Crichton family
England, March 2016
Accommodation comments:
The Frangipani Tree, Thalpe [Unawatuna] – Excellent and well equipped rooms and surroundings, but service can be slow. Staff all seemed to speak (at least) good English.
Kulu Safaris [Yala] – Extremely well equipped and practical tents and very customer focussed. Excellent camp support. How do they provide such a standard of facilities and delivery in such a remote place! Everyone impressed by WiFi access – how do they do it! All staff appeared to speak good/very good English.
98 Acres [Resort], Ella’s Gap, Bandarawela – Beautiful hotel with interesting and well equipped rooms, well positioned in the central mountains. Facilities are very good. Access can be problematic, with limited car parking at the main building. A lot of steps, so probably not suitable for people with limited or restricted mobility, although transport is available. We were told in the restaurant we need to book our choice, but this was not mentioned in any of the room documents. All staff appeared to speak good/very good English.
Ceylon Tea Trails – Norwood Bungalow [Adam’s Peak] – Amazing place! Great views and location. Excellent furnishings and fitments. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, who were excellent. Ideal for relaxing and seeking peace and quiet. All staff spoke excellent English.
Not a criticism, but suggestion: Possible risk of boredom if a stay was more than 3 days – perhaps could be mitigated by having shared facilities (e.g. gym/fitness room) with other bungalows and interconnect by gold buggies??
The Kandy House, Kandy – Very interesting property in a very pleasant location. Rooms adequately furnished. Overall structure is low and not ideal for tall people, but this cannot be changed without changing the whole building! Very good service with extremely pleasant and friendly staff. All staff appeared to speak good or very good English.
Lake Lodge Kandalama, Dambulla – Lovely location and views. Rooms very comfortable, but incompletely equipped – our double room had only one chair inside! Facilities slightly restricted and the pool heavily chlorinated. Food was excellent. Minor issue with our driver being promised a packed breakfast, but not provided. Our packed breakfast was basic. Most staff spoke good/very good/excellent English, but perhaps one or two had limited English, which may account for the breakfast issue…
Horathapola Estate, Wadumunnegadera, Marawila [Airport] – Lovely building and rooms in a great location. Ideal for relaxing and solitude for a few days. Very friendly and competent staff, most of whom spoke very good English. Alcohol, especially wine, was expensive, although this may have only been highlighted by the estate not accepting credit cards, which we had not been notified about until we wanted to settle up. Not accepting credit cards could be a significant problem and should be remedied.
Chauffeur/guide:
We had I H Senaratne (Sena), who was extremely good and reliable. He was punctual and added his own “extras” to the travelling, making the trips more entertaining and informative. He was very interesting to listen to and was very knowledgeable. He was willing to adapt out itinerary to accommodate our interest and preferences. Transport was adequate, as we were a group of 5, 1 of which was over 1.88m and two over 1.96m. Hence leg room can be an issue, but by careful positioning of people, we just had adequate space within the vehicle.
I would strongly recommend having a driver, as the Sri Lankan driving style is not that of the west!
In conclusion, we had an excellent holiday with no major issues. We would seriously consider returning to Sri Lanka, especially for the wildlife. The organisation was very good and the overall balance was busy, but great.
PS Have recommended Sri Lanka/your organisation to a number of friends.
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