塔魯別墅 - 長屋 - 幫託塔(Taru Villas the Long House - Bentota)

Absolutely superb from the moment we arrived. Welcomed by ***an and staff. Check in was easy. And the iced popsicle very cooling. Firstly, the architecture and style of the rooms could not be better. Very comfortable room and the owner has thought of everything one might require and has put a lot of love and attention into making everything just right and to a very high standard. The bed and pillows were very comfortable, excellent shower. Toiletries are provided, though they were a little ordinary. Tea, kettle, fresh milk and cafetiere provided in the room, with ground Lanka coffee, and mini bar. The hotel is just a couple of minutes walk from the beach, which was clean, and not many people around. The food was delicious, and well presented. Thank you to the Chef. Served by surely the most courteous and friendly staff, whom I can see have been given the highest level of training, and know exactly how to look after their guests in a professional manner. I have stayed in many hotels in Sri Lanka and I have to say this has proved to be the best I have experienced.

Taru Villas is a amazing boutique hotel that I and my partner were fortunate to stay at. It has an amazing outdoor pool as well as a direct access to the beach which was really well maintained. The service was impeccable and the room was very comfortable also, would definitely come back!

Had a fantastic stay at this lovely hotel. The hotel is very airy and stylish with beautiful ornaments and art. The staff were very helpful with good attention to detail. All the food was cooked to order freshly and was delicious. I would definitely come back and recommend without reservation.

excellent service very accommodating staff providing breakfast even with our early flight departure. Nice spacious rooms good pool and kids area. Security seems to be a potential issue with the outdoor shower having no lock to the indoor toilet, also a small gate/wall to the beach doesn’t seem secure. Potential for theft though not experienced by us.

We absolutely loved this hotel. Out of all the hotels we stayed in for a month in Sri Lanka we liked this one and one other hotel the best. We got the room at a reduced rate online and the value for money was exceptional. The property has small number of rooms yet has so much space and so many sitting areas. The gardens and decor are really nice. The pool was really nice and clean. The beach area is really nice to walk and clean, really great beach for walking and just ten minutes walk on beach to main area. The rooms are really nice, very large, very clean, great bed and linen and areas to sit and big balcony with very comfortable seating. The bathroom is large and good. The bathroom is a bit open but they put mosquito prevention items etc and there weren’t any mosquitoes as they fumigate but would be easier if they just put flyscreen in bathroom. The staff were very friendly and helpful, breakfast was good. The property feels very luxurious and intimate. The dinner menu was limited with western food only that was very formal and no snacks etc. It is understandable to have limited menu because at the time we stayed there were only three groups of guests. However there are many eating options in Bentota so there was no problem at all, the place across the road was cheap and cheerful and Nova Seafood was really, really good. Would be good to have menu in room as well as drinks list etc. Transport provided by hotel was very expensive for Sri Lanka hence we used alternative local company.

When I deciced to come to Bentota, I was debating between staying at the Long House and Villa Bentota. The properties are five minutes’ walk apart and I visited Villa Bentota during my stay at Long House, to see how the hotels compared. Essentially, Long House is far superior. I saw several rooms at VB and they seemed dated in comparison to LH. They also smelt funny, but perhaps that’s just because they hadn't been using the AC. First impressions at LH are WOW. The setting is absolutely beautiful and the rooms large. That being said, there are some issues at LH. The biggest that they don’t seem to have a proper liquor licence, meaning that only beer and just one choice of wine are available. No cocktails, no spirits. This was a problem for the British guests! Other downsides are that the rooms lack privacy (at least mine did). There was a nice outside seating area next to my room, but it was open to anybody walking by, meaning I had to keep the curtains closed if I was in the room during the day, as anybody walking by could see straight into the room. The wifi was extremely patchy and the tech guys came to install another router in my room so I could do some work calls. They sorted it in the end, but it would be nice if this had been taken care of in advance. Food. The Sri Lankan curries are excellent and inexpensive by western standard (around USD 15 for a plate of meat / fish curry, along with veg curries and other bits and pieces). However, the western food is just alright. On the first night I sent my pork belly back because it wasn’t cooked for long enough, and was still tough. The next night, chef made a nice chicken schnitzel, served with sweet potato mash, but the whole dish was lacking flavour. I replaced it with a local dish, mustard fish, which was miles better. Another point is that the kitchen seems very slow / inflexible. For example, on the last night I was told it would take an hour to make dinner because I hadn’t reserved in advance. There were no other diners. If you want sri lankan dishes for breakfast (which is otherwise average) then you need to let them know the night before. Somebody give the chef a rocket! He does make an excellent corn soup, though. The waiting staff are excellent, especially Dinesh and his mate whose name I can’t remember now. Please give them a tip as they are very hard-working and always have a smile on their face. I spent one day on the beach which is accessed by crossing the railway tracks at the end of the Long House garden. Whilst I was there I got chatting to a really nice young guy called Chandi, who can help with restaurant bookings, ideas for things to do and trips in the area. Contact him on whats app, +94 76659 5372. All in all, I would definitely go back to the Long House – I just hope they can raise the standards to 10/ 10.

We spent 4 nights at The Long House with our beach loving 6 year old. The property was comfortably laid out - with good size rooms with and living areas outside each furnished with big sofa's ( the jars filled with sweets were a nice touch ). Far more homely and relaxing than the big resort type hotels. The service across the board, from front office, restaurant, housekeeping etc. was excellent. The food was delicious, with a menu varied enough to keep a picky youngster happy. Special mention for the Sri Lankan curries on the menu and the BBQ prepared for New Year's eve dinner - the lamb chops were out of this world ! The beach was a 5 minute walk accessed directly through the garden crossing over the railway tracks. Bentota beach is one of the nicest in Sri Lanka with this stretch idyllically quiet extending for kilometers. Perfect for swimming, walking, kite flying. It was fun watching the train pass every half an hour or so - noise was not an issue at night as the trains stop running past a certain hour. We greatly enjoyed our stay and would highly recommend The Long House.

The jewel in the crown here is the staff who are so wonderful. My wife and I stayed here for five nights. The menu is somewhat limited but Superb we thought the fish dishes some of the best cooked we have ever experienced. We had a beautiful room overlooking the beach and pool.