Unfortunately a scary experience. We found out once we arrived to town that the host was way overcharging us for a safari and cancelled last minute. I wanted to be as nice as possible and called him. He said we couldn't cancel and he will go to the police with our messages on WhatsApp of us agreeing to do Safari with him. We felt threatened and lied saying we were not in Udawalawe yet. He said "I know you are in Udawalawe. My friend saw you and called me". When he said this I felt I was being stalked and he would show up at any minute screaming at us. I hung up and blocked his WhatsApp number after he kept calling. His friend must have seen us talking to another Safari guide who approached us with a fair price of 8,000 rupees total for two people in our own jeep. We did not stay at the hotel because we did not feel safe around him after this call. Additionally, on our first call with him he quoted us $2,000 for safari which is insane and then kept dropping the price. We finally agreed when he got to $25 a person (18,000 rupees for two people) but as we found out this is still very high. The park entrance fee is now $35 per person for foreigners which is why we needed to not overpay for the jeep tour. We understand times are very hard for Sri Lankan locals but this is not okay.

Peacock Riverside in Udawalawa was a very nice place to stay for 2 days. The room is big and clean, very comfortable bed, AC was working as well. We had the hottest water in the bathroom which was a great surpise :-) The food served by the owner was good. They were kind enough to do the laundry for us. In the morning you can watch monkeys jumping on avocado tree from your balcony. Sujee organised safari and IT was FANTASTIC! Our guide in the safari Leel (his friend) was speaking a very good English, took us to beatiful sunrise, explained a lot about Animals. He respected the Animals. We have seen elephants, crocodiles, Peacocks, monkeys, deers, birds. The safari lasted almost 6 hours from 6 oclock in the morning This experience is unforgettable. I strongly advice safari and this place in Sri Lanka. Very nice and caring family. I wish I could come back once again.

Very weird and scary situation happened to us in this stay. I chose the accommodation in base of the good reviews but unfortunately I don’t know where they came from. We made the reservation on booking and arrived in the late evening. At the beginning the owner seemed to be super helpful, friendly and nice. He offered us a tea and approached us very friendly with an offer for safari tour. Started explaining how his services are so much better and uncompetitive with others. The price for two people all day including snack and entrance fee was 200$. I asked for a cheaper option for half day no food and he said 150$. That’s was a 100% scam I know it so I just thanked him for the offer and try to nicely refuse. In the end I texted him that I am able to pay 95$ for 3-4 hours and entrance fee for two people and he texted me that he is interested. The room was full of mold and smelly, for the blanket and controller of air conditioner I had to ask. On booking it says that there is WiFi that’s not true, you will not have even the signal. When we turned off the light and get to sleep I remember that the are one more window doors with garden view. I asked my friend to check them if they are closed. When he checked the doors he saw someone standing there in the dark! We got out and tried to catch the person but couldn’t find him. I started to pack our bag immediately and 1-2 minutes from the incident we saw someone with the torch outside and it was the owner. We explained what happened and asked if it was him standing at our door and he denied. We can’t say how the owner got that fast close to our stay and even if it was standing there him or not. Anyway we knew that we need to get out of this place. We were scared to death so we didn’t blame him for anything just nicely explained that we don’t feel safe thanked him and left the place at soon it was possible. When we were already sitting on the scooter he gives us back our money which we didn’t expected so we took only a part of them. In the end we fortunately found a better accommodation for the same price which was cleaner and safer. Also in the early morning we went to the safari park where we found a driver for 8000 rupees (3 hours, two people). Stay safe! ☺️

During our stay at the Peacock Riverside Guest house, we did not only enjoy great service, an amazing safari, very clean rooms and delicious food, we also made such a wonderful friendship with Sujee. Sujee and his wife and brother (who owns the restaurant around the corner) are such kind and lovely people. They always made sure that we have everything we need and arranged everything for us. Sujee himself will be your guide for the safari. Within our tour, we were really lucky and saw many different animals, as Sujee knows where to look and drive. He also introduced us to his squirrel friend „Chuty“. As for the rooms, they are very clean, equipped with a fan and ac and have modern wash rooms. The rice and curry Sujee‘s wife prepred for us was more than amazing! All in all, we could not have been happier during our stay and are glad to have made a friend like Sujee. We are looking forward to our next stay😊

Calm and clean place. Host is friendly and caring. Reasonable price. The only drawback is, there aren't any shops or restaurants near this place.

The safari was perfect, Sujee has a lot of knowledge about the place and all of the animals, and he was also very helpful with everything around the safari. His place Peacock riverside is a very peaceful place, with absolutely delicious food!

We stayed two nights at Sujee's Peacock Riverside Hotel. It was a very pleasant and calm stay. Room was simple and neat. We were served with homemade local food. Surrounding was extremely beautiful and felt as we were living in a small forest. Highly recommended.

