Gem River Edge - Eco Home and Safari

Wonderful 2 nights at Gem River for my family of 4! It’s a peaceful, rustic eco lodge with freshly made organic vegetarian meals. The owner was our full day safari guide where we saw amazing wildlife.

Beautiful Eco lodge in the middle of nature. Our host Muna was amazing! We arrived and he gave us a tour of the facilities all the way to the river that runs nearby. We had a lovely vegetarian meal before going to our rooms as we had a very early start for a safari the next day. The rooms are basic but very comfortable and clean. In the morning before leaving for the safari we were served coffee at 5am! Then we hopped into the jeep and off we went! Our guide was incredible at spotting animals and birds. He was super friendly and patient and the jeep (to my huge surprise) was very comfortable! We were very fortunate to spot 2 leopards within 5 minutes of entering the park. We did a half day safari which was incredible. Then returned to the lodge for a wonderful vegetarian lunch. Absolutely loved it. It was so peaceful and beautiful. A place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

What an absolutely fantastic experience, full of warmth and hospitality. Staff incredibly friendly and attentive, going above and beyond to ensure we had a great stay. An authentic gem in the jungle for nature lovers. The food was top-notch, high-quality local ingredients and super delicious. I can't recommend Gem River Edge enough. Thank you do much for everything :)

We had high hopes for this place, having been recommended it by a friend for its beautiful setting. There’s no doubt that the surroundings and the style of the exterior are lovely. But there are serious issues with the rooms offered. Our room was nothing short of dank, mouldy, and dark. The floors were dirty, the bed sheets and pillows stank of old mould with no natural light. The windows are locked shut and there are tiny lightbulbs that give off minimal light making the whole experience a bit like a horror movie. The plumbing (granted it was raining heavily during our stay) was disgusting - the bathroom opened up into the bedroom meaning that the smell of sewage permeated through completely. The beds were like prison beds - completely hard and smelling of mould, meaning you were breathing it in all night. The food was nice / ok except we were charged $30 for a very average, quite small dinner - much more than the local average. We found the night time stay quite terrible - I took a sleeping pill so I could just pass out and wake up in the morning. We didn’t want to spend a minute longer than we needed to in the room. It’s unacceptable to expect people to sleep in these conditions, even at the price point of $35 per night. I felt physically nauseous packing up the room to leave the next morning as the sewage smell was so bad and the room dirty, dank and dark. No hot water for showers either. The staff are kind and polite for the most part. But unfortunately I would advise travellers avoid this hotel until the rooms have been fixed or renovated, which makes me sad as this place has a lot of potential.

Place itself is real gem. Perfectly blended with the nature and the jungle but at the same time very extraordinary. Here it's like a getaway from outside world to calm, find connection with nature and peace within. Waking up to a bird alarm, having morning bath in the Gem river, seeing wildlife all around and just enjoying..What else you need? So much love Mona put into this place you can feel that all over. And the fooood. Wow. One of the best Sri Lankan cuisines I've eaten in the country. Best Coffee there for sure. Thank You for everything, see you soon!

Relaxing eco lodge set close to Kataragama’s famous temples but remains secluded with access to the river. The hosts and food was great but the highlight was the safari. Very well organised, we saw the elephants, leopard, wild bore, different types of birds etc. And had an amazing breakfast served on the beach. Would highly recommend!