Talalla Retreat

I didn’t stay here but had several meals, yoga, swim sessions. The place is beautiful! The staff are welcoming and the wildlife around the resort are dreamy. Had the best massage. Slice of heaven. Right on the beach to catch some surf.

Amazing location right by the beach. We stayed in one of the bamboo huts for one night and loved it. You really feel that you are in the middle of nature and very peaceful. The staff were all very warm and welcoming. Such a beautiful place and a wonderful way to appreciate Sri Lanka’s biodiversity and nature.

We arrived new year eve and enjoyed the celebrations they put on and stayed a few extra days. Everything here is superb. The staff are just so friendly and nice, the food from the kitchen is always great and massage was also incredible.

Thank you very much everyone, especially for your efforts on NYE, the team made the night extra special.

Very nice resort, staff is very kind and polite, food and drinks was very good, beach is clean and calm. Pool was clean and i liked that you get separate beach towels and bathroom towels. Having insecticide spray in room was really handy.

My review just concern the drop in Yoga. I highly recommend it. The quality of classes is very professional. We went to Vinyasa and Yin Yoga. Yoga was in a Shala in front of the beach. It was amazing to practice Yin yoga with the wave noise. It is worth to pay 15$, even if it is quite expensive for SriLanka.

We also really liked their vegetable garden. Try to recognize the endemic plants!

The whole street is controlled by Tuktuk mafia. They are watching Uber and Pickme requests, look for you if you start a request and ask for indirect questions. A girl living in the retreat hotel saw her Uber driver be aggressed violently by tuktuk drivers. Every time we entered the retreat at the main gate, the tuktuk drivers waiting in front of it, where looking at us arrogantly. We had to trick them in order to get another driver in that street.

Why is the direction of the retreat not doing anything to break the monopoly theses of tuktuk drivers? Commission?

Very nice spot to relax and calm down. Staff is very friendly without exceptions! You can book surf lessons and meet people from all over the world. The instructors take you to beaches nearby. There are daily yoga classes with a nice view of the beach. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner offer a good variety. The rooms provide for what you need and fit the 3* standard. If you want it more quiet during the night book a room with walls and AC (the other rooms are open/do not have windows). For local standards overall not cheap, but worth it if you come here for surfing and yoga.

Very beautiful place! I spent 7 days here and was treated all along very friendly by all the personnel. Whenever I needed something, anyone was happy to help. After seeing the very nicely located sea view villas I upgraded to a deluxe room upstairs with a great view over the garden and the ocean just a few steps away from the water. The beach is stunning, totally uncrowded with more locals than tourists if at all. It‘s also great to swim and just spend some time in the ocean and if you prefer, also the pool at the retreat is super nice.
I did not take any yoga classes but the people who did were really happy about it. However I took some surf sessions with their amazing local surf guide Sajit who made me progress like nowhere before within just a few days, could not be any happier about it!
So even if not participating in a yoga or surf retreat, you can get all you want and need - all in all an amazing week in such a beautiful environment, I would come back anytime!

This review is about the restaurant, not the hotel/retreat. We had dinner here and also afternoon drinks the next day. Lovely buffet meal with Sri Lankan and western options. A tad pricey compared to non hotel local restaurants but lovely service, extensive drinks menu and big space that feels like outdoors but is sheltered when raining. Very laid back.
For food we loved the chicken skewers, bitter gourd salad, okra curry (could have been spicier though), in particular. The fresh buffalo curd and pine trailer is of course delicious.

Just a total delight. A relaxed and friendly atmosphere with wonderful staff. I will be coming back.

Also the misfortune of checking out UTMT Resort as well. Don't make that mistake! Talalla is so so good!

Lots of love guys i hope you're all well.

I really enjoy this place. I spent most of the time at the beach, a nice croissant of brown sugar sand we can walk for a long time!
Our room was in a little building of 4. I liked to be on the second floor. The view is nice and we have more space.
If you have the possibility to have a sea view, it is gorgeous! The view on the sunrise is incredible!!
It is a place to do yoga and a spa offers massage!
The swimming pool is very nice!
There are buffet on morning and evening. It is good but not a gourmet.

I took the 1 week surf and yoga retreat and had an unbelievable time. The quality of the surf camp was the best I’ve experienced yet. The video reviews with the coaching were so helpful and I’ve progressed so much. The instructors are incredibly friendly and inclusive, they went above and beyond to give us a great experience. They took us to uncrowded surf breaks and we had such a good small group. The yoga by the beach was just as great, again, the instructors were super competent. The retreat is well paced and the food is delicious, the staff very friendly and the facilities very well managed.
I highly recommend Talalla for solo travellers, couples or friends wanting to relax and improve their surfing.

The retreat was great. Good food, mostly vegetarian, so it was nice to cut off the meat for a while. The staff was quite helpful, the rooms were clean and the beach is great - not too crowded, just enough people to make it nice. The yoga sessions and the surf camp were amazing, I strongly recommend signing up for the surfing, especially for beginners. Big thanks to Josh (surfing) and Lotti (yoga) for all their hard work.

Beautiful Resort! The food is locally grown and cooked delicious! The Pool is very clean and inviting for swimming, and the beach / ocean is right there and nice taking care of. Very comfortable beds! The staff is super sweet and accommodating. Best massage ever!!!! Highly recommend to stay here!

Stayed here for a surf and yoga camp, had a really excellent time. The resort has a great pool, great facilities for yoga classes, and the food was always fresh and tasty. All the surf coaches were so friendly and welcoming, with Josh (who coached me) being particularly awesome. Being a first time surfer, his clear and simple instructions, coaching, patience and humor made it so easy to get back up on the board, really recommend this experience.

I stayed here with a group of friends as part of a yoga retreat. I couldn't have been happier with the location or facilities. The hotel is on a beautiful and quiet beach where you don't get hassled. The ocean is one of the most amazing I've ever swum in, really gloroius. The food is great and plentiful- breakfast pancakes especially. The rooms are clean and cool, and have the most special open air showers. Spa is really good and offers good value packages. The beach shala is really the most perfect place for yoga with beach views and ocean soundtrack. Staff are very friendly. Would return in a heartbeat.

Beautiful resort, went there as part of a group tour. Food is fantastic.
I didn't know I needed a coffee scrub in my life until I had one here. The staff are very friendly and welcoming.
Rooms are very comfy and have nice view of the pool and surrounding areas.
All in all a perfect place to disconnect and relax from the world.
Hannah

I stayed here for the surf/yoga camp for 1 week and had a fantastic time. The surf coaches were incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and adaptive to your surfing every day. The video review was fantastic and helped me improved immensely. The yoga was mostly restorative and a great way to stretch and unwind after each day. Highly recommended for every surfing level.

Amazing hotel if your trying to zone out and really relax. The most beautiful beach and hotel grounds. The food and drinks are great. We stayed 2 nights but wish we stayed a week.

We loved our stay at The retreat. The perfect balance of culture, sun, yoga and surf. Location was perfect! Spa treatments were amazing too. We are already planning our trip back next year!! The staff and service were exceptional and went above and beyond every time for us. Couldn’t recommend it more basically.

I left my heart in Talalla Retreat.
Incredible staff who were so welcoming and hard working, the Retreat itself is stunning. I had an upstairs bedroom so was able to fully enjoy the surroundings. The food was incredible. I felt super safe. I didn’t want to leave.
A must visit - and please do as the Sri Lankan people need visitors right now.