Had the most comfortable stay at Peacock Riverside! Sujee and his family were very welcoming hosts, we had a couple of beers, some arrack and a chat the first night, really nice people! It is in such a peacefull spot surrounded by the jungle, the room was so spacious and the bed was amazing, air conditioning, hot shower, very big, clean bathroom. There is a little terrace outside the back of the room we stayed where you can chill and watch the wild monkeys. The food was hands down the best I have had in all of Sri Lanka, breakfast and dinner is very reasonably priced and well worth it. I would definitely reccomend booking the safari through the homestay, our driver was so knowledgeable about all the wildlife we saw, lunch was included and it was such a sick day out. 10/10

Really nice rooms with nice bathrooms. Everything is new and very clean. The owner is one of the nicest we’ve met in Sri Lanka. He arranged everything for us. Picked us up at the bus station free of charge, dropped us there too. Arranged a lovely dinner at another place he works and arranged free transport for that as well! Also very good breakfast. This place also has a possibility to do a safari. We arrived at three and went in a safari from 4 till 6 with a good driver that explained some things and always made sure we had a good view on the Animals. So you don’t pay much for a lovely guesthouse with excellent service!

We were 4 girls from Barcelona that stayed 1 night at Peacock Riverside hostel. We also did the Udawalawa safari with them and we ha d an amazing experience! They provided us some breakfast before leaving the hostel, then we drive for 5 hours almost alone in the park and we saw like 15 elephants (some of them were really close to us!!!). We recommend the safary because they were so friendly and kind and everything was so well organized!

We enjoyed our stay here. The room is excellent! One of our best sleeps in Sri Lanka and the bathroom is very nice. A brisk shower is perfect for the heat. WiFi was very good and the meals were perfect. We were able to organize a Safari and trip to the elephant transit house through Sujee and he looked after getting us from and to the bus station when we arrived and then left. Met another really nice Sri Lankan family who were staying there. Minky, the dog here was a sweetheart.

The room was clean and spacious and bed comfortable. The place is located 3 km from the Udawalawa village so it is very peaceful. However, this also means that you are dependant on the hotel owner since there is no other restaurant or shop close by. Food is good but simple and more expensive than in other places. We also took safari from here since it was so easy to arrange. However, an official guide from the park was not included. The driver was our guide and he spotted animals quite well from the drivers seat.

We really enjoyed our stay at Peacock Riverside. Sugee and his familymembers were very friendly and helpfull. The room is clean and a nice view at the riverside. Before sunset and in the morning you can see the monkeys from the balcony. The safari was nice and our guide had a good eye for every animal no matter how small. He also drove us to Ella where we had a stop at the temple including a nice lake and the waterfalls. At the lake we saw hornbills and monkeys from a distance. He is a very carefull driver and he brought us to a nice guesthouse in Ella. We enjoyed our time.

Had a great experience. We stayed at the peacock river side which was also owned by sujee. The place was very comfortable and had a nice view. After that we went for our safari tour. We had our breakfast in the park and it was really tasty. The guide was very friendly and explained very well about the animals also. The driver did his best to give the best experience to us.

The place is run by lovely and extremely friendly owner. He cares a lot to make the stay enjoyable. Amazing homemade food prepared by the owner - full Sri Lankan breakfast and dinner – which we could not finish as there was too much food. Location is amazing – with the view at lake. You can hear and see a lot of animals, peacocks, lizards, squirrels, variety of beards – you hear all jungle’s voices. The best place for visit around including Elephants Transit Home and Udawalawe National Park. You can use bicycles for free which is amazing way to see around. Highly recommended!

The owner Sujee was very attentive to our wishes and tried to help whenever he could. The room was spacious, we had one large and one smaller bed for two people. We enjoyed the evenings on the balcony, listening to the sound of the jungle. Only the WIFI was sometimes not working, but I think this is regarding to the isolated location of the rooms. We booked a Safari with Sujee and we enjoyed a full day in the National Park including Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks. Sujee did a great job, he spotted many animals and tried to explain us the most important things about them. Once we had a typical sri-lankan breakfast which his wife made for us, and one time we cooked dinner together.

We had a wonderful two night stay at this lovely accommodation located in the middle of jungle. It was very peaceful and we were very well taken care by Surjee and his wife. Surjee is a safari guide at the Udawalawe National Park and his wife is an amazing home cook. If you choose to stay with them I highly recommend to eat there too. The room was comfortable and clean. There was an electric fan and an air conditioner, shower and an outdoor seating place facing the jungle. This is well suited for those who want to switch off and relax in a beautiful and calming surroundings.

Sujee was a wonderful host. His place is spacious and beautiful with stream of water passing right at the room balcony. Highly recommended