Does Laya Safari have a pool?

Yes, this property has an outdoor pool and a children's pool.

Is Laya Safari pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much is parking at Laya Safari?

Self parking is free at this property.

What time is check-in at Laya Safari?

Check-in start time: 2 PM; Check-in end time: midnight.

What time is check-out at Laya Safari?

Check-out is at noon. Late check-out is available for a fee (subject to availability).

Does Laya Safari provide a shuttle to the airport?

Yes, there's an airport shuttle.

Are there all-inclusive benefits at Laya Safari?

Some rate plans available at this property are all-inclusive.

Where is Laya Safari located?

This Palatupana hotel is on the beach, 2.7 mi (4.3 km) from Yala National Park, and within 9 mi (15 km) of Palatupana Beach and Kirinda Beach. Kirinda Temple and Patanangala Tsunami Memorial are also within 12 mi (20 km).

Laya Safari Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

10/10 Excellent

Alain

17 March 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great Hotel

Great location overall. Nice place to stay to plan a safari at Yala Park.

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Annie

4 December 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Beautiful location, and gorgeous rooms. Staff are very friendly

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

2/10 Terrible

Maciej

27 March 2025

Liked: Staff & service

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities

Avoid. Derelict, ghost hotel, with crumbling infrastructure. Although staff are nice and helpful. Stayed March 2025.

8/10 Good

X

31 January 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

It was a great trip with 4 family! The hotel is clean and nice. Worth every penny.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

27 January 2017

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Amazing

Very good very nice rooms n awesome food n service

10/10 Excellent

sarah

15 March 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Excellent hotel for safari

Fantastic hotel, rooms are very spacious and well designed to make the most of the amazing views out to sea. The pool is a fantastic place to relax and unwind. Very close to the entrance to the national park.

10/10 Excellent

Jlly

10 November 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great hotel, right on beach and very convenient for Safari Park and Bird Safari. Staff are outstanding, food exceptional. Very impressed.

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

6 March 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

This is a great place to stay if you are planning to visit the national park at Yala. The staff are great and the facilities are good. The food in the restaurant is quite good. The only negative is that the resort is starting to show signs of aging and wear but you shouldn’t put you off, It’s still a good value place to stay

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Roberta

5 December 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Yala

Laya Safari was a great hotel in a remote area. The staff was very accommodating, filling all of our requests. Great swimming pool, good food and very nice beach best for taking long walks. I wish I had more time to stay longer and would recommend this hotel if Yala is on the itinerary.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

9 April 2017

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Good times!

Staff was helpful, rooms were very clean. Pool was a little dated, and service was a bit slow sometimes, but very accommodating. All-in-all we had a great time. View was beautiful!! Beachfront was gorgeous with wonderful crashing waves.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

29 November 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Excellent experience. We got a room next to the beach, very unexpected place next to the jungle. Room is quite nice and comfortable, can hear the waves at our porch. Hotel staff are Super helpful, and very friendly. Will definitely go back again

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018

8/10 Good

Kylie

15 July 2017

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities

Ok stay

Laya Safari was ok shower bathroom and bed nice. Pretty run down but nice ocean views very windy during the day. Pool was lovely and staff very friendly. Food was not so great very basic. Breakfast buffet better.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

4 January 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Amazing hotel loved the room and location to safari park beautiful infinity pool. No complaints on location and room. Food awful and very expensive service terrible in restaurant, we eWorld have stayed an extra night if food was better Also peeping tom hanging around rooms at night. With torch to keep animals away

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Donica

6 July 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A must stay

Customer service, the restaurant, hotel and facilities was fantastic and immaculate. The hotel overlooks the beach which was a great way to spend the mornings and the pool was a great way to end the evening. From the moment we arrived we felt welcome and the hotel staff were extremely courteous, they offered to have breakfasts ready at 5am for our safari which made our stay here memorable. My friend and I have been boasting about this hotel and would like to bring our families and friends back to Laya. Thank you for such an amazing experience.

8/10 Good

Gary

10 April 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great location for Yala Safari

Very nice hotel in a great location for Safari at Yala National Park. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Room was really nice with a comfortable bed, lounge area and great shower. One downfall was that during a storm some water came into the room but staff cleaned this up promptly and was understandable given volume of rain. The pool was really nice and very clean. I was disappointed with the food, the menu was quite westernised and tasted ok, would’ve preferred a traditional menu.

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

6/10 Okay

Richard

5 December 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Decent hotel close to Yala

We stayed one night at Laya Safari. We chose the hotel based on location, since we were doing a safari in Yala early the morning after. The hotel is really just a 10 minutes drive to the national park, which was very convenient. We were a bit surprised of the condition of the hotel, it looks great on the pictures, but we felt that it was a bit worn down in comparison. However, the room was clean and comfortable, so for a night it was definitely OK. The view from the balcony was fantastic! Clear view of the ocean. The beach is really nice for a walk, but a bit rough sea to swim (December). There are also other hotel options in the exact same area that I would explore for another visit.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

15 January 2018

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort

beautiful hotel but maintenance needed!

