Cheap Hotels & Resorts in Matara from NZ$36

"A fantastic stay at The Fortress Resort & Spa. The rooms were lovely — definitely book a sea view room if you can. One thing to note: if you leave the balcony doors open, expect the humidity to creep into the room pretty quickly. Small trade-off for that ocean view though. The service throughout our stay was excellent, and breakfast was genuinely one of the highlights of the day. There’s a huge variety available, with most hot items ordered à la carte. Pro tip: specify if you want multiple pancakes, sausages, etc., otherwise you may receive just one portion item at a time! We didn’t really use the hotel for lunch or dinner, mostly because we enjoyed exploring the coastline and supporting smaller local restaurants instead. The hotel menu looked very good, but pricing is naturally much higher than local spots nearby. The same applies to the spa. The beachfront pool was amazing — peaceful, relaxing, and very quiet during our stay, likely due to the current misconceptions about travelling to Sri Lanka. Honestly, we experienced absolutely no issues whatsoever. Tourist areas feel safe, organised, and well protected. Sri Lanka deserves visitors right now, so get yourself here — it’s totally worth it. The beach beside the hotel is beautiful to walk along, although the currents can be quite strong for swimming. There are safer swimming spots nearby if you travel a little. One of our favourite little surprises was regularly spotting sea turtles swimming in a calm patch near the hot"