Elizabeth & Paul
England, March 2016
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The diversity of the scenery, vegetation, history, culture and wonderful food! We felt that it is very deserving of its description as the “Jewel/Gem of the Indian Ocean” and that it’s the closest to the Garden of Eden that we’ve experienced. Also, the friendliness of the people and willingness to please. The highlights for us were our elephant safari, the vegetable market at Kandy, the fantastic train journey from Nanu Oya to Ella, walking in the tea plantation at Lipton’s Seat, totally chilling at The Last House and wandering the streets of historic Galle Fort.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
A general lack of care for the environment in some places. We were disappointed to see rubbish dumped and abandoned (plastic bottles!), mainly on the edges of settlements but sometimes in areas of exceptional natural beauty. Also, of course, the road conditions (though they are improving significantly), the traffic queues and the crazy driving!
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
We were very happy with our choice of accommodation throughout the trip.
Horathapola Estate [Airport] was a perfect wind-down location for our first stop and their delicious Sri Lankan curry was one of our top two in Sri Lanka. We enjoyed the ride around the estate in the bullock cart and found the staff to be very genuine and welcoming.
Lake Lodge Kandalama [Dambulla] is set in a delightful location with stunning views on both sides. The accommodation is modern and very well appointed. Michel made us feel very much at home and his young team of staff was very friendly and helpful. The food was delicious and eating on the terrace overlooking Lake Kandalama was a highlight.
The Kandy House [Kandy] was our favourite hotel. The ambience of this gracious and sophisticated property was exceptional and the food and gardens were the perfect complement. Our prize for the best Sri Lankan curry was awarded here! The manager and his team were so professional, but still exuded the personal touch. Two nights were simply not enough and we definitely plan to return.
98 Acres Resort [Ella] won our prize for the best-situated property - how could you beat that view? The lodges are huge, well-appointed but with overly quirky bathrooms. This was the largest property we stayed in (24 rooms and expanding) and had a different vibe to the other places with a multi-national clientele and slightly less invested staff, but we would stay there again because of its position.
The Last House [Tangalle] was described as The Kandy House on the beach, which I would say is fair, though it is more rustic, but this doesn’t hint at the most chilled atmosphere we’ve experienced anywhere. Ananda and his team make you feel that you are guests in his home and everyone was comfortable leaving their rooms open and their laptops and iPads lying around. It was a wonderful location in which to do nothing but rest, read, walk on the beach and eat exceptional food. In spite of the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning, we had our best quality sleep here!
Our air-conditioned room at The Galle Fort Hotel was an oasis of cool in the baking heat of the streets of Galle! It was very elegant, well-appointed and sophisticated, oozing colonial atmosphere and a sense of a bygone era. The staff were very friendly and the food delicious. I think we’d choose a room with the bed on the same level as the bathroom another time though.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
We were extremely lucky to have Niroshan as our chauffeur guide for the first 9 days of our trip. He was a skilful driver and was endlessly helpful and informative. It was a pleasure to explore Sri Lanka in his company and through his extensive knowledge, we felt we were able to get under the skin of this beautiful country. He made us feel completely relaxed in all situations and showed true professionalism throughout. He made our holiday exceptional and we can’t recommend him highly enough.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
We were very impressed with SriLankan Airlines and would definitely fly with them again. We treated ourselves to business class flights and found the level of service and the quality of the food to be extremely good. The executive lounge at Colombo Airport was superb with incredible food! The complimentary limo from home to the airport & return was a bonus.
Any other comments?
We really had a fantastic holiday and are very happy with how everything went, but here are a few little niggles, which you may choose to pass on and/or not include in the testimonials page.
Whilst it never let us down, we did feel that the age of the car was a bit of a disappointment (17 years old and tired!). First impressions count and when we arrived at Colombo Airport, we were a bit surprised not to be getting into something a little more modern.
At Horathapola, we were a bit surprised that we couldn’t even lock our room (ground floor). We’d just got off the plane, were fully cashed-up and didn’t even have a room safe for our valuables. It made us feel a little uneasy, as we hadn’t yet switched into chilled holiday mood.
At Lake Lodge, we thought Michel was taking things a little too far in ‘making us feel at home’ by using the fence around the pool to hang up his own personal washing (including the shorts he’d been wearing for 2 days) and the pool furniture to dry the gardeners’ boiler suits, well-used cleaning rags etc. Also, we thought it was a shame (& a bit lazy) that the protective covers for the dining tables and chairs (which weren’t being used) were left on during the day. They were large, dark brown and spoiled the look of the pool area, never mind blocking the view.
Could not really fault The Kandy House. Our air conditioning wasn’t working in Sunbeam when we arrived and so they moved us into one of the downstairs rooms for our first night, got it fixed and then moved us back upstairs for our second night. A bit of an inconvenience for us, but they dealt with it very professionally. Only other thing was that they obviously forgot to make our pre-requested packed lunch for the train journey. This meant we left Kandy later than planned and it was a real rush for Niroshan to get us to Nanu Oya on time, so we didn’t see anything of Nuwara Eliya.
As I have mentioned, the vibe at 98 Acres, wasn’t quite the same as the other places we stayed and to be honest, the food wasn’t as good, but we LOVED the location. We thought the bathroom was bonkers with such a huge bath in a country where they are trying to preserve water, but the worst bit was the layout of the bathroom, with all the steps etc. In spite of my best efforts, I tripped and fell over in the bathroom during the night and luckily was saved from really hurting myself by the large laundry basket!
We loved The Last House and in spite of my reservations about the lack of air conditioning and real worry when we arrived (it was SO hot!), we did sleep well! Our only criticism about our room (Moonamal) was the dreadful lighting! Getting ready for supper was done in virtual darkness, so it was lucky that it was quite dark in the dining area too!
The Galle Fort Hotel was great and the food better than expected, but the layout of the Loft Suite wasn’t brilliant. Having the bed upstairs and the loo downstairs wasn’t good for Paul who was suffering from an upset tummy for our first 24 hrs there. We also found that the “bathroom area” was basically in the living room and so not at all private. We had to close the shutters to the sitting area in order to walk from the shower to our suitcases for clothes, etc. We needed our cases downstairs and so felt they were in the way/on display in the lounge area. We also found the General Manager a little strange!
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