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A unique location where you can relax, in true hill-country style bungalow and Eco friendly colonial style boutique hotel. The climate is rated as one of the best in Sri Lanka - cool evenings and warm days offer a respite from the heat of the coastal resorts and is enjoyed by many Sri Lankans as well as foreign visitors. We are high up here at 1000 meters surrounded by the vast panoramas of the Ella Gap. Karandagolla is slightly lower down than the cooler tea gardens of Badulla giving us a more tropical air and richer variety of exotic plants and fauna. There is much wild country to explore on foot. "Cooking course in our own kitchen" Many and varied excursions can be arranged. The more active may engage with nature by climbing Little Adams Peak or visiting our local organic tea plantation. Alternatively you can just chill out and enjoy the fine food and comfort of the 'Bungalow', sip chilled drinks on the verandah of an evening, stroll in the grounds or slump in a hammock!
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If you love stunning views, nature, outstanding service, huge rooms and a relaxing space then this is the correct location for you. The staff is super friendly! You will enjoy their company and they will take the time to talk to you. This is one of the most amazing mountain views that I have ever seen. It also feels like having your own appartment. The rooms are HUGE. There is some wildlife to find and a natural garden. We only stayed a few days since we were on a round-trip, but we would have loved to stay longer. We would like to come back and see it again and we recommend it to everyone who simply needs to relax. There are not any surrounding noise from cities or similar disturbances.
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We can’t recommend Planters bungalow highly enough. The rooms are gorgeous and super spacious, all with lovely balconies looking over the stunning surrounding scenery. The grounds are beautiful, with a lovely pool, separate small children’s pool, huge gardens and monkeys roaming round. Jagard and his team looked after us so well and were incredibly attentive, kind and thoughtful - they even arranged a bonfire for our family one night which was wonderful. Although it is around 20 minutes drive from Ella town, tuk tuks are super easy and affordable so we travelled in to eat there in the evenings. Definitely a highlight of our Sri Lankan for all our family!
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Date of stay: November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were at the planters bungalow for 2 nights but would have loved to stay longer. The whole hotel area is so beautiful and full of pretty flowers and plants. The room was also very pretty and clean. The breakfast and dinner were delicious and the setting where you eat was so quiet and peaceful. You could observe lots of animals in the trees. We enjoyed the pool area and discovered the waterfalls in the area around the Hotel. One day we rented Scooters from the Hotel for about 15 dollars and drove to the Diyaluma waterfalls which was great fun. The planters bungalow was the hotel with the best price/money ratio in our opinion and I can 100% recomment it!
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Date of stay: March 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Firstly, the positives - the balcony & view was amazing. The staff, mainly young boys were very polite. Breakfast was really good ( coconut roti was the best! ). This place could be amazing but unfortunately it’s not being looked after & is really dirty - everything needs a deep clean.
The bathroom in particular was really grotty with built up scum on shower walls & sinks. This was not just few days or eve months of build up,I’d say years. The toilet was badly stained, which could be removed with some cream cleanser or bicarbonate of soda. Same with the sinks, the ceramic has no shine due to te build up of scum. The cleaners seemed to have a spray but something more powerful is required. There was broken sunbeds lying outside our room - why not get rid of them. The look like they’ve been there forever. Given the price we paid £300 ( plus £25 bank charges as they insisted on deposit by bacs) for 2 nights, we expected at the very least a clean room. We raised our concerns with the manager when we left but the fact the room has been allowed to get this bad is beyond me.
I’m sorry but cannot recommend this hotel.
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Date of stay: March 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We can’t recommend Planters bungalow highly enough. We stayed as a large family group from 5 years to 83 years and all of us had an amazing time. The rooms are lovely and super spacious. Our family room had a really confortable king size bed, a single bed, a large ensuite & a lovely balcony with breathtaking views. The grounds are beautiful, with a lovely pool, separate small children’s pool, huge gardens and monkeys roaming round. Jagard and his team looked after us so well and were incredibly attentive, kind and thoughtful - they even arranged a bonfire for our family one night which was wonderful. It is around 20 minutes drive from Ella town, but tuk tuks are super easy (buses available too) and affordable so we travelled in to eat there in the evenings. Definitely a highlight of our Sri Lankan for all our family!
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Date of stay: January 2023
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If you are looking for peace and relaxation, as well as super friendly staff and delicious food, this is the place for you. Out of 8 properties travelled by far the number 1!!! A bit remote from the direct place Ella. We felt very pleasant as the place is very noisy and touristy. Nearby attractions include Little Adams Peak, 9 Arches Bridge and beautiful waterfalls. The property even arranges transport there (for an additional fee)
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Date of stay: September 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Really lovely and relaxing stay. With amazing views and outstanding food, we enjoyed a couple of days here on our trip around the area. A highlight was our cooking class where we cooked a whole lot of vegetarian food with our very patient and helpful chef and kitchen staff. Great fun.
