The Plantation Villa

We went as a couple for a 5 day retreat and absolutely loved it. The pictures cannot do this campus any justice, perfect for peace and tranquility. Not only was our experience of guidance through yoga, meditation, and diet top notch, but we met some of the most amazing people during our stay. If you are on the fence, I highly recommend Plantation Villas, you will leave a changed person even if just a little bit. The only thing I would change is to book a longer stay. Peace to all.

Before I left home, I knew this was the holiday I had never been on, but would want to go back on.
It was everything I would want and far more.
My resting heart rate was going down every day, the treatments were excellent. The variety of the 2 different yoga styles of Bernardo and Tia, was refreshing.
The location, wildlife, the people who stay and the staff just added to that. I loved the food, not for everyone, but always more available.
I didn't go to lose weight, but lost 2kg in 10 days, I gained far more insight, mental and emotional confidence and my self protection walls came down.
I will return to Sri Lanka and Plantation Villa.

Plantation Villa is an amazing place in a peaceful and serene environment. The facilities are clean, and the staff is warm, friendly and welcoming. The food is delicious and nutritious, and everything comes from the garden
The yoga Shala is surrounded by lush greenery, which creates a calming atmosphere that truly enhances the yoga experience.
I highly recommend Plantation villa to anyone looking for a tranquil and rejuvenating retreat in the heart of nature. And the sunsets are surreal!

I spend more than two month in Plantation Villa, even tough I planned to stay for only one month. The location is beautiful - in the jungle and away from tourism and big city huste and bustle. It’s a very big property with a lot of space - what I love and a big and beautiful yoga hall- where I spend the most time:) Perfect to center your mind and to recover and heal. The staff is very helpful and so kind human beings - every single one got a space within my heart.
The Ayurveda- Doctors are very competent and helpful. The Spa does an amazing job too, got one of my best massages there. The Ayurvedic food is amazing and very tasty. The Yoga classes were very professional and traditional and the teachers were very nice and helpful and had a lot of knowledge. The rooms are comfortable and you have everything you need.
Thank you for this unique, unforgettable and transforming experience!

I came without any expectations and left with being closer to myself and my body. The beautiful environment helps to calm down. The plantation villa is located in the middle of nature, birds are singing all time and many animals can be seen when walking through the plantation forest. Food was delicious and so healthy, the best of all was the entire team. Everybody was so nice, always smiling and I felt like in a family. The treatments were amazing and yes the yoga sessions were not super advanced but I was very happy about some basics and calming exercises in this place. The usual show off yoga some clients might expect is just not right here. Also outside of the plantation villa there are many opportunities for great hikes, either to the waterfall or up the hill. I’m so happy I found this place and I will definitely come back!

Plantation villa is a really nice retreat center to rejuvenate yourself. Located in an amazing jungle garden, surrounded by nature sounds. Staff is very friendly, almost like family, and the local food served is just delicious. Definitely recommend to everyone who want to spend some time in a tranquil environment and reconnect

A location unlike any I’ve ever experienced, highly effective yoga sessions that left me feeling ache-free and relaxed, and warmth and kindness from all the staff. Hope to return before too long!

Loved staying here! Program setup by Ayurveda doctor, daily yoga, meditation, ayerovedic treatments, vegan food. I wish I stayed longer. Highly recommend if you're looking for a healthy detox.

My stay at Plantation Villa was the most nourishing and life-affirming experience I’ve ever had. I arrived feeling completely disconnected from myself, but from the very first moment I stepped foot, I knew I’d found a place of real healing and understanding, a place that allowed me to get back to basics and remember who I really am, a place where every single member of staff cared deeply about my wellbeing.

The plantation itself is a natural paradise, with green as far as the eye can see, exotic wildlife in abundance, lots of fresh fruit trees as well as a vegetable garden providing the ingredients for the meals! It is the perfect environment to be still and appreciate the beauty and harmony of the world. The food is simply amazing, full of variety and flavour, and it never left me feeling hungry or craving. In fact, I feel for the first time like I’ve discovered a healthy diet that actually works for my body.

The yoga was fantastic and completely transformed my understanding of it. To be honest, I arrived hoping for the faster-paced power yoga I was used to, but grew to love the more meditative classes at Plantation Villa, which helped me to become way more present and my body to become stronger in a way like never before.

The Ayurvedic doctors on site were so kind and knowledgeable. They took the time to really listen to everything I wanted to discuss, and went above and beyond in providing personalised guidance not only for my physical imbalances but mental and emotional too. Not to mention the brilliant Ayurvedic massages and treatments!

On top of all this, the many inspirational talks on yoga, meditation and Buddhist philosophy given by Bernardo (the onsite yoga and meditation teacher) not only filled my entire journal while I was there (!) but will stick with me for the rest of my life. His deep knowledge, passion and ability to explain the really deep stuff using everyday anecdotes was hugely appreciated, and has motivated me to radically rethink my outlook on life.

