Angela, David, Gail, Jane & Derek
England & Australia, February 2019
Transfer from Colombo Airport
Anura was waiting for us and there was only a short walk to the van.
Within minutes we were out of the hubbub of Colombo Airport, and being whisked away to Kalundewa by Anura whilst we slept!
Kalundewa [Retreat, Dambulla]
Gail, Angela and David loved the ‘back to nature’ feel of Kalundewa.
Jane and Derek didn’t like the isolation of each of the units and the remoteness of the swimming pool.
We all felt the food was overpriced and underwhelming.
The manager at Dambulla was away until our last afternoon and his staff don’t seem entirely trained to manage European guests expectations alone. He seemed far more familiar with needs and expectations once back. However, we appreciated the many trips back and forth in the golf buggy to deliver drinks to our rooms!
Gail’s favourite.
The Planter’s House [Koslanda]
The offroad drive from the main road to Planter’s House was unexpected yet thrilling!
Everyone fell in love with The Planter’s House, its gardens and environs.
Service was attentive.
Something went wrong with the room allocation. We were told that one of the bathrooms needed maintenance so that an alternative room needed to be used for one night. This was taken by Jane and Derek. Unfortunately the next night things didn’t improve for them since rather than being moved to a better room, Jane and Derek ended up in what was probably meant to be the smaller room whilst Gail had been allocated the largest room.
Hot water wasn’t always available for showers.
Electricity supply varied due to the remoteness of the property.
We did the Liptons Seat hike from Planter's, but went wrong which added considerably to our walk in blazing heat and resulted in sunburn! We think a simple hand drawn map with landmarks to look out for may be a useful addition to the Google maps provided which became confusing because on many scales and different screens.
Gail commented that the chicken and veggies dinner at Planter's House was the best meal she ate in Sri Lanka. Please let them know how amazing their vegetables taste so they can make a proud spotlight of their local produce. I suspect they should ask guests before planning a rice and curry night as the sole meal option. Some of us loved it but we can imagine some guests are ready for something less challenging.
Planter's were so eager to please and very flexible, the sandwiches we ordered on return from our hike were exceptional. Service quite a feat in the middle of nowhere! All staff justifiably proud of their beautiful country and eager for us to have a special experience.
More ceremony around tea and an Afternoon Tea offering would have been splendid.
We wish we had stayed longer.
Angela’s favourite.
Buckingham Place [Tangalle]
Great attention to detail has been given by Nick Buckingham to ensure that every aspect of our stay was delivered to perfection.
The interior design was a talking point; the food exceptional, the spa relaxing, the staff confident and knowledgeable and the atmosphere informal and friendly.
Superb breakfasts although evening offerings very overpriced... captive audience (likewise Dambulla)
Jane and Derek’s favourite.
Jetwing Thalahena Villas [Negombo]
We could not really recommend this hotel except for it’s proximity to the airport and the service provided by the manager.
The shower and hairdryer fell off the wall and the air conditioning did not work in Angela and David’s room. During the night the boiler exploded outside their room which resulted in a disturbed nights sleep and trips across the road to reception to report the problem. The butler could not speak English to a standard required for his job.
Despite the negatives, we were not “unhappy” since the manager, Seemon, was a delight and couldn’t have been more apologetic for the mishaps or accommodating for our indecisiveness about where we wanted to eat. In their defence, with Gail having spent time in Negombo after we had left, she realised it was in a peaceful location with less pollution on the beach and road. Just needs a bit of maintenance. And their spa was excellent. The Jetwing Ayurveda might have been a nicer property for us but in a much busier location. The Heritance Negombo would not have been our cup of tea despite its expense. [Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions and Heritance Negombo were not suggested by Tikalanka, although they are both on our recommended accommodation list.]
No one’s favourite.
Transfer to Colombo Airport
Perfect.
Our Driver [guide]
Anura is a consummate professional.
He did everything he could to ensure we had a very positive experience of Sri Lanka: gave us information on cultural, historic and wildlife matters, found the cleanest bathrooms, negotiated difficult driving conditions, recommended the best restaurants to suit our appetites, acquired the best train tickets for trains which were ’sold out’, exchanged currency at the best rate and found the best place to buy biscuits!
He was always calm, friendly and acted responsibly. We are very grateful to him for making this a very memorable holiday.
Also, from a Sri Lanka brand point of view, they don’t make enough of their tea heritage, especially in the hill country. A little more ceremony around tea drinking would have gone down a treat especially at Planter's. They should offer afternoon tea!
We need to of course add how delighted we were with the exceptional service and advice from Tikalanka! Can’t thank you enough!
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