As we were heading off on our bikes at 6am, the team were up early ensuring we had hot coffee, a take away breakfast and a warm wave off! Thank you, especially to Malith who made sure we had a great visit.
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Date of stay: December 2023
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A really beautiful spot in the hill country in Sri Lanka. Incredibly helpful staff who will do their utmost to make sure everything is just right for you. Spectacular view over the hills/Ella Rock, quiet hidden-away location 10km from busy Ella, and delicious food. (We had two dinners and two breakfasts and tried lots of Sri Lankan specialities.) Lovely rooms- we were in one of the more modern ones with fantastic views. Rooms in the original bungalow itself probably more quaint/authentic though. A lovely, peaceful, relaxing place to stay, though on the slightly more expensive side.
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are a lot of plus points about Ella Planters bungalow. The grounds are beautiful and dining in the garden was a real pleasure. Overall the food was very good, especially if you went for the Sri Lankan options. Some of the staff did not speak a lot of English but they were really friendly so that wasn't a problem. The best part about our room was the big windows and the views of the mountains and the paddy fields. Watching the sunrise over the mountains and the monkeys jump around in the trees, while listening to the monks chanting and the peacocks calling was a very special way to start the day. Definitely one of the highlights of my holiday. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is that some of the furniture (deckchairs etc) have definitely seen better days. I was quite surprised by this given that the Planters Bungalow is not at all cheap by Sri Lankan standards. Also the lay out by the pool was not great. The deckchairs along the edge of the pool were so close to the edge of the pool that you had to literally climb over one to get to the next one. However in the grand scheme of things, these were minor gripes. Overall we had a really enjoyable stay. P.s. For anyone who is worried it's a bit far out of town, i can only say that once you have seen the chaos of backpacker Ella, you will probably be very glad to be a bit out of town and to get back to the peace and serenity of Ella Planters Bungalow.
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Date of stay: March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A tranquil, beautiful place with spectacular views. Large comfortable rooms with balconies facing out over the valley below. The views are spectacular and the cries of peacocks fill the air. The enchanting and extensive grounds are full of gorgeous trees and flowers, and further down, the herb, spice and vegetable gardens provide ingredients for the freshly cooked meals. At night, we would sit over dinner watching the fireflies dance through the trees. The staff were friendly and helpful. It is difficult to tear yourself away from the beauty of the place but we found some interesting, off the beaten track, places to visit - notably, Buduruwagala rock carvings, boasting the second largest Buddha carving in Sri Lanka - and where you can also take a peaceful boat trip across the lake, with its varied bird life. I would definitely recommend popping into Sam’s Cafe - a lovely little cafe on the river, with a charismatic manager who made us refreshing milkshakes and arranged the boat trip for us. Would highly recommend Planter’s Bungalow if you are looking for peace and quiet, away from the busy Ella town centre.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â You need to order your food well in advance, to avoid long delays.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leek, United Kingdom5 contributions3 helpful votes
No lift it is a bungalow.however there are steps leading up to the entrance, but I'm sure they have another entrance.
Just to reaffirm the small road that leads to the bungalow is not in the best condition.
Hello Elledm,
Thank you very much for your email.
We are very happy to inform you we had upgraded our hotel up to 10 rooms.
We opened our new rooms from 25th July 2017 and all building constructions and landscaping constructions were finished.
With a new beautiful out look, we started the new season from July 2017.
If you wish to see photos of our new rooms and out look of the garden, you may visit the Trip advisor.
Looking forward to meeting you at Planters Bungalow.
Thank you and Regards
Lanka Sanjeewani
Reservation
PLANTERS BUNGALOW
Dear Olivia,
Thank you very much for your email.
And nice to hear from you again.Mr.Jhon sold the property to his best friend Mr.Saminda from Ella and now is the owner of the Planters Bungalow is Mr.Saminda But if you wish to see Mr.Jhon we can possibly arrange because still, he is staying with us relaxing in our other property at Yahalawela with a nice view of Nine Arches Bridge and 98 Acres we arrange to meet him if you wish us to do.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you and Regards
Lanka Sanjeewani
Reservation
PLANTERS BUNGALOW
10 Mile Post, Uva, Karandagolla, Ella, Sri Lanka
Tel: Landline 0094 (0) 55 20 5 56 00 Mobile 0094 (0) 77 15 40 737
"20-25 mins drive from main city but that's also why it's a bliss. Limited vegetarian options for dinner but the team including chef is very accommodative"
There are more places to choose from in the Ella area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$185 - AU$274 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
planters bungalow ella hotel ella
LOCATION
Sri LankaUva ProvinceElla
NUMBER OF ROOMS
10
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