Back of beyond - Wellness Retreat in Tangalle

Beautiful green space with beautifully built villa that made you feel like you were living outdoors. Lots of cozy seating areas and a yoga hall perfect for your practices.

Meals were served in the dining area at personalised timings. Good local food, though a bit repetitive in taste. We especially enjoyed the milk rice and fried banana dessert. There is no cooking amenities inside of the villa kitchens though, which would have been nice for cooking with friends.

There were also a lot of mosquitoes, that were somewhat repelled by burning coils the staff set up everyday. The whole stay area seemed to be in a bit of a dilapidated state: the lawn shown in the promo pictures was dried out and prickly, the graveled seating area next to that was a mud pool, certain paths were overgrown with plants. Aside from not looking as ideal as in the pictures, this was not that big of an issue though.

The property is a bit far from nearby towns or touristy beaches/places, taking at least half an hour to the nearest proper town, but that's also a plus if you just want to be out in nature (the starry sky was particularly beautiful there). There was a beach nearby, but it's not recommended to swim there, as the waves are very violent there.

There were also three dogs on the property that frequently were hanging out with us. One night though, one of the dogs attacked the other by grabbing in the neck and not letting go, making the other dog bleed, so that was not such a nice experience. There were also street dogs that frequented the property and that created tension with the residential dogs.

The staff was generally helpful and through whatsapp we could quickly arrange for tuktuks/taxi, laundry pickup and anything else we needed. They even set up a christmas tree during the holidays and prepared special meal decorations.

So overall a nice place to stay if you want to retreat for a bit to the beyond while still enjoying some luxuries. Though for young travellers would have liked a bit more autonomy (cooking in our own kitchen etc.).

Love the environment. It makes you feel so relaxed and comfortable. Sipping a tea in the morning while enjoying the nature is a valuable thing I have invested. We rented some mountain bikes and had a good time riding in the village. You have all the privacy and also you don't need to worry to lock your doors. I had my laptop, my money, phones in the room and no one enters to our villa except for three naughty dogs. For some reason they stick with us through the entire time we spent there. Guess we over pet them. One dog we kept in our room also. Usually they dont stay with guests it seems, but they did with us. Wasantha and Chandana is just one call away. they never say they can't. pool was a nice place to hang around. We had a really good time.

No real lnternet connection. There is a router with SIM-card stick, but 1. it runs only at the pool and not in the rooms and 2. it generates a very instable net. Not appropriate for a Skype or even video.

Lovely pool to relax in and really great food! Good service at table. A nice setting with thatched roofs.
But new huts/ houses are being built so close to each other, beating the whole idea of isolation in rural setting.
Also power dips and loss of water while in the shower. Hard to get in touch with caretaker (suggest a phone be placed).