Taru Villas the Long House - Bentota

We stayed here 2 nights. This is spectacularly beautiful hotel. It is on the quiet side. The staff is extraordinarily nice. They take care of all the needs in the most pleasant manner. We shall visit this place again surely. The food is very delicious and again the service impeccable.

This is a beautiful hotel with the worst possible service. Do NOT come here if you are expecting even a half decent service. The staff is most ill-prepared to receive guests. We ordered lunch and it took the team one and half hours to produce some small snacks. They got the order wrong. The room wasn’t ready as promised. Being nice and sweet only goes so far, particularly if you are charging 5 star luxury prices.

A magnificent experience. We stayed for 6 nights and whilst there is not a lot to do in Bentota - the days flew by with delicious breakfasts - walks to a nearby swimming beach (the one out the front of this property is pretty rough) and then we had dinner here every night. The service and staff are top notch. Helpful and warm without being intrusive. The food is to die for. Plenty of vegetarian food. The pool is lovely . A little shallow at one end but the gardens here are fabulous. A quaint train chortles through. This is the best place to relax and be looked after without feeling like they are trying charge you at every corner (free water by the pool etc). Really magnificent experience . Loved every moment here. I mistakenly thought Bentota would be more like Hika - but the solitude was great.

Taru Villas The Long House Had a fantastic stay at this lovely hotel. The hotel is very airy and stylish with beautiful ornaments and art. The staff were very helpful with good attention to detail. All the food was cooked to order freshly and was delicious. I would definitely come back and recommend without reservation.

I stayed at Taru Villas Long House expecting a luxurious and secure experience, but what unfolded was quite the opposite. Unfortunately, our stay was marred by a robbery, and how management handled the situation was extremely disappointing. Firstly, we discovered that similar incidents had occurred at this property in the past, even though the management claimed otherwise. This was unsettling because we believed their safety assurances. Knowing this was not an isolated case raises serious concerns about the property’s security measures. When I raised concerns about this, I was told that the past incidents were none of my business, and I shouldn't be talking about them. This is deeply troubling, especially since the safety and well-being of guests should always be a priority. What followed was even more disheartening. I work in the travel industry, and when I expressed that I could not, in good conscience, recommend Taru properties to my clients after this experience, the Head of People and Culture threatened me, stating that I should continue sending guests despite the security risks. This blatant disregard for guest safety and the lack of accountability in their crisis management is beyond unacceptable. And not a single apology was received from management for the behavior of their team. During the incident, we felt the staff lacked urgency and professionalism in their response. We had to take matters into our own hands, traveling back and forth to Bentota multiple times to conduct our investigation, as the hotel showed little interest in assisting us. Shockingly, it took our persistence for them to finally take action. To make matters worse, when compensation was offered (which we did not request), it was a 3-night stay plus LKR 60,000 in cash – an offer that felt like an insult considering the trauma we experienced. Our main concern was finding out who was responsible for the robbery and ensuring this matter was taken seriously, but the management seemed more concerned with offering minimal compensation to move on from the situation. I would not recommend staying at Taru Villas Long House if safety and respect for guests' well-being are priorities for you. This experience has left us deeply concerned, and I don't think the management will ever take these issues seriously moving forward as this is just one of the cases and they have shown us that they are not capable of making sure the guests are safe but they are very well greedy toward getting business at any cost.

We (family of 4 with 2 grown up kids) stayed at Taru Villas for 4 nights at the start of September at the end of a two week Sri Lankan holiday. The hotel was excellent with everywhere beautifully decorated and the rooms were very spacious. As with most of the hotels we stayed at in Sri Lanka, the thing that really elevated the start was the fantastic staff. Everyone was super-friendly and nothing was too much hassle. The restaurant staff were absolutely amazing and so attentive and the chef consistently produced the best food (Sri Lankan and western) that we had on the holiday. The housekeeping team were also excellent, making sure everything was perfect with the rooms - great towel art too! We would not hesitate to return to Taru Villas if we were back in Bentota. Don't worry about the proximity of the railway track - trains are not that often and they provide a great photo op. Our only advice is to use the staff knowledge if you are heading out into Bentota or Aluthgama to buy things (spices, souvenirs etc) - they will help you know where to go and what is a reasonable price.