'll start by saying we would definitely stay here again! The property manager was a very friendly and interesting man and very helpful along with the other staff members and the rooms were incredibly spacious with a great view of the ocean! My only recommendations to the owners would be to really play up the view of the rooms and make sure the blinds are up and windows facing the ocean are freshly cleaned. Having chose this hotel over others mainly because of the amazing windows it was a little disappointing to find out that a lot of the blinds no longer worked and couldn't be opened all the way. We were there during slow season so it was very quiet and not all the facilities were open but I can imagine it's a lot of fun when it's more full. We enjoyed the quiet though. The hotel has lots going on as well, atv dune rides, swing bar, infinity pool, and very soon horses for beach and jungle rides! And the proximity to Yala is perfect. They even have a resident elephant that might wander through while you're there! I would definitely recommend this hotel!
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024

4/10 Poor

Radhika

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort

Visiting Yala

We stayed here for four nights to visit Yala. The hotel is less than 10 minutes drive to the park. The service, and friendliness of the staff is superb. The view from the rooms, pool, and restaurant was beautiful. We could hear the waves crashing from our room. The wooden decks are definitely in need of replacement due to exposure to the salty ocean air, but the interior of our room was nice and comfortable. A lot of the rooms look like they were being upgraded during our stay as well.
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

eannine, Brentwood

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing views, great food, friendly staff. The only downside is the hotel is a little tired but I would still recommend.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2020

6/10 Okay

Lei, Vancouver, Canada

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Entire place is old and run down. Repairs are desperately needed. Restaurant staff were standoff-ish and certainly not inclined to move faster than a snail. Really very disappointed in this place.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Wildly overpriced with terrible food and relatively unclean premises.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

4/10 Poor

Charlotte

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

2/10 Terrible

Tanja

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

2*, at MOST

The lenght of this review is directly related to my level of annoyance and irritation. 1. ROOMS The room advertised online /surrounding views is literally one of the 22 rooms - the other 21 has blinds around the entire place or everyone would look directly into their neighbours rooms. The shower also inexplicably has blinds - which has a nice gathering of black mould. Everything else in the room is old and shabby - shabby 'white' mats next to the bed, stained mustard couches, frayed towels. The bathroom window was so dirty you could barely see outside. The porch is worn out and faded, as well as the furniture. 2 pillows on the bed, with an additional 2 in the closet, sans pillow covers. The icetray was broken with hair in - still waiting for a replacement. Also the aircon was leaking and only one bedside lamp was working. 2. STAFF The young staff mean well, but has clearly not had any training - english is v v basic which can get rather frustrating. Also v unproffesional with check-in as they kept chatting in Sinhalese (I assume) and giggling like teenagers. On the first morning we returned to a dirty room at 1pm - when we called reception they informed us that we had our "Do not disturb" sign on the door - a tad impossible as we didn't even have one in the room. Also not ideal to walk out of your room and then have to step over 4 pairs of shoes that the cleaners have kicked of in front of your door. Room service is also a shambles- the wrong thing arr - see rest on TripAd
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

DTLAdj, los angeles

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Perfect location for a Yala safari. Super clean rooms and soft mattress.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Constan

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

zing Jungle life experince

Amazing jungle life experience. Excellent beautiful hotel. Only issue was staff not picking up the phone and service was not good.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

J

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Needs upkeep and modernisation. Staff are excellent though.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Diane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Fantastic base for a safari, lots of wildlife

Stunning location right on the beach, noone else around. The room was fab, second/third floors so great view from the balcony, sunset especially. Not many guests while we were there so dinner was table d'hote, several choices, all were tasty, well presented, fresh and plentiful. Staff friendly ans attentive. Best bit is wild elephant who seems to regularly roam around the grounds, eating the palm fronds and drinking the lily pond! Also saw boar, hares, iguana, plenty birds in grounds.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Andre

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful location. Service excellent.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Deepak

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Tanya

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel and friendly staff 值得推薦給華人的酒店，他們很重視華人的業務，不會有歧視行為；對我們的要求很有耐性的解決。
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
We arrived at 11pm and went on safari at 4:45am so didn’t really spend time here. It was ok for a bed for the night.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
My partner and I just spent two weeks in Sri Lanka staying at hotels with similar prices as Laya - Laya was by far the worst one. The hotel is operated by the military - likely seized after the civil war. It has a creepy vibe. We went for a walk and were followed on the beach. The property has not been maintained and is derelict and in disarray - broken boards, black mold on the blinds in the room. The restaurant is very expensive and almost inedible. We waited 1.25 hours for lunch one day. Safari's are overpriced compared to what you can get elsewhere. Do not stay here.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Ahmed

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

All inclusive safari stay

Everything was really impressive unless the swimming was prohibited 🚫 on this dangerous beach
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I liked the beautiful nature around the hotel.. I can not recommend this hotel.
Stayed 8 nights in Nov 2019