Reviews of Bella Ella

Loku and his family were incredibly kind and caring. During a 3 night stay with my wife and two kids (aged 4 and 5), Loku, his sister, and his mother, made our stay so memorable. We had our evening meal at Bella Ella on two of the nights. The selection of curries served were excellent. Comfortably some of the best food we had in Sri Lanka. The property really feels like a home with years of work put into the garden in particular. We’ll always remember our stay here. Thank you so much.

A beautiful place with such a kind host who helped us with everything we needed. It was calm and welcoming, and on top of that, there’s the sweetest dog that made our stay even more special. We felt so well taken care of here. Highly recommend!

Bella Ella was our best hotel experience in Sri Lanka: the host and his family, the views, the food. We felt very welcome and, without a doubt, we’ll recommend it to anyone visiting Ella. The host was super kind and nice. He drove us to a waterfall and to a monastery; and he also gave us good recommendations on transport and how to organize our days in Ella. We saw lots of different animals, even a big squirrel that came for its breakfast every morning!!

Amazing host. Took us around the city, helped and organized the stay in Ella. Really remarkable.

The place is beautiful and the garden is wonderful. Was really nice woke up between all those plants and trees and observe the birds and squirrels playing around. The service was helpful and all family is so sweet. The food was delicious.

Maybe the room could be a little bit cleaner.

We had a great couple of Days in Bella Ella. The family is heartwarmingly friendly and endeavourous the meet all expectations. Simply wonderful! The Breakfast is awesome and espacially the cooking class is worth doing!

We absolutely loved our stay at Bella Ella. We stayed in the family room with two double beds and there was a nice little kitchenette as well. Was nice and cool at night in the mountains. Our favourite part was sitting on the balcony with Peona (amazing dog) and enjoying the view of the mountains. The host was extremely friendly and hospitable and made our stay in Ella such a joy. He drove us in our tuktuk into town and parked it safely each night. We also wanted to go bright and early to Nine Arches Bridge to avoid the crowds (highly recommend) and he woke up at 5am to bring our tuktuk down for us. Such an amazing property, host, (and puppy haha).

We had a wonderful stay at Bella Ella because of Lokus hospitality. The room is basic but very comfortable and the breakfast is amazing! You are around a 30 minute walk into the main Ella town, but the walk is not bad (beautiful views of the mountains) and a TukTuk back up is between 600-800lkr- Loku will also help to arrange TukTuks for a discounted price where possible.

If you want an affordable and authentic homestay experience in Ella this is the place for you, it’s away from the buzz of the town and very quiet but peaceful. If you’d rather be in walking distance from all the main bars and restaurants you may be better suited somewhere else!

Beautiful location high up on the hillside of Ella town. The host was exceptionally welcoming and friendly and served a delicious and varied breakfast each day.

Wifi was a little slow at times.

It’s located outside of the noise of Ella, in the jungle surrounded by all the animals and amazing nature. It’s still very easy to go back and forth to town. I had an amazing stay thanks to Loku who is the kindest host I’ve met. He took me to visit beautiful places and was very helpful in anything I’d need. The food cooked by his mother is very good! As a solo female traveler I felt safe and cared for.

Nothing -

Loku was the kindest and most attentive host you could ever dream of. The breakfasts and dinners were absolutely delicious…and so much food. The setting is lush and quiet, amongst the trees, with all types of animals and birds visiting throughout the day. Loku has created a beautiful, calm space for travellers who are interested in experiencing a more authentic side to Sri Lanka. Thank you for a wonderful stay Loku

Host - super helpful, friendly and accommodating. Always available and easy to communicate. Location - top notch if you would like to enjoy sunrise and sunset from the top of the mountain Environment - you will see more animals than Yala XD, it's like a mini eco park! Food - amazing breakfast, I want to attend the cooking class next time!

What a pleasure it was to stay at Bella Ella!! We could not recommend it enough. The host and his family made this stay one of the highlights of our trip. We came to Ella with very loose plans, and the host kindly showed us around the town to all the main attractions and even some of the more unknown ones. He was a genuine delight and can’t thank him enough for the time, kindness and authenticity he brought to our stay in Ella. The location was stunning and set back from the super touristy centre. The room is large and has all the facilities you need.

Loku, the owner of this beautiful place was so helpful and nice. This property is in the middle of the jungle and you can see a lot of animals specially in the morning. It was an amazing experience for me staying here and I would come again!

The view from the room was amazing, overlooking Ella Rock from a nice private terrace. The host is incredibly kind and welcoming, he hosted us on short notice, parked our tuktuk for us every night and gave us great itinerary recommendations for our time there. They also offer dinner cooked by the host's mother which was delicious, authentic and very reasonable. She also made us breakfast every morning which was hearty and tasty. The house dog is also fantastic and the gardens give a real sense of nature.

As with other mountainous places we've stayed in Sri Lanka it was a little damp, however this is kind of to be expected when you're living inside the clouds.

We really enjoyed our stay at Bella Ella, the views were amazing from our private balcony. The host was amazing and very helpful, he gave us an itinerary for our 3 day stay. We ate dinner at his Homestay 4 nights in a row and we were served 19 different curries, they were amazing! Breakfast was also delicious, and we were served something different every morning, all very very good!

The only thing we noticed was as it was rainy every afternoon, the room was quite damp and had nothing to assist with air flow so our belongings became quite damp over the 4 days

The host was very nice and friendly, the view is very beautiful and the breakfast delicious. The host gave us a lot of good tips and helped us to discover the area. Thanks again !

Loku, the owner of the guesthouse, was simply amazing! He was very friendly and gave us a wonderful tuk tuk tour to some not so touristy sights.That was my personal highlight of my stay in Ella! The food cooked by his mother was always delicious! My room was simple but clean. There was even a hot shower. The guesthouse is a bit out of town on a hill but in a very nice green surrounding.

The room was quite dark and it smelled a little musty.

Remote with a fabulous view. A truly wonderful kind host with great cooking talent

Nothing to dislike

The homestay is a little outside the centre of Ella, so it was really calm and peaceful. The host is incredibly friendly and such a nice person. Breakfast and dinner always was super delicious. Room was simple but clean and sufficient.

The garden of the house is a PARADISE and the host is lovely. Just keep in mind that the house is not in the main city, so a personal tuktuk is needed.

The host was incredible and kind. Restored my faith in tuk Tuk drivers and truly wants the best experience for his guests. This is his home town and the tour we did was fantastic! He didn’t take me to any high priced tourist traps! Simple and humble room, all I needed since most time was exploring Ella. What a great location to do so. A fantastic sunset spot just down the high road. Walked to Ella rock and had an adventure to get there. (So many routes to go, went by the waterfall on the way there) Highly recommend Maps Me app! Best value and magic breakfast area to bird watch!

The steps may be difficult for less agile guests. Don’t forget your own water, there are also some little convenience shops on the main road close by so not a big deal.

Amazing views, nature, animals and cooking class

The view and serenity of this place are divine! And so refreshing to sleep in a well ventilated room that's fresh at night. Loku brought me to all the highlights with his tuktuk since I had only one afternoon in Ella, and dropped me at the railway station early in the morning.