Nilaveli Beach Resort - Level 1 Certified

An excellent experience. As a Sri Lankan, who has had the opportunity of traveling widely around the world, I was extremely happy and proud to experience the excellent quality of service at Nilaveli Beach Resort, on my own little island home. The resort is located north of the ancient Sinhalese port of Gokanna (Modern name Trikunamalaya or Trincomalee) and is just on the beach with the famous 'pigeon island' nature reserve in clear view across the water. The beach was excellent as was the ocean during our stay from 24th to 28th June 2024. The common areas, such as the dining room, bar and pool are extremely well laid out and tastefully designed and the rooms very comfortable and well equipped. The layout of the chalets is such that we had an excellent view of the Ocean and could reach the beach or any of the other spaces in the resort in less than 2 minutes. Besides the location, and quality of the rooms and common facilities, one of the most significant aspects of the resort was the extremely high quality of service. The Check-in was very efficient with the Asst Manager Mr Senthuran, and his staff Mr Abishek and Mr Dilshan executing the required formalities quickly and courteously - they were also very helpful in answering all my questions about arranging a few diving tours to the nearby reefs and other queries. The luggage had been neatly placed in the room by the time we reached it, and the cleaning staff were always prompt and efficient in cleaning up the room during the stay and displayed genuine concern. The options for lunch and dinner were quite varied and extremely well prepared, while the design, furnishing and ambience of the dining area and bar was excellent as was the service of the restaurant staff. A very special thank you to the Chef Mr Duminda and the waiters Mr Channa, Mr Janaka and Mr Lakshan who went the proverbial 'extra mile' to enhance the experience; always with a smile - Outstanding quality of service. A few diving trips were facilitated efficiently, and the time both on the beach, pool and Ocean was made all the better by the very well maintained and conveniently placed facilities (outdoor bathrooms/ showers etc). This review would not be complete without a special note of appreciation to the on site manager Mr John Coulton, who appeared to be truly hands on, constantly on the move, engaging with the guests and monitoring the service. He went out of his way, to source a small roll of masking tape I needed for a water colour I wanted to do during the stay and was always ready to help. Overall, an extremely enjoyable time and I look forward to staying here again in the future. I have no hesitation in giving this resort five stars.

Great resort! Excellent customer service! Clean. Resort Beach was clean. Helpful staff. Good food and drink. Very helpful in booking excursion to Pigeon Island for snorkeling. The only issue we had were 1 roach one night and 1 the next. The room was very clean, I think it had more to do with it being off season- because again- the resort is very clean (and I am clean freak). Also- the wifi in our room (not common areas) was a bit spotty. I saw reviews about dirty beaches- and that is true- but NOT the resort beach. As soon as you walk either direction and are off property- there was garbage- and not from Sri Lankans or tourists- it was clearly from the ocean. QUIT throwing garbage in the ocean- wherever you are! FYI, my husband and our neighbors from the Netherlands- sincerely enjoyed watching the fisherman and inspecting the catch of the day.

Such a shame that the beautiful beach here is spoiled by the incredible amount of plastic rubbish. We love walking along a long beautiful beach and had high hopes that Nilaveli would be a real treat. Unfortunately, it appears that there are many fishermen with huge nets which get pulled in by around 20 fishermen and whilst it's fun to watch them bring in their haul and sort out their fish, it is depressing to see the amount of plastic bottles and the like that also get in their nets which they then discard and leave on the beach. It really makes the beach look like a plastic rubbish dump. We took a day trip to Pigeon Island which was a little pricey but absolutely worth visiting. You can snorkel right off the beach and see turtles and reef sharks as well as an array of tropical fish. We stayed at Nilaveli Beach Resort in March which was out of season and as such there was only one other guest at the hotel when we were there. Maybe in full season they will employ someone to pick up the beach litter. The hotel staff were wonderful but the hotel was quiet and looked a bit dated and could do with some refurbishment. The food was at best, average compared to all the other places we stayed in Sri Lanka

On our arrival day I wanted to call in hotel because we needed late check in. I was calling at leat 6 times, wrote messages on whatsapp, but noone answer me the phone. Than I had to found another phone number on website and after few try finely they answer me the phone. In first room what we get was not working AC controler so We had to move to another room. The room was demage and old not as at the photos. The bonus on this Room was cockroaches !!! We heard them from wands. We had them in bathroom. And we found them in our luggages !!! On the next they we went to the beach. The beach was absolutely disgusting !! Full of plastic bottles and trash ! We had to clean the whole beach with another guests by our own hands. Noone from staff helped us ! They saw as the geusts which was paying for stay claning they own private hotel beach. Than I talked with one emoloyer why is beach so dirty and when they gonna clean the beach and the answer was i must to talk with manager. I said I want to speak with him but nothing happend. Then they said they gonna clean beach next day and nothing happend again !! This resort definitely doesnt worth for this money !! If you thinking about book this hotel, my advice is dont do its waste on money !!

Restaurant serves lovely food, I would say 5* well above their star rating. Bedroom was very comfortable. Hotel pool was lovely. Nice to see the local monkeys and a monitor lizard on site. The each was fantastic. We hired a local boat with guide and took a spin around a lagoon with mangroves about 1/2km from the hotel. It was fantastic, so many species of bird we even saw the remains of a river crocodile it was amazing.

Excellent hotel. Excellent facilities. Rooms clean and well equipped. Staff very friendly - happy to meet your expectations. Beautiful sandy beach covered with tropical vegetation. With your bare feet you can walk safely throughout the property. Good value for money. Well worth spending your holiday there.