The first stop on our Sri Lanka tour was R Degrees in Ambalangoda; a luxury boutique resort. The resort is housed in a villa-style property with tall sloping wooden roofs. The high ceilings give a sense of open space to the area and this style continues into the property’s rooms too. Speaking of the rooms, there are only 10 of them which makes R Degrees quite exclusive and private; this suited us just fine as we love being on our own.
The hotel welcomed us with fresh fruit juices which we really needed after the tiring flight and drive down from Colombo. A quick round of the usual check-in formalities and we were escorted to our room. R Degrees put us up in a Suite which is the top-end accommodation offered by the resort. The minute we walked into the room, we were awed by the sheer amount of space! At 400 sq. feet in size, it is easily one of the largest hotel rooms we have ever stayed in.
The room is well laid out with a king size bed in the centre and an extra bed off to the side. There is a large seating area in one corner of the room and the staff had thoughtfully laid out a fruit basket containing typical Sri Lankan delicacies like pineapples, star fruits and bananas. A wooden door separates the living area from the bathroom which is fully-equipped and even comes with a full-sized jacuzzi!
Our favourite part of the Suite was the large wooden balcony with seating for two. We had a fantastic view of the swimming pool and the ocean beyond; perfect for a cup of tea at sunset. Even if you’re not staying in a suite, R Degrees has ensured that all their 10 rooms have a view of the ocean which is really nice; this part of Sri Lanka has great waves and is well known for being a surfer’s paradise.
You can walk down from the resort onto a semi-private beach for a relaxing walk along the sea shore. Feel free to dip your feet in the cold water but be careful before taking a plunge into the ocean; the waters are not safe from July to September due to the choppy seas, powerful waves and strong undercurrents.
If you have rented a vehicle with a chauffeur, R Degrees offers accommodation for your chauffeur at no extra cost. Most car rental companies will ask you to pay an additional allowance to your chauffeur in locations where accommodation is not offered by the hotel/resort so this is a really nice facility.
If you’re like us and cannot live without technology, R Degrees has got you covered there as well. Our Suite came equipped with a 50″ LED TV with a variety of cable channels, a Bose Bluetooth sound system in case you want to play your own music and free Wi-Fi. The reasonably fast Wi-Fi ensured that we did not miss out on our weekly Game of Thrones episode!
Food:
The in-house restaurant offers à la carte and buffet menus. We decided to try the Southern Coast Special Rice for lunch and were pleasantly surprised by the variety of vegetables and fish curries offered. The prawn curry in the traditional Sri Lankan yellow gravy and the tangy aubergines were our favourites. The portion was extremely generous; easily sufficient for two in our opinion. For dessert, we had the caramel custard which was light but delicious.
If you’re planning to have breakfast in the resort, we suggest that you sit outdoors and enjoy the sea breeze and the ocean view. We highly recommend the Sri Lankan omelette with bacon, the coffee and the pineapple and papaya juices.
R Degrees also offers both spa and gym facilities; both of which are located facing the beach.
After a hectic last few weeks, R Degrees reinvigorated us and set the benchmark for the remainder of our trip. We really liked the attentiveness of the staff and the sense of exclusivity offered by the resort.
You can book R Degrees through or Agoda
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We were guests of R Degrees, Ambalangoda but our opinion as always is our own.
I love staying in boutique hotels and this one looks beautiful. Eating a delicious breakfast outside with a view like that – what more could you want!
I wouldn’t mind spending some time in this resort!!!The inside is pretty stylish and the perfect size, I loved the furniture too! And being able to have breakfast while looking at that view every morning sounds like a dream!
Looks like a really nice place, planning to visit next year, will definitely check out the resort.
Wow! That room is massive. This resort looks stunning and I love that photo of the beach.
Wow, this place looks amazing. I’m also super jealous of the food.
What a beautiful resort! I love the views and the food looks really delicious. And those rooms are huge! Looking forward to staying there when I visit Sri Lanka next year.
Wow, the food looks amazing – and that’s a great view out to the Sea. I’d be happy to stay there, though I love Sri Lanka as much for its culture and people.
Hotels that welcome you with a little something, be it fruit, juices or chocolate, are always my favorites. This one is even better, because they gave you a huge suite! The in house restaurand also prepares delicious meals, yum!
Curries as so tasty and that particularly looks scrumptious. The resort looks luxurious as well, who doesn’t love a good spa bath! 🙂
The resort looks stunning! Perfect views, pretty surroundings, delicious food and good company (you sound like a lovely couple)! Polly
That looks like such a relaxing place! The seaside is always a place to chill down for me and enjoy the simple things of life! Good food definitely helps though! 😉
The room looks a bit too big and empty to me – not that I’m complaining, haha! I’d certainly enjoy the jacuzzi and just hanging out, watching the waves from the balcony with a book in hand.
This place looks great! I’d love to visit sometime. It looks comfortable but relaxing- the rooms looks so big!
Such a nice resort. It looks so relaxing.
Wow, that truly is a very big hotel room! R Degrees sounds like a wonderful experience overall, between the service and the food and the beach access, and of course the stunning rooms. I would love to travel and stay – I love being ocean front!
R Degrees did set a very high benchmark for your trip didn’t they! I love that they only have 10 rooms and wow, the size of those rooms and all with a sea view! A slice of luxury for any holiday, thanks for sharing. #feetdotravel
Wow, such a beautiful place and surrounded by nature. Food pics are making me feel hungry.
R Degrees, Ambalangoda looks like a nice luxury boutique resort – certainly the sort of place I would enjoy staying at with my girlfriend. The rooms look huge and the beach being so close is a great bonus. Will have to check it out when I’m next in Sri Lanka.
Wow, this looks amazing! Atmospheric and clean hotel, a path to a stunning beach and incredible food too. And a gym – that would be the biggest selling point for me! Love it – thanks for sharing!
I’ve been in Sri Lanka as a child accompanying my father on his travels. I’d love to see it again and R Degrees in Ambalangoda looks like a real treat to choose for accommodation.
What a wonderful resort! We won’t mind to stay there either! Thanks for sharing this great review with us! You made us want to sleep there one day thanks to your article but also thanks to your beautiful pictures. The full sized jacuzzi looks amazing too 😉 Keep up the great work. Patrick and Cécile 🙂
R Degrees looks great. Room size is generous with fabulous views. I love Sri Lankan curries, fresh fruit in the room and the brekky sounded good to so foodwise, big tick. Thanks for sharing. I’ll put it on my list of potential properties for Sri Lanka. Cheers! 🙂
The R degrees resort looks like an idyllic place to start your SriLankan adventures. The place looks so calm and tranquil. Also the fact that you have access to the beach is a great plus point. The rooms are really very spacious and airy and I am sure you had a great time there.
This hotel looks absolutely amazing! What a treat to stay in 🙂