Aug 25, 2008 10:46 PM
7871 Views
It was an easy to find hotel located right on the main Galle Road, with signs prominently visible while in the cab. As soon as we entered the long driveway leading up to the main building, we knew we were right about our decision to book a room here. We had booked through asiarooms.com and the rates were USD 86 per night. They have only standard rooms hence just one rate. This was an all inclusive rates, meaning unlimited meals(breakfast, lunch and dinner) and unlimited use of hotel facilities like pool, gym, etc. At the reception, they were expecting us and the staff was extremely well spoken in English. Hence communication was just not a problem. We were asked to take a seat in the sea facing part of the lobby and were served with a welcome drink which was an excellent fruit juice.
The receptionist came over to us and got the forms filled. She also tied a plastic ribbon on our wrists to let the hotel staffs know that we are in the all inclusive package. She explained to us the food timings and locations of restaurants and bar. We requested for a sea facing room and she mentioned that all rooms are sea facing. The hotel side building is designed in such a way that the rooms have their balcony open to the sea. Although the hotel is right at the beach, it is not a private beach and locals and guests of other hotels frequent there was well. With this, off we went to our room #226. This was on the right side, if you are standing in the roof top lobby and facing the sea. The bell boy carried our luggage in his trolley.
As soon as we entered the room, we noticed that the room was good sized(about 16 ft x 12 ft) not including toilet and balcony. This was a pretty good sized room. The beds were separate. We requested the bell boy to connect them which he did in about 2 mins. So far, every staff encountered could speak good English and was extremely courteous. We checked out the balcony(about 6 ft by 12 ft). There was a table and 2 chairs placed there and as promised by the receptionist, sea was visible from the balcony.
After resting for some, it was dinner time and we headed to the restaurant. Dinner was buffet and there was something for everyone. There were western cuisine and local dishes. I chose to try a mix of both and would rate the food as 7 / 10. The restaurant staffs were extremely courteous and very prominent in serving drinks and clearing plates. We stayed there for 6 nights and all meals at the restaurants were fantastic.
For day time activity, there is the beach and the pool. Hotel staff provides wooden beds for sunbath. Sunbath can be had within the hotel premises itself while facing the beach. As mentioned in the previous reports there are hawkers and touts on the beach who keep harassing you. A polite ‘no’ does the trick, but they keep coming again and again.
We had to travel to Kandy for 1 night and asked the hotel if they can recommend a cab. They recommended Nand Lal who had a large Toyota van for us. He said he will take us to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage, herbal garden, tea plantation, rubber plantation, Kandy city tour and Kandyan dance. He quoted a price of LKR 18000, which we agreed to, since it was an overnite trip. We were booked in Hotel Hunas Falls in Kandy. The review of the hotel is in Kandy section. The driver was good and very helpful. He was punctual and reasonably good in English. He is highly recommended and can be arranged instantly by the Hotel reception. He owns a Tuk Tuk and rents out this van on customer requests.
Few dislikes from this hotel experience:
1) Animators – We had read a lot about animators and they were very much there. However, they were focused on a small bunch of people and were ignoring the others.
2) Over enthusiastic restaurant staff – At times, especially when you are in a mood for a quiet dinner, the over enthusiasm of the staff to talk to you gets very intrusive. Some get the hint that you want to be left alone whereas some are difficult to get rid of.
Considering the overall experience and the cost, it was 9.5 / 10 and a sure shot visit if we were to visit Sri Lanka again.
