Lions Rest (Weligama, Sri Lanka) ★★★

We are situated on the southern tip of Sri Lanka,just 2km from Welligama Town. We’re 5km from the lively resort of Mirissa and a 40min tuk-tuk ride from the heritage city of Galle and its old colonial Dutch fort with its charming collection of cafes and craft shops.

Whether surf, yoga or cultural experiences are on your agenda Lion’s Rest is the perfect place to base yourself overlooking Coconut's Surf Break. Day trips can be arranged from the hotel to tea plantations, whale watching and elephant safaris, to name but a few activities.

Our village, Gurubebila, is home to 60 local families, mainly fishermen who can be seen on our unspoilt beach, either sitting on traditional fishing-stilts or casting off the reef.

Lion’s Rest overlooks the village green which rolls gently down to the ocean. The village green, with its scattering of cows and coconut trees, acts as a gathering place for local fishermen comparing their daily catch, or perhaps a sunset cricket match. It’s a wonderful place to immerse yourself in the local culture and meet the friendly villagers. And of course we have a surf break directly in front of us called Coconuts in front of 3 high coconut palms, we have other breaks in a short walking distance one a right hander called Plantations.

Out And About Around Lion's Rest. Of course when you're on vacation, firstly you will want to relax and Lion's Rest is the place to do that!

But aside from the surfing and yoga here there's plenty to do around and about where we are located,

making the perfect base for your holiday. Be it just hanging out in the village watching the stick fisherman catching sardines, playing beach volleyball with the locals or taking part in a soft ball cricket match out on the green, authentic Sri Lankan culture is all around you in Gurubebila.

Outside of our beachside haven there is plenty do see just a short Tuk Tuk ride or if you want hire a scooter they are also available.

Midigama train station is 1km away and local bus stops just a short walk should you want to use public transport.

For excursions a little further away for day trips we can arrange a minibus for more comfort.

We have 8 rooms at Lion's Rest, with 2 on the ground level and 6 on the upper floor. Our rooms are perfect for couples, solo's and family groups. All rooms have en-suite bathrooms and A/C as standard. Our rates change accordingly to the season and a breakdown of our room options is below. All rates are on a bed and breakfast basis and half board and full board can also be added if required.

The Superior Room - 150 USD / night

Maximum Occupancy 2 persons

Situated at the front of Lion’s Rest on the upper level. The room offers A/C and a powerful overhead fan to suit your preference. It has a four-poster king-size bed with a high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep.

The en-suite bathroom come equipped with a solar heated rain shower. There is a private balcony which has views over the village green and onto the Indian Ocean. Whether checking out how Coconut’s Surf Break or taking in a spectacular sunset, it’s the perfect spot to enjoy our beautiful location.

The Deluxe Rooms - 140 USD / night

Maximum Occupancy 3 adults or 2 adults/2 children

We have three Deluxe Rooms situated on the upper level of Lion’s Rest.

The rooms offer A/C and a powerful overhead fan to suit your preference. One room has twin beds that can be turned into a king-size bed upon request. The beds come with high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep.

The Deluxe Rooms have a mezzanine level with another small double bed. The en-suite bathroom's come equipped with a solar heated rain shower. The communal balcony has seating area with views over the pool and grounds, the Indian Ocean and Coconuts Surf Break.

The Pool Double - 100 USD/ night

Situated on the ground level at Lion’s Rest, The Pool Double opens onto the pool area. The room offers A/C and a powerful overhead fan to suit your preference. The four-poster double bed comes with a high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep. The en-suite bathroom comes equipped with a solar heated rain shower. The seating area outside is just a few steps into the pool.

The Garden Room - 120 USD / night

The garden room is situated on the ground level at Lion’s Rest and opens onto the garden and pool area. The room has a four-poster king-size bed and a single bed with high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep. The room offers A/C and a powerful overhead fan to suit your preference.

The en-suite bathroom comes equipped with a solar heated rain shower. Outside the room there is a private patio area with two plantation chairs and a dining table where our team will be happy to serve you.

Family Room 6 - 160 USD / night

Maximum Occupancy 6 persons

Situated on the upper level of Lion’s Rest boasting two king-size four-poster bedswith high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep. With a mezzanine level above with another double and a single mattress, there isplenty of space for a large group or family . The room offers A/C and a powerful overhead fans to suit your preference. The en-suite bathroom is equipped with a solar heated rain shower. There is a communal balcony outside. There is also access to the sun deck hammock-area with views over the pool, grounds and the Indian Ocean.

The Family Room 7 - 160 USD / night

The family room on the upper level of Lion’s Rest boasts two king-size four-poster beds and a single bed with high quality sprung mattresses and crisp linen to ensure a comfy night's sleep. The room offers A/C and a powerful overhead fans to suit your preference. The en-suite bathroom comes equipped with a solar heated rain shower. Plenty of storage space is provided. The balcony outside has seating and there is easy access to the sun deck hammock-area which has views over the pool, grounds and the Indian Ocean.

If surfing is on your agenda Lion’s Rest is ideally located. We’re right on a beach, halfway between the cities of Galle and Matara This 40km stretch of coastline has an array of surf breaks for all levels, offering excellent reef-breaks and beach-breaks.

Lion’s Rest has one of the best performing reef-breaks, ”Coconuts”, directly in front of the hotel, with another great wave, “Plantation Point”, just 100m walk along the beach. Many nearby surf spots are only a short tuk-tuk ride away including “Lazy Left”, “Rams” and “Weligama Bay Beach Break”. Although Weligama is not a favoured place to stay anymore because of the crowds, we have found some quieter spots to surf on the bay. We have two tuk-tuks at Lion’s Rest to take you around and mopeds with board-racks are also available to rent. There are some sweet secret surf-spots around that we can show you, but we like to keep these quiet of course!

Galle Fort

A great half-day trip is to take in the Old Colonial Dutch Fort in the city of Galle. It's a 40 minute Tuk journey from Lion's Rest or should you want to experience a train journey it's only 30 minutes by train. With its array of boutiques and restaurants and old colonial cafes it's also a great place to eat and shop.

Koggala Lake

Just 20 miuntes from Lion's Rest is Koggala lake. It's alive with birdlife and dotted with islands, one of which features a Buddhist temple that attracts many visitors on poya (full moon) days, another that contains an interesting cinnamon plantation and also a herb-garden island. You can take a 90-minute boat tour of the lake and islands. Feeding the monkeys from the boat when arriving at the islands is always a highlight with the kids.

Safari Parks

Both Yala and Udawalawe National Park are good to do as a day trip from Lion's Rest. Both national parks are just under 2 hours drive away. We can arrange the day trip for you, it's an early start to get the sunrise jeep safari but is really worth the effort because it's the best time to see the wildlife including the wild elephants and the leopards if you're lucky! Udawalawe is the favourite of ours as it gets less busy than Yala

Tea Plantation

Another half-day trip is the Handunugoda Tea Estate, just 30 minutes drive inland. It is a real treat as you're taken through the whole process from the cultivation of the tea, picking and watching 100-year-old machines still doing their job drying and sorting the leaves. And of course you get a chance to try it before you buy. There are many types to choose from including the famous Ceylon White Tea.