Jayawardane’s Bungalow and Farm

I was at this place last week with my friends. We stay 2 days and our food was cooked at another place and brought to us, which is cannot expect but we didn't have any choice since they dont have any kitchen at the place.care taker had arrange us jeep safari and it was nightmare. He haven't show anything but only one Waterfall. Later we find out from another person the same price we paid that take all around the 3 Waterfall and one view point. Very disappoint the same.only good thing in this place is one boy who gave us service is very friendly and smiling all the time.

I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at Jayawardhana Bungalow and I must say it was one of the worst stays I have ever had. We went there with our family. There was a dog named “pretty” and It is incredibly friendly. Interior and exterior were good. There was caretaker “Dilan” he also very friendly and best at hospitality. He guided us to waterfalls also. After waterfall visiting we came to bungalow…Hot water was also not working. At 11.30 pm there was a power failure and we stayed 30min in dark with only one emergency light. There was no water also. We couldn’t go to washroom. We tried quite a few time to call the lady named Nilmini whom number was given to us.but no answer. Then after 6 attempts she answered the call. Then she called to Dilan and he came and checked. There was a problem with the pressure pump. He tried his best to fix it. There was no backup. So he set the normal water line. At morning when we work up there was no electricity and less water in Bathroom. We were 8 people and It was very difficult to manage. When we mentioned about the discomfort to that lady she was very neglectful and she was not considering the comfort that have to be there for her customers. She didn’t know how to handle the customer. Hope the next customer will have a good stay without any difficulties what we faced.

In conclusion, my stay at Jayawardhana Bungalow was a complete disappointment. From the poor customer service, this hotel failed to meet even the most basic expectations.

I went there last week with bunch of best buddies. Place was smaller than which one would have imagined by looking at facebook photos. It is rather identified as a homestay to be frank. Point of improvements such as, there was no kitchen so food was cooked else where and brought to premises. We had to continuesly call caretaker incase we need something needs to be done and it is really bad practice. Caretaker saman seem to be a cunning person to me because of his shady arrangement of jeep safari we requested. This place could be improved with better supervision and customer oriented help facilities i guess. Although Mandaramnuwara can be undoubtedly named as a amazingly cool place sadly it can not be said same for this place.

The place is very small, not a large location like in the photos.small house with small bedrooms. But there is a good view. Foods are cooked at another place and brings to us.caretakers giving good service. They charged additional for two persons. The dog is very friendly.we spent around 21k for 8 persons but they initially said 17500 and we had to provide goods for meals.one caretaker came with us to show the viewpoint at the village and Kolapathana Waterfall.good place but it's not worth for their price.only worth the "photographic scenery" from the location and service from the caretaker (Saman and his friend) appreciate their support and service.overall good experience but neutral feedback from me.

There are POSITIVE as well as NEGATIVE comments regarding the Location.

POSITIVE FEED BACKS

* Beautiful surrounding
* Good Service (specially the small boy who helped us)
* Clean and tidy
*Good Food
* Good Location for Photographs

NEGATIVE FEED BACKS

* There is no Huskies as per the face book pictures there is only one Golden retriever and two stray dogs.
* we Have to Provide the Raw Materials for the meals.but they are not using the Raw materials we are giving them.they use what they want.
*Please coordinate with the care taker (Saman) for the package including cooking charges and BBQ charges. They are telling it as an all Inclusive Rate but finally we had to pay so many unexpected charges.
* I would never Recommend any one to visit the Waterfall which is 5KM away from the Bungalow. Its such a waste of time.

ADVISES TO THE VISITORS

* Theres no Fuel Stations Near by Better to Full tank your Vehicles from the very First fuel station on the way.

There is enough space for six people. Three bedrooms and one bath room available with two double decker beds and one double bed. Hot water available but with very low water pressure same on hand shower. Seems to be renovated old house. House keeper is a cunning felow. You have to be very carefull when you deal with him. Stricktly give instructions what to cook. Otherwise he will cook what he wants. If you are staying only one night better to visit kolapathaba Ella on very first day then nearby water falls on other days.

