Helen & Philip
England, November/December 2014
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Friendliness of all those we came across.
Quality of hotels.
Culture.
Beautiful surroundings and nature.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Nothing.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Excellent overall and specifically:
Heritance Kandalama [Dambulla]. Our second visit and loved it as much as the first time. Very professional. Beautiful and dramatic location. Food better than we remembered it.
Ellerton, Kandy. A real home from home. Excellent food and wine included. Given lovely new room which was not there the last time we visited. It is a bit of a way out of Kandy and a tricky drive but worth it.
Deco on 44, Galle. A great recommendation - thanks! Loved the room - worth the upgrade. Pool very pleasant. Food really first class and very affordable - wished we had eaten there both nights. Very nice service. Really enjoyed the shoreline walk. Visit to mask centre at Ambalangoda was a bit of a non-event.
Reef [Wadduwa]. A very relaxing, tranquil place. Very personalised service. The air conditioning failed in our first room and we were moved twice but we did end up with a nice upgrade. Lovely decor and wonderful bathrooms. Food very good - which is just as well as there does not seem to be anywhere else to go! We did go 'off campus' and it was nice to wander the village. Only disappoint was the spa which we used once but it was very expensive and not that special. Felt a bit under pressure to give them a good TripAdvisor reviewer so their score does not drop from their very high rating. Would definitely recommend though for the pure relaxation and indulgence.
The Wallawwa [Airport]. A little underwhelming and less special than the other hotels but I am guessing a very different price bracket. Was undergoing refurbishment so couldn't use the pool but they let us use a plunge pool in a suite. Very convenient for the airport and our flight home.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Our second trip with Kapila and we were delighted to be with him again. We seemed to pick up right where we left off. He is great at knowing what speed to take us on excursions and what topics we enjoy hearing about. We enjoyed chatting to him about sport, his family, history, and the upcoming elections as well as the more standard holiday fare. He is an extremely safe and considerate driver. We really recommend him and hope we can meet him again sometime. He also told us about his illness and hope that he has a healthy 2015!
Any other comments?
It was a really great holiday - thanks so much for organising it for us. We did notice a lot of changes in the country since we visited 4 years ago. There has obviously been quite a significant investment including on the roads. We greatly enjoyed the holiday and am sure we will visit again sometime.
