A Quick Introduction To a Wild Resort
In collaboration with the Wild Grass Nature Resort, Sri Lanka. Keep reading to know a detailed story about our experience at this unique hotel.
The Wild Grass Nature Resort’s name says it all: Picture yourself immersed in endless green foliage that goes beyond the eye. Add to that the occasional monkey popping up in a tree in front of your balcony, or the lost bird that accidentally flies into your room (no kidding, I literally just had to stop writing because a random bird just flew in and we wanted to help him out before he got hurt).
Lying in bed inside my vila, completely surrounded by glass windows, as opposed to walls, my boyfriend, Cris, who is the creative side of our business, calmly calls my name, ‘Amor, don’t make any sudden moves” Cris said, ‘‘but there is a monkey in our balcony”.
To what my immediate reaction was to get up from the bed to have a better look, of course, ‘‘You think it wants food” I excitedly asked, looking around to see if I could find a leftover banana.
After not too long (and a lot of laughter exchanged between Cris and I trying to figure out if the monkey would be happy with a pineapple instead), the curious monkey finally understood we didn’t have food, leaving us behind with yet another story to tell about our stay at the fantastic Wild Grass Nature Resort.
But let’s start from the beginning, shall we?
About the Wild Grass Nature Resort
The Wild Grass Nature Resort is a luxury boutique hotel that is set in a 25 acre unfenced wilderness, surrounded by endless green and yellow foliage, breathtaking mountains in the horizon, and a charming lake right next to the hotel’s reception.
The resort is located approximately 165km from Colombo airport and surrounded by not one, but TWO UNESCO heritage sites that are probably on your Sri Lanka bucket list:
- Sigryia
- Dambulla
The Wild Grass Villas
Their vision to promote the Wild Grass as the ultimate escape is clearly stated by the way their villas are designed, with minimum brickwork, and maximum glass, which allows you to take in the lively nature around you.
By using materials such as wood, glass, stone and natural cement, they enable each of its unique 8 villas to blend into nature effortlessly.
Types of Villas
- 5 Double/Triple occupancy villas: Villa size: 160 sq m. (1720 sq ft) approx.
- These villas come with living room, bedroom, bathroom, balcony or outdoor sitting area, garden. Family villas
- 3 Family Villa size: minimum 260 sq m. (2800 sq ft) approx.
- Family villas which contain two bedrooms and two bathrooms with living areas and/or balconies. Family villas can sleep 4 to 6 adults.
- Do you have children? There are two different layouts available catering to families with small children, and/or families with older kids or even friends traveling together.
Villa Amenities
- Wifi
- Mini bar
- Electronic safe
- Led TV + international channels
- AC
- Room service
- Bathroom with open-to-sky rain shower area
- Baby cot (on request)
Wild Grass Nature Resort, Day 1, Vila 1
The first thing that I immediately noticed as soon as we stepped out of our Tuk Tuk upon arrival to the Wild Grass Nature Resort was how intensely calm everything was. Having birds chirping in the background while we did our check-in and sipping our fresh Papaya welcome mocktail, gave us a sense of immediate tranquility, and I could already tell that we were in for a unique experience, and boy, was I right.
I did an entire post detailing all the resort’s features here, but for the sake of this post, what is important to know is that this special resort is made up exclusively of 8 luxurious villas, each more unique than the other. During our first night at the Wild Grass Nature Resort, we stayed at their honeymoon suite, which emanates coziness and romance with it’s cottage-style features and double-floor composition.
”This is truly a stunning house,” I remarked as soon as the kind bellboy walked us towards our villa. Noticing some playful monkeys jumping in some bushes nearby, the bellboy was quick to remark to be aware not to let the windows open, or any fruits outside, as these curious creatures could just as soon sneak into your house to steal your food.
”These monkeys are very smart, and many guests forget their welcome fruit basket on their terrace, only to be surprised the next day as they wake up to notice that everything is gone” he remarked the best way he could in his friendly broken English as he opened the door welcoming us to our villa.