Great starting trip for the year 2024. Actually we only spent 1 night there, but to get most unforgettable experience with the climate and nature better if we choose 2 nights. Near by natural pool is the most attractive place among our youngers. Cute doggy "Pretty" joined with us to there without any invitation. Place is worth for the money we spent. Caretakers (Mahesh and the other, sorry forgot to ask your name) always accept the way we want the food and others. It's really appreciate their hard work to keep the place clean and tidy.

Bungalow & the location is as promoted. (However, the bungalow is not actually located in MandaramNuwara. It is located in "Elamulla") Nice clean modern facility. 3 rooms available (2 with bunk beds) 2 shared bathrooms. Netflix. Friendly Golden Retriever. Neaby Natural pool for bath. However, March, April is not the best time period to visit. Surrounding mostly consist with vegetable beds. If you are going via Kandy, roads are in good condition. However, If you are coming via Nuwaraeliya, some parts of roads are not in good condition. (But motorable). Access road to the Bungalow is also narrow and not in good condition. However, recommended.

This is a beautiful place! It’s clean and has a lot of comfort items to make you feel at home. The environment was pleasant and welcoming. I, especially, enjoyed the view of the mountains.

UPDATE on Feb, 2020: My below review was given to how this place was back in April 2021, owned by a previous management. However, I have gotten to know that the place is now owned by a new management and that they have fully renovated the place and gotten rid of all deficiencies. Glad that it's with good hands now. I hope to visit there again soon as I can.
(+1 rating for the new management's effort).

As of April, 2021:
It was a mixed experience.

First of all, the access was not easy due to the patchy and very narrow road. The owner said (? The government?) is going to carpet the road all the way up to the higher grounds (to and beyond this location), which is a good thing especially for the villagers.

When you are arriving at first (in the road I've described above) you wouldn't expect anything but a far-cry. But when you get inside you will find yourself a perfect getaway with a stunning view of beautiful "mandaram" mountains.

The garden is smaller than what it usually appears in photos but is nicely curated. You will get 3 small rooms in the house with a small kitchen and an adjacent living area. Kitchen is equipped with the basics such as a refrigerator, toaster, microwave oven, etc. There's a TV with a cable connection in living area, but no WiFi.

There's only one bathroom inside (not attached) and another one outside. Both bathrooms, however, were not very clean nor fully functional. Hot water was only working in inner bathroom.

Breakfast was included in our package and other meals were charged a little above average per plate. The menu (or the choices) were limited and the food was average and nothing extraordinary for our taste buds.

I must also mention Dilan, a genuine local and a wonderful human being, who helped us throughout our stay with utmost commitment and politeness.

There are quite a few excursions around to spend your daytime. Some hikes, treks and many breathtaking waterfalls such as Pichcha Mal Ella, Kolapathana Ella, etc. There's a smaller fall just down the house too, which offers a natural pool to have a refreshing bath if you can endure a bit of cold.

You can also find fresh vegetables for very little price from nearby farms.

In summary, it's an average experience. A wonderful location to spend a couple of days escaping the urban madness. The place however needs more attention towards maintenence and cleanliness. That would make things perfect for this beautiful concept.

Recommendations:
* Suited for 6-8 max and not more than that.
* Route from Nuwara Eliya is a bit difficult but more scenic than the route from Kandy.
* Come in your own 4x4 vehicle if possible as many excursions need that. Off-road vehicles are a bit expensive if you are to hire them locally.

My friends and I had a lovely stay last week. It has a breath taking view, absolutely amazing staff specially Mahesh and Sanka. They provided us with great hospitality.
Mahesh's courteous way of answering the phone must be appriciated. Enjoyed the yummy food of Chef Nilmini. Mahesh and Sanka arranged a mouthwatering Barbecue which we enjoyed a lot. I thank Dilan who assisted us in sight seeing specially the spectacular view points and picturesque water falls. There’s nothing negative to say. I had the best time here with my friends and I highly recommend this place to anyone. We will definitely come back again. Thank you so much for making our stay a memorable one.