+ beautiful design of the hotel, semi loft style with great sea views through glass walls of three directions, sea view bath tub + great location by the sea with infinity swimming pool + clean bedding and towels, good housekeeping + friendly and helpful staff - buildings are glass wall structured villas with great view, please clean the glasses... I needed to wash inner side of the window/wall by the bathtub so that i could actually enjoy the view but of course outer side is still not clean.. - maintenance (for wooden this and that, curtain shades, glass doors etc) is mandatory to keep the great design shine!! it's really a pity that such a nice hotel gets worn-out.

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

8 March 2019

Liked: Staff & service

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities

We liked the bar and the wifi.but the room was dlapilated and need renovation.bed linnen and towels need replacement. Even though its a beach front hotel we werenot allowed to swim as the beach was red flagged 24 hrs. We wouldn't have booked if the beach was not available, Toomany safari jeeps inthe park pollutiing the animals.Suggest restrict the jeepsand increase the passengers in the jeep some jeepscarry only1 person when ithas 10 seats.

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Jeff

30 January 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Spent 3 nights at this beautiful hotel with excellent location and all rooms looking out to sea, Close to Yala National Park - 15 minutes. An eventful hotel with wildlife inside the hotel grounds, Wild Boar by veranda, iguanas, hares etc and the sound of firecrackers at night to ward off the elephants. Feel of safari and yet safe. Room very nice and comfortable with slight problem of no hot water first night but this fixed and from then on no problems. AC, Fridge, coffee making facility all good and no mosquito bites. Restaurant and Bar good service and not over priced. Large choice of Food and all was presented very well. Pool very good. Bathroom good with view from bath looking out to the beach and sea. Bathroom could be improved with a tiled floor and wall with better pointing of the existing feature tiles. Quite remote so best to get any necessaties before you arrive. Hotel provides accommodation and food etc for any driver you may have so your vehicle is not far away. Overall considering value for money I would grade 9 out of 10, only lost point for no hot water first night.

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

12 December 2018

Liked: Staff & service

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities

Okay stay

At first we were really excited to be ar Laya Safari but after another look the place looked like it’s dying. It didn’t help that there weren’t so many tourists there at the time. The deluxe room was quite nice but the lighting was poor and the white curtains had a lot of stains on them which had a lot of impact on the overall feeling. There were also a lot of short power cuts and many things had been left unrepaired. The pool area has once been magnificent but had rusty parts now and you couldn’t swim in the sea because it is too rocky. We had several meals in the restaurant. It seemed like my husband’s pizza was convenience food and the curries were not to our taste either. The service was good though. Perhaps others will have a more enjoyable stay when the place is more lively but for us it felt like a depressing place.

Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

toby

1 August 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

Reception staff were extreemely helpful and friendly

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

12 April 2025

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A 2-star catfishing as a 4-star

Despite being told we had “the best room”, the blinds were broken, the walls were peeling, the shower was broken, the bathroom was mouldy, and the fridge was broken. For dinner, we ordered lamb and mash potato as we had seen an image online that looked great. When it arrived, there were chips on the plate and the lamb was full of bones and fat which made it inedible. The next day, we had to meet our safari driver at 5am. However, when we tried to go through to reception, all of the doors were locked and the lights turned off. This is different to the 24/7 reception advertised. We had to walk around the building in the pitch black. The welcome letter said to watch out for poisonous snakes and elephants. This was an extremely stressful moment, particularly as two young women in the middle of nowhere. We spoke to the general manager who was originally apologetic and agreed that renovations were necessary. However, when we requested a partial refund to reflect the quality of service, he started interrupting us and lying that someone was on reception at 5am. What is worse is they refused to get it up on CCTV. Upon our departure, the general manager decided to go outside and speak to our driver. He complained about us which again made us feel unsafe. It’s a shame because some staff were lovely, and the swimming pool and beach front are nice – but the only thing 4-star about this hotel are the prices. They have still refused our refund request and Hotels.com have been useless.

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2025

2/10 Terrible

Michael

27 March 2025

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

DO NOT STAY HERE. This is not a four star hotel. However they charge that way. Our room was filthy when we checked in. It did not looked like it had been cleaned in over a month. No hot water in main shower head. Electricity went out in middle of the night. Blinds broke and fell from wall leaving dust and dead bugs everywhere. The pictures told a story of a beautiful resort. It is no longer that. I have never written a bad review before. When we complained to the GM on departure (after telling staff of issues throughout stay) he was rude and told us we should have complained earlier. The Sri Lankan people are beautiful, this man was not. There is an advertised spa service that does not exist. The staff also did not honor the Expedia Gold Status deal we signed up for. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2025

2/10 Terrible

Jason

25 February 2025

Liked: Staff & service

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Worst hotel I have stayed in my life. The shower was barely working, the place was dirty and smelled bad. If it wasn’t for the fact that my boyfriend and I arrived super late, we would have never stayed even one night there! I don’t recommend at all

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025

6/10 Okay

Kirsten

15 February 2025

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities

ScriLanka 2025

Hotellet fremstår slidt, bruserne virkede ikke, vi måtte bede om rengøring og rene håndklæder. Sengene var gode, udsigten fra værelset fantastisk og poole var også super fin.

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

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