Cara & Chris
England, March 2015
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Food and elephants.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Overcrowded safaris. But in some way good as many visitors demonstrate importance of national parks and wildlife protection for bringing tourism.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Excellent - food, service, facilities all top notch. Pretty much all the hotels were great. Probably easiest if I go through each one as I keep trying to summarise and getting myself confused - hopefully this will be helpful to you? You presumably can’t do much directly but I assume it’s worth knowing the good points and bad of places when booking for people.
Palm Garden Village [Hotel, Anuradhapura]. This exceeded expectations - I don't normally like larger hotels but this was a special place. The owners vision of an arboretum was born out in the lovely grounds and the lakeside was very serene. (we saw more wildlife in the hotel area than in Wilpattu!). And although big in size, with some tour groups there when we were staying, we didn't feel overcrowded and the service remained excellent. The food too was amazing - great choice and quality. My only disappointment was I didn't get to try their spa - it was shut the day I had any time to book a massage.
Galkadawala [Habarana]. Excellent. What a lovely place to stay. We decided it was proper glamping. And the food - incredible. Addicted to the ginger tea. We also made friends with their adorable puppy who took a great liking to Chris's trouser hems but that's not a perk you can put in the brochure! I think the only thing I could critique them on was we stayed 3 nights and our towels were changed on the 2nd day when we would have been more than happy to keep them for the last night/morning. Considering they were hot on the eco-friendly thing it seemed silly - they could always ask guests if they wanted new towels to ensure no offence by guests. A small feedback really which also applies to Clove Tree Cottage [see below].
Hanthana House [Kandy]. Again excellent. Made to feel so welcome by Pathi, who was very chatty and also showed us a walk up the hill to watch the sunset.
Hotel Glendower [Nuwara Eliya]. Lovely historic hotel. Great bar. Great food in the restaurant if a bit pricey - however the style and décor did make you feel you were somewhere quite posh but unfortunately we were the only people eating so we felt a bit lonely: and ambience was lacking. That's not their fault of course. And they kindly did us a smashing pack up for breakfast as we left to Horton Plains at 5.45am.
Clove Tree Cottage [Ella]. Incredible. We had the place to ourselves. Food was the best we had in Sri Lanka and that is saying something. I pestered poor Namali in the kitchen watching her cooking and asking questions and she was very sweet. I think we disappointed her as we failed to eat all the food (there was enough for about 6!) but it was no reflection on the quality. As an aside - why not book half board here, as there is nowhere else you could go to eat? [B&B contract only is available to tour operators and travel agents.] And the views were gorgeous (when the clouds went away). There are only 2 criticisms - 1 the location which is also a plus really - we were so far from all the things we wanted to do while there it was a bit disappointing. On the flip side the remote location and views made it a special place to stay so it is my fault really for not doing my google map research before we booked. Also (and it may sound petty but it left a bad taste for me in what was an otherwise perfect stay) was that when we arrived we were greeted and offered tea and cake on the terrace. Very nice we thought. (Other hotels also welcomed us with a drink of juice or tea so not an unusual practice) But at the end this was added to our bill. Now it was a tiny cost in the scheme of things but that wasn't the point to me - either offer it as a nice thing for the guests and include/absorb in the stay price or at least say would you like to 'buy' tea and cake when it is offered. I am pretty laid back about lots more serious things but that niggled for some reason.
Tissa Inn [Tissamaharama] - Hmmm. Hard to criticise this place as the guys working there were so sweet and very attentive but goodness it needs a woman's touch: it was a bit run down and gloomy but the facilities were all there. Could do with a lick of paint, some pictures on the wall and a few new mats in the rooms maybe? We were the only people eating there all 3 nights which was strange as there were others in the hotel and there didn't seem anywhere else close by you could go to eat. The food was actually really good, just the atmosphere lacking a bit. And they did us a nice pack up for breakfast.
Kalu's Hideaway [Uda Walawe]. We could have hidden away here forever. Our favourite place. Stunning location & grounds. Great facilities. Amazing service. Nice food. Absolutely couldn't fault it.
Fort Bliss [Galle] - really good. What a great location. Nice big room, good facilities and lovely breakfast. Loved it.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
[Oscar] Generally very professional and knowledgeable with safe driving and good time keeping. Did all that we asked of him. English speaking and communication skills could have been better as we lost him once due to a misunderstanding/lack of clarity re meeting place. And some questions beyond standard tourist queries didn't always get answered clearly/understood.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Very good - excellent flight attendants and surprisingly nice food [SriLankan Airlines, booked independently].
Any other comments?
Thank-you: we had a fantastic holiday and have brought home some wonderful happy memories of Sri Lanka.
A beautiful place, lovely smiley people and AMAZING food (waistline has the evidence!).
Trips wise we had an interesting time in jeeps - out of 6 park trips we got grounded in a lake and had to disembark once, broke down once and seemed to be stuck in 2nd gear at 20kph once, although he then raced us to the leopard viewing spot later that afternoon so problem more driver than jeep?
The train was a lovely experience although we had about the worst seats ever - In a carriage full of Russians we had 2 seats facing the wrong way and next to a wall not a window. Obviously detail like that is not visible when you book. It didn't matter as there were the doors you could stand in (people mainly took turns) and someone got off early on so there was a spare seat next to a window which Chris moved to so we got our views ok in the end.
And we fitted in a trip in Kandy to watch the dancing show with fire walking which was excellent fun. Really entertaining. So that is worth recommending to people too. [A performance of the Kandyan Dancers and Drummers is one of our standard sightseeing trips in Kandy and it is included on our Trip Planner.]
If you want me to explain/expand on any of our comments happy to do so, either email or give me a ring. Otherwise thanks for a great holiday! Overall we had a brilliant holiday and would recommend both Sri Lanka and your agency to anyone. We can see why people fall in love with the place - the colour, food, smiley people, landscape, culture, history - all a great experience.
Thanks again.
