Talalla Retreat

We arrived new year eve and enjoyed the celebrations they put on and stayed a few extra days. Everything here is superb. The staff are just so friendly and nice, the food from the kitchen is always great and massage was also incredible.

Thank you very much everyone, especially for your efforts on NYE, the team made the night extra special.

Pretty disappointing for the price. We stayed for New Years, booking 2 of the Bungalow rooms and 1 of the Big House rooms. While the villas look really lovely (only book these), the Big House room hasn’t seen any TLC in a while, and the bungalow rooms felt like small, charmless prison cells. Completely different to what is advertised in photos: the main space of the bungalow has no dining table or chill area, instead, the staff spends quite a bit of time here, and there are cleaning supplies and an ironing board out at all times — feels like a staff quarters. Likewise, the bathrooms shown in photos are not what you get at all. Truth be told, I ended up in hospital 1 of the nights, and my room there was much nicer and more comfortable.

The beach is not private to the retreat, and there is no surfing out front (this is likely my bad for not reading more into their website).

Adding stars for the grounds, namely the pool spaces, and the restaurant, which has a pretty decent menu.

Staff perceptions are mixed. Some were great, others looked unapproachable. Front desk forgot to book our transfer for departure, after confirming twice, and ended up putting us into a taxi for which they didn’t have any affiliation or contact information. Generally I wouldn’t complain about this, because we got to where we were going and weren’t airport bound so the 30 minute delay wasn’t life changing, but we forgot items (passports) in the taxi (not Talalla’s fault), and when we called them for the driver’s information, they admitted they had no clue and had just put us in an available car that had dropped off new guests because they’d forgotten to book our transfer.

I get the sense management/owners have detached a bit, and so you feel this in the staff. There’s no love in this place anymore; it’s gone from retreat to resort.

Just a total delight. A relaxed and friendly atmosphere with wonderful staff. I will be coming back.

Also the misfortune of checking out UTMT Resort as well. Don't make that mistake! Talalla is so so good!

Lots of love guys i hope you're all well.

Nice location and most staff are friendly. It’s not a surf camp as it’s not possible to surf on the beach next to the hotel. They charge 50 USD (!) per session to rent a board to go to a nearby beach. Yoga is charged 20 USD per day. The prices at the restaurant were among the highest in Sri Lanka with low to average quality. Nearby Mosque starts their prayer at 4-5am for several hours making it impossible to sleep, this is of course not the hotels fault, but with almost no occupancy they placed us in the most noisy location on the propert. Reception is not very friendly and does the bare minimum.

Last weekend we went for a dayouting and we were very disappointed to see the lunch they prepared. The amount of food provided was not enough for the crowd. The buffet was not allowed. Lunch was served on plates and only fried rice and chicken deviled. Also there were no options for vegetarians. But, I must say the place was beautiful, calm and clean and it suits for the ones who are seeking room packages. Not for day outing packages.

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.

Verbleef er diverse malen. Mooi, goed zwembad, eten wat massaal, yoga heel goed.

But…on the beach plastic, plastic, plastic. Talalla Retreat really has to do something with other hotels on the beach, tourists will stay away!

We tried the Ayurvedic massage yesterday and were both so convinced that we immediately made new appointments for the Swedish massage for the next day. The Spar area is clean and well equipped. The two masseurs were really good and made our massages a great experience. My girlfriend also felt comfortable all the time. I did the first massage via the chat on the hotel's homepage. This was also super uncomplicated and all my questions were answered. The price is absolutely reasonable and we would come back when we are back in Talalla. Many thanks to the whole team

Wir haben gestern die Ayurvedic Massage ausprobiert und sind waren beide so überzeugt das wir für den nächsten Tag direkt neue Termine für die Swedish Massage ausgemacht haben. Der Spar Bereich ist sauber und gut ausgestattet. Die beiden Masseure waren wirklich gut und haben unsere Massagen zu einem tollen Erlebnis gemacht. Meine Freundin hat sich ebenfalls die ganze Zeit Wohlgefühlt. Die erste Massage habe ich über den Chat auf der Homepage des Hotels gemacht. Auch das war super unkompliziert und alle meine Fragen wurden beantwortet. Der Preis ist absolut angemessen und wir würden wieder kommen wenn wir nochmal in Talalla sind. Vielen Dank ans ganze Team

We were really looking forward to a relaxing end to our two week stay in Sri Lanka and had booked a beach hut thinking it would be tranquil and beautiful being in the outdoors. We were very wrong!

