Blair & Jacqueline
England, February/March 2016
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Friendly people, good food and good variety of interesting locations in a comparatively small area.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Traffic jams.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
A good variety of hotels of excellent quality with one exception.
Royal River Resort [Kitulgala]. This report is for your information and assistance when deciding which hotels to include in your future itineraries. I must stress that in no way did it detract from or spoil a wonderful trip. It was a beautiful location, the staff were pleasant and the food was good BUT:-
First impressions
We arrived at a gateway with no name attached to it where we were met by a man in jeans and tatty T shirt who introduced himself as ‘the manager’.
We were given a choice of two rooms and chose the one with the largest bed. Our cases were put in the room and ‘the manager’ left leaving us to find switches, air con remote (in a drawer) and plug in the fridge.
We were the only guests and had to ask for lights to be switched on in the dining room and anything else we wanted. Nothing was offered. The ‘waiter’ lurked around our table but had no idea what he should be doing.
The place appeared to be in the middle of maintenance with patches of red lead primer on the balustrade round the dining room, partly painted walls and roofs. In fact, at breakfast, we had to ask a workman to stop power spraying a nearby roof with bleach as the fumes were entering the dining room.
Staff
Were all pleasant and friendly but had no idea of dealing with guests. It was almost as if our arrival was a surprise and a couple of local people had been brought in to help out. A quote from ‘the manager’ at the end of dinner, “Do you want anything else? I want to go home”. It was a real amateur set up.
Rooms
Were dusty and smelled musty. They were furnished with some nice old furniture but the insides were mouldy. Sheets and pillow cases were clean but, luckily on our last day, we happened to see the pillow and duvet. They were filthy. If we had discovered this earlier we would never had slept in them.
Interestingly the room we had turned down underwent a deep clean the following day.
Chair covers in the dining room were stained and spotted with mould.
Conclusions
I understand there is some sort of dispute over ownership which could account for the poor management and lack of staff training. A very nice small hotel n a beautiful location appears to be going downhill fast and I think you should think carefully before including it in future itineraries.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Upul was charming, thoughtful, an excellent driver with a good knowledge of culture, history and nature. His bird knowledge was exceptional. A real asset to your company.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Nice to fly direct. [SriLankan Airlines - Economy Class]
Any other comments?
Everything worked very well. An excellent trip with a good, varied itinerary. All timed to perfection.
Thank you and well done.
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