Jayawardena's Bungalow is one of the most impressive places we have chosen so far
Thank you very much for joining us to make our excursion more beautiful than we expected. We are happy to have chosen to spend a beautiful evening, night and morning at Jayawardena's Bungalow.
Thank you again and again to the lady who provided us with meals and to the kind hearted brother who dedicated himself to make the trip beautiful with us.
Hope to meet you all & cutest pretty again.

With Love from Anuradhapura

Book like a month ahead and managed to get my reservation to this beautiful place on mid May. My first contact was Mr Mahesh the main caretaker of this premise, he was really helpful with reservation procedure. People who handled the booking through WhatsApp also were very helpful and professional. Mrs Nilmini is the chef and she made us very delicious food, she was very quick and helpful.
Bungalow was very clean and tidy rooms were also very clean. Rooms are bit compact but comfortable. You can find all the kitchen appliances if you want make some food on your own. I must thank to their adorable and amazing pet "Pretty" which gives you warm welcome the companion who guide you to the bathing spot, and I must say that she's very intelligent and protective.
I don't hesitate to recommend this place. This a one of the most beautiful place in the area and staff also giving an excellent service.
I'll visit you again. Thanks again!

Excellent service and beautiful atmosphere. You should go to this place for enjoy your weekend.

We had a great time in the Jayawardane’s Bungalow and service was very good! Caretaker of the bungalow is really nice helped us with everything. Pretty the golden retriever is very friendly and the cool thing is she’s the guide to the waterfalls near the bungalow.

I don’t have words to explain our overall experience during our stay. Top-notch stay, top-notch food. Not to mention the person who took care of us "Dilan"; we are very much grateful to you for taking us on a hike, showing us the beautiful waterfalls, taking us on a safari, helping us with the BBQ, and overall making sure of our safety, you did an amazing job. It simply exceeded our expectations on this trip. Thank you so much for your great hospitality. We will see you again 

We had a wonderful time at jayawardana Bungalow Mandaramnuwara. Good service. Thank you Mahesh and Nilmini for making our stay comfortable ️

The place is super awesome. Very pleasant place with a beautiful scenery. There’s a friendly doggo named pretty? She’s very lovely, kind and she guides us to adventures. The places is located in a lovely place surrounded with beautiful waterfalls, forests in walking distance. Staff is superb friendly. The cook make delicious food. You can have bbq nights. And the caretaker of the puppies is very friendly and looking after Pretty and her puppies very well ️ No doubt this is a lovely place with a wonderful view and climate, you won’t regret?

Perfect location for spending yr holiday or a vacation with beautiful garden views.

Property is outstanding & perfect hospitality.

The chef ensured our needs were met.

All n all we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Jayawardena Bungalow is amazing and serene place with a touch of chill and pleasant weather. I felt likae being in a mountain chalet in Switzerland less the snow but perfect weather…
The bungalow offers 3 bedrooms, small but cozy and two bathrooms, an open kitchen and hall which felt so homely…
The view is majestic and the star of the bungalow is the gorgeous Golden Retriever named Pretty! She is an amazing fur baby! She welcomed each one we got off the car, guided us to the natural pond, bathed with us, played with the kids. As an extra bonus, Pretty had 8 puppies of which two ended up coming home with us and we named them Bella & Chester!
The service was great especially, Dilan the caretaker, who was very accommodating and friendly with all our request. Nilmini, the chef prepared some fantastic dishes with the groceries we provided. Also a special mention to the owner, Gayan who went out of his way to give us a 2 nights stay during these busy season.
Overall, we had an amazing experience and we are definitely going back with Chester and Bella to visit Pretty! ️ We highly recommend this amazing place and a 5 star rating wouldn’t do justice! More like a 10 star rating is due!