Wattura Resort & Spa

Wonderful from the beginning to end. Great rooms water on every side and a magnificent pool. Breakfast is sumptuous no buffet but a great selection of dishes. The Sri Lankan and Indian breakfasts were stunning. We also had a beautiful dinner accompanied by a fun family band. All the team were excellent it would be unfair to name just one. I love it that the GM gets in and helps the team.

Great place to stay with fabulous environment and great service. Would recommend to anyone seeking for a luxury vacation. Should mention the great staff service

We used Watura for our annual company retreat with families at the end of July 2025. As our company has a policy to only use 5-star graded hotels for retreat activities, and also since no one had been to this place, we thought it would be a great pick for the trip this year! I’ll put the positives first and then mention several issues personally and my family faced as feedback. Positives: Great location between the river and the sea. Most of the staff were friendly and tried their best to serve the best with limited resources. The spa treatment we got was great, kudos to the staff. Allowed to check out late, as our spa treatment was at a late time. The water activity area for the kids was pretty awesome. If you and kids love water stuff, this is great. Spacious and big rooms with high roofs. The bar staff were very helpful in providing the team with facilities to have a very late sing-along session. Negatives: This property doesn’t have an elevator. It was a very young guy (17 years at that time when asked), who had to carry two of our bags, of which one was quite heavy. We were upset about his plight and offered to take it or support him, but he politely refused and managed. No buffet! Even though it was a big company team with families, they refused to accommodate buffets at any meal of the day. Therefore, we had issues finding something to give to our kid. Starters/ bread were mundane in every meal and were not freshly baked. Most of the other ala-carte food was also not great. The towels we had in the rooms had holes! See the attached images. This was a first for my family in any level hotel in Sri Lanka, leaving aside a place supposedly proclaimed as 5-star. We noticed a very weird thing happened on the same day we checked in. We went out for our boat ride and returned to the room around 6 PM. When we opened the door, there were 3 room guys (young ones as I mentioned above) doing some things under dim light in the bathroom. We never expected (nor asked) any room service on the very day we checked in! Come on, what more would you need after 4 hours of your check-in? The room should be fully turned around properly! All our clothes and accessories were at large and we felt very awkward, and we demanded that they leave. When they left, we found they had even folded and kept my wife’s and kid’s (a girl) underwear, which made us very awkward about the privacy and very uncalled for. I complained about this to the front office, who first denied any error by saying that since it’s a boutique-like hotel, they do frequent room services, and later had to accept the grave errors, saying she will look into this. Apparently, it turned out that the room was not properly turned around for us when we checked in, although the living areas were tidied and those boys had come to continue the rest, including refilling of the toiletries, and again they failed this time also by focusing on other things like folding the underwear! It was a case of a lack

The only highlight of our stay was our personal butler, Navindu, who was absolutely outstanding. He went above and beyond to make us as comfortable as possible and is clearly overworked but still delivers with genuine care. He truly deserves recognition. Unfortunately, everything else about this resort was a complete letdown. This is absolutely not a 5-star property — it feels tired, run down, and poorly maintained. • Cleanliness: Housekeeping is a serious issue. The villa and common areas were filthy, with stains on nearly every cushion, dirt behind the furniture, and a musty smell. Cushions had to be laundered only after we insisted, and we even had to request stained furniture be covered with a bedsheet. Floors were not properly cleaned. • Facilities: The first villa we stayed in was large, but the electricity failed, forcing us to move to another one. The kettle was burnt and didn’t work, and even the replacement didn’t function. Worst of all, the plunge pool was in such bad condition that we didn’t even feel like using it. • Value for money: For the extremely high prices charged, the resort simply doesn’t deliver. The place feels neglected, and the experience does not match the cost in any way. • Late checkout: Despite the resort being almost empty (only 2 rooms occupied), we were still told to pay $100 for a late checkout — even though our flight was at night. Considering the poor experience, this felt particularly unfair. The staff overall are polite and try their best, but they are clearly stretched thin. Navindu in particular was excellent, but no single staff member can make up for a resort that is this poorly maintained. Bottom line: Wattura Resort is overpriced and overrated. It urgently needs a full overhaul in cleanliness, maintenance, and management before it can justify calling itself luxury or 5-star. Sadly, until then, I cannot recommend staying here.

A hidden gem in Negombo. This property gives a calm and relax environment. The rooms are spacious for s family with a baby. Outdoor veranda with view of river and beach on the other side, what else you can ask for? ☺️ They also have a kids waterpark which we enjoyed most. The food was delicious with all course menu. Selection of food and quality of ingredients was visible. The desserts you cant miss- plated desserts with a michelin star experience Special thanks to GM Mr Sujeewa for setting up and running with s personalized service. Dining service and room service by Pasindu was exceptional service and a Sri Lankan smile. We are definitely visiting again and recommend to friends. This place is worth spending more than just two nights