Almost exactly ten years ago, Drew and I visited Sri Lanka and went on our first ever safari to Yala National Park. The DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila Rajawarna Resort wasn’t built until 2020 so it wasn’t helpful for that visit, but this time around we booked the nearly brand new hotel as our Yala National Park launching spot and a place for our “workation”, booking five nights at $98 a night.
DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila Rajawarna Resort Bottom Line Review
This resort is situated right along the banks of the Weerawila Lake which helps it feel remote and secluded and provides plenty of interesting birdlife to watch…which should also give you an idea of how little recreational activity is going on at the lake otherwise. The resort has a massive pool however, so that plus the proximity to safaris gives plenty of entertainment for a short stay. The rooms were comfortable and great for working. We booked the most basic King bed option, (the “King Deluxe Room Garden View with Terrace”), but thanks to our Diamond status, got upgraded to the King Deluxe Room with Balcony. The hotel attendant who brought us to our room kind of laughed apologetically when she showed us our upgraded view of tree branches (pictured below), which Drew thought was an appropriate reaction.
- Points Price: 23,000 points per night
- Location: Good if you’re doing one of the nearby safaris, otherwise very isolated.
- On-Site Dining: Good – the resort currently has two restaurant options: the main restaurant “SpoonBill” (menu here), and a lounge/restaurant “Turnstone” (menu here). SpoonBill has a buffet option for 4,400 LKR (~$24 at the time) but we ordered salads from the A La Carte menu instead, which we liked. And as Diamond members we got free buffet breakfast in SpoonBill every morning which was excellent, with tons of Sri Lankan dishes as well as Western options.
- Bedroom: Great! Comfortable and plenty of working space.
- Service: Great! Everyone is super friendly.
- Resort fee: None
- Parking: Complimentary valet parking
- Hilton Elite Benefits: As Diamond members, we got a room upgrade (to the balcony room), free breakfast at their buffet in the main restaurant, and in lieu of club lounge access, we got a voucher for one appetizer and one nonalcoholic beverage each in the main restaurant between 3pm and 5:30pm as well as one alcoholic beverage and one snack plate each in the rooftop lounge.
- Would I stay again? If I was doing another safari in the area, I would certainly stay again!
Photos and captions below…
Yala Safari Images & Captions
Yala National Park is only about 45 minutes from the resort. We booked our Yala National Park safari with a local company called “Flamingos Safaris” for ~$84 (17,000 LKR). The main goal of a Yala Safari is “spotting” a leopard (pun-intended), which is best done in the morning. For that reason, we booked just the morning time slot which started with a 5 am pick up from the resort and had us back just before 10:30 am. (The full day would have cost 25,000 LKR instead). Everyone says you’re extremely lucky if you see a leopard, but we’ve actually seen one both times (ten years ago and last week)! It’s hard to get solid safari photos without a zoom lens, but here are a few pictures to demonstrate the wildlife you’ll see at Yala.