Goyambokka Beach Hotel

The staff were amazingly kind and friendly, and helped with anything I needed. Breakfast service was always quick, efficient, and very friendly for me, despite what some other reviews say. If you want more, just ask. Room cleaning is available on request. My simple stone house was beautiful, though the bungalows are quite dark because the windows are small. The bathroom isn’t fully sealed from outside, so geckos, ants, and the occasional chipmunk may get in. You can hear the Indian Ocean rumbling all night, along with plenty of animal sounds, so bring earplugs if you want uninterrupted sleep. The property is full of wildlife, including peacocks, giant squirrels, kingfishers, chipmunks, monitor lizards, and mongooses. The pace is very laid back, and at first I wasn’t sure I’d like it. Once I stopped expecting everything right away, I could really enjoy the peace. WiFi was very slow for the first few days, but they fixed it when I mentioned it, and it worked fine afterward. Mobitel reception is nearly nonexistent here and all around the area, including the beaches. As a guest at Goyambokka Beach Retreat, you can use the sunbeds at Yellow Mellow Restaurant (Goyambokka Beach Restaurant) for free, and the food there is very good. The staff are family of the hotel team. At the beach entrance, people may try to sell you sunbeds and claim you can’t get free ones there. Keep walking, that’s a lie and they know it. There are lots of lovely dogs that spend the day at the beach and nights at the hotel. They’re friendly and will protect you from strangers too. Power at the hotel can be shaky. The lights flicker when appliances like the AC compressor or shower water heater turn on, especially in the evening when people switch on the AC. At least once or twice each evening, the AC sometimes can’t draw enough power to run the compressor and shows Error 23. Unplug it, leave it for a few minutes, then plug it back in and restart it. That should get it working again. The nearby Goyambokka Beach is stunning and clean, with clear turquoise water and no trash when I was there. I stayed eight nights and appreciated more each day the feeling of being somewhat off the grid. The pool can look a little unkempt when leaves and flowers fall in from the palms and mango trees. The water is clean, though, and you can swim around the debris. They don’t run the filter all the time, which I suspect is also because of the limited power supply. Hotel transport can be very expensive. They quoted me 6000lkr for pickup from Beliatta Train Station, while I found a car on the pick me app for 1700 lkr.