Mandara Rosen Yala, Kataragama

Drama! Drama! Drama! I was going to give them 2 star review but then the last minute drama made me change my mind. To be frank, the property is great in terms of location, design, room space, amenities, etc. Surprisingly, against all the bad reviews, we felt the food was great mostly except for one or two dishes. The restaurant staff were great and the food spread was thoughtful and tasted good. They were able to get some good picnic bag for our early morning safari as well. Rest....was the worst I have seen in all my years of travel. The management needs to rethink the staffing. Not one part of the stay was enjoyable because of the issues in hotel. 4 ppl at reception counter, but check in took its own sweet time. Then no coffee sachets in room, so we requested few and they said they will bring. We reminded after few hours and they said they will arrange, only to know from a housekeeping staff that they don't have stock of coffee because of high occupancy. Then the very rude and odd behaviour by pool attendant...refused to give us pool towels and limited to one per family (rest to get from room ourselves )and speaking very rudely. We went to front desk and asked and they said they will provide and pool attendant refused to listen to them as well. The next day similar issues with another family and then we realized that they don't have enough stock for the peak season for both room and pool towels and this recycling. We had booked through a travel agent, so apparently he had spoken to them and they were extra caring about us the second night. However, they felt they had to take revenge, so they held us hostage for an hour at the parking lot when we checked out because of payment issue between them and the travel agent. The travel agent apparently held up payment due to the issue, however they waited for us to get ready and leave the lobby to point out the issue and not earlier. Definitely do NOT recommend this place to stay.

The place was rundown and dirty. I cannot understand how this place is rated 4 stars. It is at best 2.5 stars. The bathroom was a complete disaster. I don’t think anyone has cleaned the bath/shower in years. Everyone else we went with said the same thing. The lighting was terrible making it almost impossible to shave. The patio door wouldn’t lock. The swimming pool was never clear, more like milky. The gym was a rusted rundown mess with broken equipment which seemed it hadn’t been used in years. Food was just ok. All in all a shabby place to stay. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The hotel needs upgrading in terms of service. Restaurant was very poorly managed when it comes to service. Guess short of staff. Nishantha who is the F&B manager should manage the services well. Tabels were not ready, tea cups not available, have to ask for every service including napkins. Rooms need better upgrading. Tolielt, towls and pillow cases look very old. This is not a standard Mandara Rosen should be. We have used this as a frequent Hotel but experience was very poor and was sad to see the lower standards. Please invest more staff. Thank you

Stayed here with my daughter for 2 nights while visiting Yala Park and attending the incredible Kataragama Esala Festival. Room was huge with a verandah looking out on the garden which was a playground for monkeys...very entertaining. AC worked well, water was always hot. Tea and coffee in room. We ate 5 meals there and everything was tasty . Stuck with western food due to tummy issues, but the buffet did look appealing. Maybe next time. It is a short Tuk Tuk ride into town if you do not have a driver. No complaints.

Always been my Favourite Hotel in Kataragama because of the Service, Location and the Amenities.We were there for 2 Days from 11 March and this time the service was even a lot better as they had mouth watering Buffets catering to all kinds of Cuisines for Dinner and Breafast.The new Executive Cheff has done wonders with the Food and the Menus. Would like to congratulate and thank him for the great Culinary Experience. From there we went to their Beautiful Mirissa Resort, but the food was by far the Best at Mandara Rosen Kataragama which I have already informed to the Group General Manager. Would highly recommend this Hotel to any Locals or Tourists. Hopefully we will be there again at the same time next year.

This is a good value hotel perfect for a night to rest between travels or as a base to explore Yala National Park. It has a huge restaurant with an à la carte menu and buffet options. The pool was a popular place to hang out. The room was very spacious with air con and our own facilities. We left early in the morning at 2 AM - and the staff was very accommodating and helpful.