And finally a heartfelt shout out to Ishara, the amazing founder of Plantation Villa, whose compassion you can tell runs right to the core of the retreat. Hearing her tell her story one evening was the inspiration for me to extend my stay way longer than I thought I would, and there won’t be a day that I look back.

If you’re looking for a place to truly heal your mind and body, a place where you’ll be looked after by people who actually care, Plantation Villa is it!

If you want to relax do not go to Plantation Villa. The local quarry is constantly setting off explosions which are extremely noisy. There is a tree project ongoing which means chain saws constantly being used 8am to 6pm Every day. This is not a place to relax. The massage techniques are not Ayurvedic and one of the male therapists was recently molesting female guests. Food is bland and not tailored to specific dosha's. Behind the scenes the place is dirty littered with rubbish from the logging company with food left out which attracts vermin. There are much better Ayurvedic retreats in Sri Lanka for similar cost or less. They treat their staff and volunteers as third class citizens

Plantation Villa is a little piece of paradise. The garden with cows, lizards, monkeys and many beautiful birds helped me to reconnect with nature. It is beautifully maintained and it has been a long time since I saw so many shades of green. There are many places that invite the guests to stop and relax for a while.
I was there for 12 days doing a weight loss program. The food was tasty and I enjoyed all of my treatments. The fact that yoga, meditation or exercise (booked that extra) is practiced outside is great as it provides the feeling of blending in with nature.
Consultations, doctor visits and talk sessions were never to intrusive or forceful. I felt that my well-being was their number ones focus. I loved my room as it had 2 windows which was especially nice when it was raining:) Every single person working there were really nice, friendly, helpful and supportive. I am also very impressed with all the community work that Plantation Villa is initiating. I for sure will come back, highly recommend this retreat and wish the entire team only the best for their future endeavors.

The Plantation Villa is a nice place to relax and get in touch with beautiful nature. The treatments they do are very good for the mind and body. The yoga classes where also good and the outdoor shala is a very nice location to practice yoga. If you want a stress-free place to enjoy your holiday this is a very good choice.

The food is served three times per day and it is very good. Everything is organic and tasty. Especially the breakfasts were delicious.

We had a standard room and it was very clean and nice. We got to sleep very well because the place is so quiet and the room is dark enough.

The staff is wonderful with a lot of hospitality. They are always smiling and they will help you with everything.

If you are looking for a peaceful and relaxing place to stay, I can highly recommend The Plantation Villa.

If you are looking for a yoga retreat, I do not recommend Villa Plantation. The yoga was extremely light and for absolute beginners, with nothing even slightly challenging for those with experience. Western teachers. It was more gentle exercises than traditional yoga. I did other yoga retreats in Sri Lanka for half the price that were way better.

The food was pretty (i.e. Colorful) and varied but incredibly bland. I am used to eating clean, healthy foods in small portions in daily life, but since the food had little flavor and was very light, I felt constantly unsatisfied.
If you want to lose weight, this is great. If not, prepare to be hungry. Because people were complaining about this and other things, the owner gave us a very self-indulgent talk about acceptance and not complaining that was couched as spiritual advice but seemed more like manipulation. I generally can't be bothered to write reviews unless extremely positive, but this "talk" rubbed me the wrong way. It had no beginning, no middle, and no end. She went on and on repeating the same thing over and over in different ways, clearly enjoying hearing herself speak but showing little awareness of the audience.

The location is a bit isolated, so I would recommend this retreat for those who are looking for a diet/cleanse and want to rest away from the rest of the world, but not for those who want yoga or excursions.

The best thing about the experience was the treatments. 5-stars there

Satisfactory.very ordinary setting, location, bedrooms.construction going on in the grounds right by the pool area the entire time.the bedrooms (lol they are sold as 'villa's) are small, dark and extremely basic and completely and utterly overpriced. In the rooms it would be useful to have a reminder of the package I purchased and what's included as its all so confusing and messy once u arrive.in agreement with a comment below, yes it is highly convenient to have the use of a driver, however the prices were extremely inflated. I felt this place was a big money making venture.it dodnt feel right in all honesty.

It would also be very helpful and also mandatory to tell us which herbs we are consuming as i had no idea.absolutely no information was passed on. Very uninformative and unprofessional. Plus i had to remind them daily to bring me my herbs they were only issued to me 3 times in a 7 day stay without me having to prompt and chase them up.

On a positive note i met some really fun people, and the food is excellent, so too is the manager Roshan. Massages were lovely and relaxing too. But sadly all in all, i found Plantation Villa a total rip off, ordinary and completely messy and extremely overpriced.

