Gangananda - Stunning Lakeside Villa With Large Pool Near The Sea

The villa is stunning, set in a garden with palm and fruit trees, a pool and overlooking a lake. The bedrooms are air conditioned and have mosquito nets, all have adjoining en suite bathrooms. The lounge area has large overhead fans so the villa is kept at a comfortable temperature. We were very well looked after by an on-site team of 3 staff: Sampath, Danuka and Taru. If you needed anything you could ring a bell to notify them.The manager (also called Sampath) was on hand to ensure that everything was okay and help with any other requirements. The staff are up early to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The pool and garden is maintained throughout the day and the villa cleaned every day. There is a good choice of food on the villa menu, all freshly cooked to your specifications by the excellent chef Sampath. If required, takeaways can also be arranged from local restaurants.Meals can be taken on the outside terrace or inside overlooking the terrace. Staff can arrange tuktuk rides if you wish to visit the local area and shops. A couple of shops worth mentioning are the Ariyapala mask museum and shop in Ambalangoda where you can learn about the Sri Lankan mask culture and purchase some lovely souvenirs. There is also a Batik workshop operated by an incredible artist called Dudley Silva, where you can purchase beautiful original pieces. Dudley has won many prestigious awards for his batik work and you will be amazed at his artwork. We spent a week at the villa

The staff greeted us as soon as we arrived, and they were amazing the entire time. They greeted us each morning with coffee/tea and a delicious breakfast of fruit and omelets made to order, as well as native Sri Lankan dishes. For a nominal fee they also made us some delicious dinners of different types of curries. Everything was freshly made and tasted amazing. Every morning they cleaned the pool and manicured the grounds. The property itself is even better than the pictures depict. It was always immaculate. It's spacious, well decorated, and very comfortable. The A/C worked great in all the bedrooms. The beds were very comfortable and large. The outdoor bathrooms are a treat. After many failed attempts at working with local hotels to host our wedding event, I reached out to Martin (the owner) to see about using this property as our venue. He and Sampath (the onsite manager) were EXTREMELY accommodating. They made time for our wedding planner to make a trip out two weeks ahead of time in order to see the property and get a better idea for how to lay out the decorations, tables, etc. They offered to help with transportation of people to/from the airport (~1.5 hrs north in Colombo), and on the day of the event the staff was on hand (even though we never requested them to be) to lend a helping hand throughout the event. In fact, they even helped out on the day before when the decorations were being first set up. We HIGHLY recommend this property and the staff!

Great breakfast and attentative staff ready to help at any minute.

This was our 2nd stay at Ganganada and it was just as good as the first. This is such a modern, spacious villa. It's lovely having 3 bedrooms, huge living area and private pool rather than being cramped into a hotel room. The staff are all great and really helpful ( the villa comes with a chef, pool boy and cleaner. A manager lives close by to be on hand to organise day trips and transport. Food was great - marmalade and passion fruit jam at breakfast are so good that this time I preordered 4 jars to take home with us! As I mentioned, the food at the villa is fantastic, however the last night we went to Mangrovia Lagoon Restaurant, just outside Hikkaduwa, right on the Lagoon- one of the most memorable meals I have had in a long time. Absolutely stunning location serving gorgeous homemade Italian food. A Sri Lankan lady owns the restaurant and she does all the cooking and service. She worked in a restaurant in Italy for over 20 years so she really knows her stuff. Back to Gangananda, I couldn't recommend this place highly enough. Great for families or for a small group of friends. Total relaxation, a great place to unwind and recharge the batteries whilst watching the water monitor lizards swim in lagoon and monkeys jumping in the trees. Bliss