On checking in we were told to put all our belongings in the assigned cupboard so that the monkeys wouldn't get things, that was fine but one of the locks was broken so our case had to be pushed against it.

We were also told there are a lot of mosquitos at present - they were not wrong! We got no sleep the first night feeling things crawling all over us regardless of the amount of debt we had doused ourselves in. They provide insect killer so we got through a can of that daily as well as the burners they provide. Regardless we were covered in itchy bites throughout our stay.

On returning home we continued to get bitten so had to get pest control in to treat bed bugs. I have contacted Talalla Retreat as a courtesy and they responded adamant that the beach hut that we stayed in does not have bed bugs and we are maybe reacting to mosquito and sand fly bites. All I know is 6 days after checking out I am still getting bitten and have had to pay pest control £250 to treat my flat and go through all the inconvenience associated with an infestation.

Aside from this, the beach is beautiful, the pool was ok but be prepared to have insects constantly crawling all over you. I also found the staff quite arrogant compared to those in the hill country and we did get approached by one (persistent) member of staff wanting to take us out on their tuktuk on their day off but who can blame them for trying.

Overall I probably wouldn't go back.

Very beautiful place! I spent 7 days here and was treated all along very friendly by all the personnel. Whenever I needed something, anyone was happy to help. After seeing the very nicely located sea view villas I upgraded to a deluxe room upstairs with a great view over the garden and the ocean just a few steps away from the water. The beach is stunning, totally uncrowded with more locals than tourists if at all. It‘s also great to swim and just spend some time in the ocean and if you prefer, also the pool at the retreat is super nice.
I did not take any yoga classes but the people who did were really happy about it. However I took some surf sessions with their amazing local surf guide Sajit who made me progress like nowhere before within just a few days, could not be any happier about it!
So even if not participating in a yoga or surf retreat, you can get all you want and need - all in all an amazing week in such a beautiful environment, I would come back anytime!

Happy stay.

Wonderful garden and a charming staff.

The rooms are open and very elegant.

This beach side boutique style resort is not within everybody's reach, but that said it would be unfair to not rate them high on cleanliness, neat and really nice place to chill, their food is nice but comes with a hefty price (not within average local standards) The surrounding and location of the hotel is beautiful.

Super friendly and helpful stuff. The rooms are clean and I liked that the shower is outside. This place felt like a small paradise on earth.

I am spending my 14 days of quarantine here so that I can move freely around Sri Lanka again.and I have to say that the place is wonderful!
The staff is very efficient, friendly, helpful and respectful.
The facilities are very neat and clean.
And the restaurant food is delicious!
Without any doubt, this is a place to repeat.
100% recommendable!

War im Februar hier. Das Resort ist toll. Hat klasse Yogalehrer, gutes Essen und eine sehr gepflegte Anlage. Einfach nur toll.

I was here in 2015. It‘s been a while but it was one of the best times of my life: eat, surf, yoga aaand repeat.

Had an amazing time at Talalla retreat. Beautiful property, friendly staff and a overall just a peaceful environment to relax and recharge. Already planning my next trip back:)

Chilled, zen vibe. Smiley, accommodating staff. Picture perfect surroundings. Only stayed one night during a tour of Sri Lanka, but definitely found this a highlight. Restorative evening yoga by the ocean. Scrumptious healthy food. Quaint rooms with a gorgeous shower! If you fancy a bougie getaway to unwind then I'd definitely invest in popping by!

As this is our honeymoon, we expected a truly great and unforgettable experience and indeed we haven't been disappointed.
The retreat is situated in a cosy little bay which creates a private beach atmosphere. The room we had was truly something new. The first time we slept in a room with no walls and it was truly amazing (just remember to spray enough mosquito repellent). Imagine falling asleep and waking you with the sound of the ocean and starting your day with yoga!
The complete experience was giving with the friendly staff who is striving to provide any wish you may have. Oh and not to forget the food was really good and we enjoyed all meals provided. Open yourself to the sri Lanka cuisine.
I can only recommend you to stay here!

A wonderful place to take some time off, recharge and reconnect. The location is ideal, staff is very helpful and the complex is beautiful. It’s been a fantastic time and would definitely recommend it to anyone!