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The people running this retreat were so lovely and so helpful. The pool is exceptional. The pools in many, places we stayed we diisappointing as they were smaller than they liked in the photo. This pool was the reverse, it's large and gorgeous, you can actually swim lengths

I had a wonderful experience at Grand Silverray. The property is beautifully maintained, clean, and very comfortable. The rooms are spacious and well-designed, offering everything needed for a relaxing stay. The staff were incredibly friendly, helpful, and always ready to assist with a smile, which made the experience even better. The atmosphere is peaceful, and the overall service is truly impressive. I highly recommend Grand Silverray to anyone looking for a pleasant, comfortable, and memorable stay. Definitely looking forward to visiting again!

Large and beautiful common area. Green and peaceful surrounding nature: trees, birds, squirrels...

I arrived at the Diora Hotel by chance and found it to be a very good place to stay in Ratnapura. The hotel is new, clean, and well maintained, with a simple, tasteful interior and a calm atmosphere. It meets a solid Western standard at a fair price. The location is central, yet on a quiet side street. It felt safe and undisturbed, both day and night. The hotel suits travelers, gemstone buyers, business guests, and anyone who values cleanliness, comfort, and a well-run, straightforward setup. A small but fitting detail is that the rooms are named after locally found gemstones – a nice touch for Ratnapura. I came to the city spontaneously to visit gemstone mines and only had half a day. I wanted to avoid the usual tourist tuk-tuk routine with staged mines and a jewelry stop at the end, and I mentioned this to the manager on arrival. What followed was unexpectedly personal. The hotel manager not only arranged a tuk-tuk at a local price, but also contacted a working mine directly and accompanied me there himself, helping with translation and explanations. With his background as a former gemstone cutter, this added real depth. I was able to visit an active artisanal mine with three shafts, about 20 meters deep – practical, local, and not set up for visitors. Even though I have visited mines in other countries, I learned a great deal here about mining. The miners were open and welcoming, allowed me to move freely, and were happy for me to photograph and film. I’m sincerely grateful to them, and especially to the hotel manager, for the time he took to make this possible on short notice – simply out of kindness. I was also invited to visit his relatives nearby and was able to take photos from their rooftop overlooking the mine and the surrounding rice fields. Early the next morning, I visited one of Ratnapura’s three gemstone markets, the one focused on rough stones. I was quickly approached by traders showing me everything from sapphires to alexandrites.

The balcony was really nice and the WiFi was really fast too.

This was our first night in Sri Lanka, traveling as a family with two teenagers, and it was a perfect stop between the airport and Ella. Since we landed the same day, we were very tired and really appreciated being allowed to check in earlier than the official check-in time. The hotel was quite empty, which felt a bit surprising given how nice it is. We had two rooms, both spacious, comfortable, and very well cleaned. The whole property has a calm and pleasant atmosphere, with a nice pool area where we also had all our meals. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, always ready to assist with booking transportation, serving meals, or helping with anything needed. We found that the food was very good too.

The staff are friendly and helpful. Food was surprisingly great, and the room was clean and had everything we required.

The room was massive and had every amenity you could need. It was nicely tucked away from the main street of Ratnapura so had beautiful views and plenty of space. When I booked, I asked Bhanu the host for assistance in booking some gem tours while I was there. He came through and helped me organise the best tour guide in Ratnapura, Sampath Perera. Breakfasts were delicious, affordable and so much food that I was not hungry for dinner on either of the days I stayed. So glad I decided to stay here, could not recommend this place more!

The hosts went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, including making us a cracking breakfast at the very last minute.