Palm Paradise Cabanas 🌴 Tangalle
Nestled along the pristine shores of Tangalle, Sri Lanka, Palm Paradise Cabanas offers a serene escape amidst lush tropical surroundings.
This eco-friendly resort features charming wooden cabanas and modern villas, each equipped with private terraces and essential amenities. Guests can enjoy direct access to the famous Goyambokka Beach, indulge in rejuvenating Ayurvedic massages, and explore nearby attractions like the Mulgirigala Rock Temple.
With its blend of natural beauty and comfortable accommodations, Palm Paradise Cabanas is a prime destination for travelers seeking tranquility and adventure
Highlights
- Getting to Tangalle
- Palm Paradise Cabanas
- Goyambokka Beach
- Time for Dinner…
- The Evening Cacophony
- Palm Paradise Pros & Cons
- Tangalle’s Beaches
- All Hotel Options in Tangalle
- What You Need for the Beaches
- A Complete Sri Lanka Itinerary
A Long-Established Business
Palm Paradise Cabanas is a medium-sized beach and garden resort located a few kilometers west along the coast from Tangalle. Our last visit to Palm Paradise was really enjoyable, so we were keen to return.
The highlights we remembered from our first trip were the beautiful cabanas, the family of monkeys that visited us every day, and of course the fabulous beach.
Palm Paradise Cabanas
So fast-forward to the present and we’re back, hopefully for more of the same.
3 weeks earlier I had tried unsuccessfully to book a cabana online – they were fully booked for the dates I wanted. Undeterred, when we arrived in Tangalle we decided to just walk in on the off-chance, to see if there was any availability.
To my surprise, they were able to offer us a cabana for 2 nights, on half-board basis (breakfast and dinner).
Local dogs have their own way of cooling off.
The cabanas were just as I remembered, rustic and comfortable, and well-spaced out in a neat and tidy garden complex close to the beach.
Security seems to have been beefed up considerably since our last visit – there was even a 24-hour security guard posted in a small structure not far from our cabana. The need for the security became apparent over the next 2 days.
Unfortunately, the monkeys were long gone.
Goyambokka Beach
In the reception area, I read a sign which stated that the beach in front of the complex was public: The management were not responsible for the actions of local people on this beach.
In fact, there are a couple of bars on the beach run by locals. Here, you can eat, drink, and rent beds or swimming equipment. It would be easy to associate these bars with the management of Palm Paradise, but this is not the case.
We saw how the staff at these beach bars dispose of their rubbish and old fish: They just dump it onto ever-increasing piles of refuse behind their huts and at the end of the beach. The smell in this area of the beach was nauseating, and of course the odour drifts across the fence into the area of the Palm Paradise cabanas.
This is such a pity, as the beach is naturally beautiful, and swimming in the waves is amazing.
A large bottle of Lion lager, at 300 rupees a pop
Time for Dinner…
The obligatory half-board menu at Palm Paradise offers no choices. On the first evening we were served traditional Sri Lanka rice and curry, de-spiced to European tastes (you could add sambal separately).
The second evening was a beef stew with rice, and the third evening was fish fingers with noodles. Deserts included fruit fritters and bananas & custard.
The Set Dinner: Colorful, but bland, bland, bland
This kind of fare must be difficult for families with kids, and some of the adult guests were audibly unimpressed. It’s all very unimaginative, cheap and bland.
The Evening Cacophony
As has been reported elsewhere, in the evenings loud disco music starts on the beach (courtesy of the local beach bars). This music continues well into the night (whether or not the beach bars have any customers).
This is particularly irritating, and made us suspect there was some kind of vendetta going on between the locals running the beach bars and the Palm Paradise management.
Goyambokka Beach, Tangalle
Palm Paradise Pros & Cons
Our 2-day stay at Palm Paradise was enough for us, and we were happy to move back to the Gayana Guest House on Tangalle beach.
In total, we paid the management 14,000 rupees for our 2 night half-board stay, including beverages and sundries.
On the positive side, the cabanas are solid, stylish and comfortable with close proximity to the picturesque beach. Just make sure you get a cabin further back from the beach if you want to sleep.
The swimming here is good, with a big swell that is great for body-surfing
Into the waves at Goyambokka Beach!
After another couple of days in Tangalle, we were heading west along the coast to the small town of Unawatuna.
If you enjoyed Palm Paradise Cabanas Tangalle, check out our Sri Lanka Travel Plan. You may also like:
Spice up your inbox…
… with discounted hotel deals, cost-saving travel itineraries and SandSpice escapades! 😉