This is not a normal resort. While you’re given excellent service in high quality accommodation, Plantation Villa has been designed for true healing, not as a luxury getaway. That’s why it’s so special… when you give yourself genuine time to heal, in a place with such a high professional standard of medicine, attention and warmth, you leave with a genuine shift, a raised level of daily mental and physical health. That’s what you take home with you.

The premises and environment are calm and beautiful. Every single staff member – doctors, masseuses, yoga/meditation teachers, cleaners, management – are open to do anything for you from A to Z.

After getting to know you they design very customised treatments… medicine, diet, massage. The doctors are amazing, beautiful energy, support you from all corners and very knowledgeable in Ayurveda. Dr Nishan, Dr Erandi, Dr Ruwanka, Bernardo… each wonderful. Massages from men or women, top yoga and meditation teachers and the room cleaners always leave a personal touch, it’s heart-warming to return to your room.

Ishara, the founder, is very special. She set up the villa after going through her own healing process, and wanted others to have access to the modalities that helped her.

When considering the price recognise that you are getting all of the services included (accommodation, food, healing and so much more) - if you were buying each from a separate place, the total would be much more combined. And in the end you really don’t feel you’re spending the money, you just see it an important, honest investment in yourself.

I was there in 2016 and 2019. In 2016, I came with high sugar and hep c, after 20 days my sugar levelled out, and the cirrhosis in my liver (from hep c) went down to zero – kind of a miracle. I believe this was all possible because of the combination of intense healing, massages, herbs, medicines, special diet, and also because the villa supported me to believe in my own recovery. Because I believed, I received. Whatever your sickness, I feel this place gives the best chance to heal yourself.

After twice visiting and twice feeling the rewards back home, I know I'll make more trips for years to come to keep myself in tune.

We spent 1 week at Plantation Villa for the yoga and detox retreat. I could have stayed another week! We felt at home here, everyone who worked there from the doctors, yoga teacher, house keeping, cleaners, drivers, treatments etc.were all so warm and full of wonderful energy. I felt something really magical there. And they do so much for their community. It’s also completely immersed in nature which works so beautifully together. The sounds you hear especially early in the morning are so beautiful. We met so many lovely people who were there for different reasons on different journeys. And of course, queen Brownie the house cat who I miss cuddling every morning. I definitely recommend going. X

Great place to detox, meditate and do yoga all day.
We had Ayurveda Detox program: Nothing special. It’s good when you’re eating healthy for one week. Everyday 30min Massages were not good. Just ok. Yoga is great here. Selena the yoga teacher is perfect!
I was starving after 3 days - because the lunch food was same every day and I couldn’t stand the same taste anymore.
I’m writing 5 stars because in total it was great experience.

I have spent only a few days here on my travel around Sri Lanka but I’ve managed to get great great relaxation and at the same a lot of positive energy in this short time. I have tried out the Ayurveda package and I don’t regret it - the treatments were great. The overall price tag is not low but was worth it with healthy and tasty food, yoga and meditation, other activities and beautiful spacious plantation to listen to the birds and relax next to the pool

What an incredible experience from start to finish - a truly special place. I stayed 5 nights and met some wonderful people, including the staff, who went out of their way to assist me. The accommodation itself was comfortable and well-equipped, with drinking water provided daily. I particularly enjoyed the various activities like tree-planting, the talks and village walks. Also, the vegan food served to us three times a day was delicious, authentic and fulfilling. Plantation Villa was everything I wanted it to be - a calming and rejuvenating escape from London life. I will definitely be back in future.

Some (I hope helpful) feedback:

1. I would place mosquito nets over the windows and the yoga studio - I was bitten frequently while practicing meditation which took away from the experience (understandable being surrounded by lush jungle). The mosquito plugs were welcome however.

2. In the room it would be useful to have a reminder of the package I purchased and what's included (I forgot what I was entitled to!)

3. I was often bare foot and it was painful to walk between my room, the main building and the pool area - paving this area would be a great improvement.

4. Finally, while it is highly convenient to have use of a driver, the prices to use it I felt were extremely inflated.

Plantation Villa is a tranquil retreat tucked into a beautiful surrounding jungle. I was touched by the completeness of care the staff gave each of the guests. It’s more than just a yoga retreat or Ayurvedic treatment centre. They’ve brought together true experts in each of their fields: meditation, yoga, nutrition and Ayurvedic medicine, and combined it with lush accommodation, and an ethical, socially sustainable model where the hotel is run by locals who each have a stake it’s success, and also funds the protection of the local environment.

Learning about Ayurveda from the resident doctors, and how they’re able to cure disease using this 3000 year old medical system was a highlight! If you are interested in or in need of natural healing - just go!

After a week here I was totally blissed out. It’s the perfect place to reset (and tan) - I will be back!