This blog post is all about my review of staying at Ella River Front in Sri Lanka.
Welcome to the Checking In series on Orlagh Claire where I review my stay in hotels, hostels, guest houses and AirBnBs around the world. This review: Ella River Front, Ella, Sri Lanka.
You can see hotel room tours of everywhere we’ve stayed over on my YouTube channel.
Next in this series of reviews is Ella River Front, Ella, Sri Lanka which was one of our favourite stays during our month in Sri Lanka.
We arrived in Ella after taking the famous Kandy to Ella train, which took around seven hours. You can read all about the train and everything you need to know in this blog post.
If you’re planning a trip to Sri Lanka, make sure to check out my 80+ page travel guide eBook which you can download here to help you plan!
Related Ella Sri Lanka blog posts to read:
- The Best Travel Route & Itinerary For Sri Lanka
- Kandy to Ella Train: 15 Essential Things To Know
- Best Place To Stay When You Arrive In Sri Lanka
- Public Transport in Sri Lanka: Essential Advice You Must Know
- 10 Takeaways After A Full Month Travelling Sri Lanka
You can see a tour of our room and the Ella River Front Hotel in my Kandy to Ella YouTube vlog linked below:
Location of Ella River Front, Ella Sri Lanka
For an incredible view, Ella River Front couldn’t be more perfect. We had a room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a balcony looking over the lush greenery and even a waterfall.
Not to mention, the playful display by monkeys on our balcony when we woke up in the morning.
If you want to immerse yourself in a jungle-like setting with incredible views, then Ella River Front is the best place to stay.
However, to get into the town of Ella itself, you need to take a tuk tuk there and back. The PickMe app doesn’t work here, so you will have to rely on the hotel staff to call a tuk tuk for you, which isn’t cheap.
The roads are very narrow and was a tad scary for me when it was dark at nighttime and raining, as you were very close to the cliff edge.
Location-wise to get into town, it wasn’t ideal. But for the views, it was incredible.
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Useful Links & Resources
✈️ SafetyWing Travel Insurance
Make sure you’re insured with travel insurance! SafetyWing offers great deals for digital nomads as well as travellers booking long and short breaks away.
📲 Airalo USA Travel eSIM
Access the internet with ease as soon as you land in Sri Lanka with an Airalo eSIM. Use code ORLAGH3 for $3 off your first Airalo eSIM.
👩🏻💻 NordVPN
If you plan to use public WiFi a lot or want to stream your favourite TV shows from your home country, make sure you have a VPN connection.
🚁 Tours & Activities
Book your tours, cooking classes, and more via the below activity booking platforms:
- GetYourGuide: great for things like private tours and cooking classes
- Viator: use Viator to also book tours and activities across Sri Lanka
Cost to Stay at Ella River Front, Ella Sri Lanka
Our one night stay at Ella River Front cost £28.83. So, to split that between the two of us, this was £14.42 each.
An absolute bargain for views like this, and with the monkey show in the morning too!
You can definitely find cheaper options in Ella, but they won’t come with a view as amazing as this one.
RELATED blog post to read: Kandy to Ella Train: 15 Essential Things To Know
If you’re planning a trip to Ella Sri Lanka, make sure to check out my 80+ page travel guide eBook which you can download here to help you plan!
Final Review of Ella River Front, Ella Sri Lanka
This was definitely one of my top stays during our month in Sri Lanka. I loved the view of the waterfall, and that we were really amongst nature and the monkeys.
However our second stay in Ella Sri Lanka (Ella Hill Top Guest House) was better located towards the town, so we were able to walk to the restaurants and bars.
I would definitely stay here again, but you would need to be mindful of transport to and from the hotel.
RELATED Ella Sri Lanka blog posts to read:
- The Best South Sri Lanka Travel Route: 10 Days
- A Complete Guide To The Best Sri Lankan Food To Try
- Incredible Sri Lanka Hotels: Everywhere You Need to Stay
- Best Place To Stay When You Arrive In Sri Lanka
- Kandy to Ella Train: 15 Essential Things To Know
If you’re planning a trip to Ella Sri Lanka, make sure to check out my 80+ page travel guide eBook which you can download here to help you plan!
By Orlagh Shanks
Orlagh Shanks is the Editor of Orlagh Claire, an award-winning travel and lifestyle blog.
After working in the PR & Influencer Marketing industry, Orlagh quit her job to travel Asia for 12 months and moved to Sydney, Australia where she is now a full-time travel blogger and content creator sharing travel tips and recommendations for all 30 of the countries she’s visited so far.
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