We are from the middle east so used to air con especially at night. There was no air con just need to be aware if you are used to it, especially when trying to get a good night's sleep.

We stayed in Dunkeld bungalow in the owners cottage for 5 nights during unexpected rain and then later beautiful sunshine. In all weather this is a fantastic place to stay. The real star of our stay was the staff - as you’d expect service was outstanding. Priyantha, Samantha, Krishna and Verun were exceptional at anticipating our needs and supporting us moving around the different bungalows as well as surviving rainy days. The chefs led by Ravi are amazing! We appreciated having a shadow menu that we could tailor to our dietary preferences and these were remembered throughout our stay.

Nothing it was 5* luxury

Many friends had recommended Ceylon Tea Trails (CTT). Our three night stay in the Baker garden suite of Castlereagh bungalow was simply outstanding. We booked a CTT taxi from Colombo (and later to our next hotel) and enjoyed our comfortable, safe and informative journeys, courtesy of expert drivers Kithsiri and Uditha. Welcomed to Castlereagh by Butler Kasun and operations manager Chaminda, we immediately felt at home and dived into the daily rhythm of discussing our excursion and meal requirements for the following day with Kasun and head chef Ravi, pre-dinner drinks, superb dinner, brilliant night’s sleep in our wonderful suite then breakfast to suit all tastes and out for the day. We particularly enjoyed the hike to Norwood bungalow, 12-14km rewarded by lunch, and the 6km circuit through villages around Castlereagh. The complimentary tea factory tour was very worthwhile and luckily lunch was available at Dunkeld bungalow on completion. An in-room, deep-tissue massage was expertly delivered and set us up for the rigours of the rest of our Sri Lankan visit. Much has been written about CTT’s world-class environment, design, curation and organisation – and this can be seen on the BBC TV programme ‘Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby’. We simply endorse everything that has been said in the warmest terms but wish to focus on the heart of CTT’s appeal – its people. The extraordinarily flexible, friendly, perceptive, unobtrusive and willing service of CTT’s family – Castlereagh Butler Kasun and his team of Aruna and #Dashan, chef Ravi and his team, our hosts at Norwood and Dunkeld and all their unseen supervisors and supporters – will live long in the memory. In sum, Ceylon Tea Trails thoroughly deserves its reputation as one of the premier hospitality experiences in the world, we are very grateful to have been able to sample it, and we recommend CTT to others in the strongest terms.

Nothing but praise.

The food was exceptional and the location was beautiful and serene with stunning views of the lake. The staff was friendly and always smiling.

We had booked a road transport from and to Colombo. On the way back, the driver was driving at snails pace. We were wondering why. The brakes of our vehicle failed when we were about 45 minutes from Colombo. I think there was an issue with the vehicle to start with. Luckily we came down safely from the mountains. Our luck was good. I dread to think what wouldve happened if the brakes had failed during the mountianous journey. They had to change the vehicle for us. We were dead tired since it took us a little more than 5 hours to reach back to the city. I had planned some shopping after returning to COLOMBO which I had to cut short due to the delay in reaching back. The following day was SL's independence day and most of the shops where I wanted to shop were closed.

It had been a dream of mine to stay at Tea Trails since 2019 and I couldnt be any happier with the experience. It will always be one of the most special moments of my life as I proposed to my girlfriend here. Huge thanks to the staff for recording our moment. The hotel is flawless, service and food could not be any better. Purely by coincidence we stayed here as the Hotel was featured on BBC "Amazing Hotels, life beyond the lobby". We were lucky that on our second day we were the only guests at Dunkeld bungalow so could enjoy everything to ourselves. The view from the infinity pool is probably the best I will ever see. Sure it's an expensive hotel but if you have the opportunity to stay here you wont regret it.

After a lot of thought the only minor criticism I have is the toilet seats aren't soft-close and just drop down. Not that it really matters. Due to the location of the hotel the drive takes hours and the final stretch is incredibly windy without any straight roads, pack sea sickness tablets or something similar (it's worth it when you eventually reach the hotel, don't worry).

The food was outstanding at all meals. Soups and breads, including a wide assortment of gluten free breads, were excellent. Main courses, including wonderful seafood, were consistently top notch. The wines were very good as well.

It being the beginning of the rainy season, there were more bugs in the rooms than I would presume would be the case during a cooler season. Also the lake level was low and thus the view was a bit less picturesque than it might have been.

What’s not to like! This hotel is exceptional, run like private residences, each bungalow has its own character, we stayed in Summerville, amazing views, personal service from the butler Sanjay and his team, menus for the day discussed in the morning with chef and you can literally have anything your hear desires, exceptional top restaurant quality, beautifully presented.!

Nothing

We loved this hotel. A delightful property, in a beautiful setting. The food was superb. However, it’s the staff that make this a great stay. In particular Piya, the butler/ manager. What a delightful man. Nothing is too much for any one the staff. I thoroughly recommend staying here.

We were taken in to a wonderful drawing room on arrival and told to treat it like our own home. The staff were so friendly and helpful, a few days of being truly spoilt. The facilities and rooms were all magnificent.

Nothing, there was nothing we could fault!

The place is beautiful and all bungalows are very different from each other. Staff makes a lot of effort and the chef Yapa was amazing.

Staff needs a bit more training and warning for leeches would be good.