I couldn’t help but gasp in awe at it’s rustic wooden, yet charming structure, with glass used instead of cemented walls, giving you an almost 360 panorama of your surroundings. It didn’t take me long to understand why they build the resort like this. To be surrounded by sunlight and endless sights of lush green trees is something I will always treasure in my heart. It was a feeling of living not in nature, but with nature.
Add to that the ominous smell of wood and an outdoor shower, I could not be more in touch with nature even if I wanted.
By the way, if you have never tried taking an outdoor shower, I urge you to try it immediately. Being bare-skinned while outdoor (yet at the same time, protected by your villa walls) is an incredible feeling. I remember removing my robe, all the while hesitating to open the bathroom door to the outside world, not really sure about myself (or if any pervert monkey would swing by the trees up above me).
After not too long, I stepped outside and turned on the water and the immediate feeling of being alive hit me. There is no feeling to describe showering ‘au naturel’ outside, while at the same time hearing geckos echoing somewhere around me.
Once the shower was over, I stepped inside the bathroom one more time, wrapping myself around a clean towel, and was surprised at how clean it felt. The smell immediately took me back to my grandma’s house, where everything seems to always be coming just out from the washing machine and I couldn’t help but placing the towel against my face and inhaling a deep breath from my nose, allowing that fresh soap smell to immediately fill in my lungs.
By the end of our first night staying at the Wild Grass Nature Resort, I was so exhausted from our trip that after tucking myself in our bed located at the second floor of our villa, I ended falling asleep while still waring my bathrobes.
I fell asleep thinking about how amazing our first day here had been.
Day 2, Dining Like Royalty
BREAKFAST
‘’Riiiiiing, riiiing’’ I heard the phone echoing in the background ‘’riiiiiing, riiiiiing’’
‘’Hello? Yes, we will meet you at the reception’’ Cris answered, still taken aback from his sudden sleep interruption. I knew what the call was about the moment the phone rang it’s first note: the hotel staff had Kindly offered to prepare us a special breakfast by the lake, a unique activity that the resort provides, and we had agreed to meet them around 8h30, so that they could lead us towards where we would feast.
Upon meeting them at the designated location, they guided us towards one of the most memorable breakfast experience I’ve ever had so far. When we approached the small wooden table that was located just in front of a lake, I knew we were about to dine likes kings.
From being served carefully curated fruit platters, to omelets and fresh watermelon juice, accompanied by a warm cup of coffee and a generous bread basket (and an attentive staff), Cris and I felt as if we were being pampered like royalty. Add to that a herd of wild black buffalo that were peacefully drinking water from the opposite side of the lake, providing us with an entertaining view throughout our meal, and this was definitely an immense highlight of our stay.
It is also equally important to highlight that anything and everything we heard was exclusively the sound of nature: from birds chirping to leaves blowing in the wind, (and the occasional monkeys playing in the lush of trees that surrounded us). If being surrounded by nature is your thing, then you defiantly shouldn’t miss staying at the Wild Grass Nature Resort if you are ever around Sigryia.
Once breakfast was done, Cris and I were fully ready to start our day. As we headed out, the hotel manager asked what time we would like to eat, as they had in mind to prepare us a tasting menu for their Sri Lankan dishes.
When we were about to leave, we heard the general manager say ‘’Sir, Madam, we will be moving you to a different bigger vila today. What time would you want us to pick up your bags’’?
We were a bit taken aback since we already loved our room, but nonetheless argued against it. Upon agreeing on a time to enter the other villa, we set off to start our day.
Villa # 2 – Mongoose Villa
If I thought the first villa was impressive, I had no idea what was in store for us upon arriving at Mongoose, ‘is THIS our new villa?’’ I ’asked, half-afraid they would say that I was delusional, which to my positive surprise, they smiled and replied ‘’yes, madam’’.
Considerably bigger than our first villa, the Mongoose has a stunning room that is located on the second floor of the house. Unlike our first villa, where the first floor was the one surrounded by glass walls, the Mongoose Villa’s second floor was made up exclusively of glass, giving us an amazing panorama around us of abundant trees all around us.
