Andrew & Janet
England, February/March 2024
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The location was suitably varied and easy to travel in / so much better than India.
The Sri Lankans we met were delightful.
The sheer beauty of the place.
What did you like most about Maldives?
Great Location.
Great Resort.
Great Staff.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
N/A.
What did you like least about Maldives?
Water quality for snorkelling probably due to sand extraction on nearly construction sites, suspended particles.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
All of the locations had excellent staff.
[The] Notary’s House [Makandura] – excellent food and location, worth a return.
Buckingham Place [Tangalle] – excellent food and setting/facilities but expensive, distinct host. The location was a bit out of the way though.
Flameback [Eco] Lodge [Weerawila] – excellent, great food.
98 Acres [Resort & Spa, Ella] – lovely but spoilt by lack of separation from traffic to their other activity centre and unmade road as yet to complete the new route for hotel only, partly finished construction work, good food/staff. Had to leap out of the way of tuk tuks in a most unpleasant manner on several occasions.
Ellerton Bungalow [Kandy] – fabulous location, great food and wine, hosts were lovely, worth a return.
Lake Lodge [Boutique Hotel, Dambulla] – lovely hotel, an electrical problem meant they promptly upgraded us to the suite, lovely staff and food, worth a return in the suite.
How would you rate your resort in Maldives?
[Dhawa Ihuru]
Accommodation – Very good (5/5)
Beach – Very good (5/5)
Diving – N/A
Food – Very good (5/5)
Responsible and/or sustainable travel – Very good (5/5)
Service – Very good (5/5)
Snorkelling – Good (4/5)
Spa – N/A
Transfer to and from Malé (speedboat) – Very good (5/5)
Overall experience – Very good (5/5)
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Nihal was outstanding, informative/passionate about Sri Lanka and the wildlife, very caring, great driver, BUT we lost his services for the last three days of touring – WHY? He was able to arrange a guide for our afternoon visit to Anuradhapura which we enjoyed. We would definitely want to travel with him again.
Raju – a great transfer driver who was put in as a guide when he wasn’t able to perform those duties – unfair on him BUT he did take great care of us and delivered a great level of service albeit without the information/guiding aspect. Would happily be driven by him again too – BUT he isn’t a guide yet.
Kassunn – Yala safari guide – excellent skills and driver. [Arranged through our long-term partner and great friend Ajith of Ajith Safari Jeep Tours in Tissamaharama, who also arranges jeep safaris for us in Bundala and Lunugamvehera National Parks.]
Samba – excellent extreme Tuk tuk driver to Lipton’s Seat – informative/passionate about the area. [Arranged through 98 Acres Resort & Spa, Ella.]
[Nihal is one of our star guides, as you found out, and I am very pleased that he looked after you so well. I am somewhat perplexed by the change of guide at the end of your tour of Sri Lanka and I will discuss this issue with Pathi. This is not the way we normally arrange our guides, who are usually with customers from the start to finish of their trips with us, and I am sorry that it affected the last couple of days of your holiday in Sri Lanka. I will ensure it doesn’t happen on your next trip with us. However, I am happy to hear of your excellent safari guide in Yala.]
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka and Maldives?
We had a great set of flights with BA, also Vistara. IndiGo were fine for the 1 hr flight as was FlyDubai. [Arranged their own flights.]
Any other comments?
We thought SL an excellent location.
We lost out in loosing [losing] Nihal’s services – no discussion, would want some assurance about this not happening if rebook.
We know we didn’t want a guide every day but… wanted a day to enjoy Ellerton.
The concept of Slow Sri Lanka put out by another tour company does appeal.
We will be in touch to discuss a possible central/northern tour for 2025.
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