Our family of five had the pleasure of staying at Amaya Lake in Dambulla in December 2024, and we loved it!
The drive from the airport to the hotel took circa 3 hours 30 minutes. We stopped for lunch en route and arrived at the hotel around 2pm.
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This was our first stop on our 12 night Sri Lanka trip and the perfect base for our trips to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, Hurulu Eco Park, Lions Rock and Pidarangula rock.
We spent the afternoon relaxing at our hotel – Amaya Lake Dambulla (where we would stay for 3 nights).
Accommodation at Amaya Lake Dambulla
We had two of these little cottages for the 5 of us and paid $800 B&B for 3 nights. A family of four would have easily fit into one but we’ve got used to having to book two rooms now we have three children over 12 (which seems to be the standard age to start charging adult rates!)
We were all thrilled with the large, comfortable beds and the rooms were impeccably clean, and the housekeeping staff ensured we had everything we needed, including extra towels with some fabulous towel art.
Facilities & Activities at Amaya Lake
We really liked the style of the hotel, with two huge pools and golf buggys to get you around the huge grounds if you needed them.
There is plenty of space for kids to run around and explore and whilst there is no gym, my runners took advantage of the grounds to go for a 8k run!
The highlight for our family though was the beautiful infinity pool, one of two pools, which we enjoyed with the peaceful views of the lake.
The resort also offers activities like cycling, nature walks, and boat rides if you want to take these up.
Food at Amaya Lake
The on-site restaurant was decent, offering a variety of dishes that catered to both local and international tastes. Service for a-la-carte in the evening (kids pasta and pizza) was pretty slow as most guests take advantage of the huge buffet on which the Sri Lankan cuisine, in particular, was great. The huge buffet breakfast also had everything you could want and more and was often available earlier than they advised if you wanted to head out early.
Overall Experience
Amaya Lake, Dambulla, is a fantastic choice for families and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. We then moved onto Amaya Hills Kandy.