There are no words to describe what it feels like to be laying down in bed, with a wonderful view of nature right in front of me.
Just a moment ago, a wild peacock just passed by right next to my window. Unfortunately, I got so excited that I jumped out of bed in order to properly see it, that I scared the poor thing away, making it once again hide within the bushes, it’s majestic long, colorful tail disappearing from my eyes in just in a matter of seconds.
Once again, I still believe that anything I write here will be irrelevant next to the greatness of the beauty I see before my eyes, while I write this post, so I will just publish a picture instead.
I lost count at the number of times that I probably remarked ‘’this room is beautiful’’ to Cris. While I gazed out the view in front of me, all the while relaxing in bed with my laptop any my laps.
LUNCH
Upon returning to the hotel, we were informed that our lunch would soon be ready, and as soon as I saw the dishes presentation set at our table, my jaw dropped to the floor. The staff had kindly prepared us a variety of different Sri Lanka specialties, from Dhal curry (my personal favorite) to chicken curry, potato curry, freshly made rice, seasoned vegetables, to other things.
If I can be honest, I don’t know what they were, but one thing I am certain about: they were absolutely DELICIOUS. And I might not remember or know what I ate, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let the pictures below that Cris took of our lunch to speak for themselves:
Dinner
Once our day was reaching its end, Cris and I returned to our room to work on our content. Him in editing his pictures, me writing this blog post that you are reading now.
We were starting to get hungry and wondering where the in-room dining menu was, when we heard the doorbell ring. A friendly hotel worked walked in, asking if we would like to order anything from the restaurant (I could swear he read my mind, honestly).
We happily decided on what to eat (some buffalo wings and a good ol’ club sandwich), and the staff member asked if we would want to eat at the restaurant, or if we would like to have it in the room. Considering how tired we were at that point, Cris and I looked at each other and almost in perfect unison we said ‘’in the room’, causing the staff member to laugh half-heartedly, while he closed the door behind him to go place our order.
Other Activities and Things to Do Around the Resort
- Nature tours
- Tea on the rock
- Yoga
- Cycling
- Trekking, jogging
- Swimming pool
- Bird watching
- Day tours to sites and towns further afield
- Hot air ballooning
Sustainability
As a good millennial girl, it means a lot to me when hotels take their corporate responsibility seriously.
Considering how much the Wild Grass Nature resort prides themselves on being a resort located in the heart of nature, it is only natural that they would be extra careful with their environmental impact.
It didn’t take me long to notice how preoccupied the resort is with their sustainable initiatives. From appreciating that they never use plastic (even their soaps were wrapped in paper), to realizing they provide energy to the hotel by using solar panels.
Below are some other of their sustainability initiatives that are worth mentioning:
- Energy conserver – only CFL and LED lights used
- Solar power for partial lighting and hot water
- No asbestos used anywhere in the resort
- Wood and stone used are mostly sourced locally from small businesses and craftsmen
- Responsible kitchen with proper disposal facilities
- Environment conservation practiced
- Supporting local school
- Buying from local farmers
- Organic planting practices
To Conclude
Thank you to everyone in this fantastic hotel for everything. We loved the hotel, your staff, your food and the whole experience. I was telling Cris that the second room, the Mongoose, was honestly one of the most unique and special hotel rooms I’ve ever been in. There are no words to describe being completely surrounded by nature.
STUTI
Find my Wild Grass Nature Resort Trip Advisor review here (don’t forget to click that follow button so you are up-to-date with the best – and worst – places to eat around the world)
Are you a hoteliere or a brand and would like to work with me? Don’t forget to check out my WHY WORK WITH ME page, or feel free to email me directly at labellesociety@gmail.com (customer service is my utmost priority at La Belle Society and I usually personally answer to my emails in a 24h frame).
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Looks like a dream!! Also the pics are amazing!! xx
Thank you so much!! It really did feel like a dream. We feel so blessed to have been able to stay at the Wild Grass Nature Resort. Thanks for stopping by babe!