Marian, Terry, Ray & Joan
England, November/December 2015
Thank you very much for all the work you did in making our holiday in Sri Lanka such a great experience.
I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to give you some feedback.
Our guide Anura:
A lovely man. His knowledge of fauna and flora was exceptional… it really enhanced our holiday experience. It was always a pleasure to see him in the mornings, even if the start time was very early!
The tour:
What we chose is what we got. Anura understood that we had already done many of the standard tourist bits and was very accommodating in making last minute changes to our schedule.
Hotels:
The Wallawwa [Airport] - An excellent stop-over hotel. Lovely rooms, excellent food and very good service. A good choice.
Palm Garden Village Hotel [Anuradhapura] - A nice hotel… but:
- We were looking forward to a relaxing massage after our long journey, only to find the spa was closed due to building work on site!!
- Every time we asked for something, (like repairing the air conditioning in the room), we had to keep asking, and each time it was as if it was the first time they had heard us. I think this was for three reasons; Poor understanding of English (hey, what effort did we make to speak Sinhala?); untrained staff and poor internal communications.
- The inclusive dinner was a buffet and it was AWFUL. We had to work hard on them next night to let us eat from the a la carte menu (which worked out cheaper), and that was only marginally better.
- The in room flier recommends using mosquito discs. Only problem; none supplied and nowhere on site to buy them. Given the quality of the other hotels you recommended, this was way off beam.
Cinnamon Citadel - It has to be the only place worth staying in Kandy. Top notch buffet meal; lovely location, great facilities, fantastic service.
Norwood Bungalows [Ceylon Tea Trials, Adam's Peak] - I know you said you had tried getting us into one of the other bungalows, but boy, we were so pleased you found this one … absolute magic. The rooms, the personal service, the staff, the position, the food, the wines, the building. We didn’t want to leave. This was the highlight of our holiday.
The Villa Bentota - Another fantastic looking boutique hotel. We like to get out and about when on holiday, but there was really nowhere to walk to in the evenings and Bentota itself wasn’t worth going to as there is nothing to see. However, for a secluded and relaxing hotel, it was very good. The only thing that lets it down are the bedrooms. I understand they are going for the shabby chic look, but there is a fine line between that and shabby. Small wardrobes, no drawer space, no dressing table for the ladies, rotting door frames, sticking doors, door bolts painted over so difficult to use etc etc. Both couples had problems with faulty air-conditioning. To be fair, any problems were dealt with almost immediately. Additionally, the restaurant didn’t seem to be geared up for long stay guests. It was the same a la carte menu every night and a very small lunch time snack menu. I only mention these points because the location of the hotel rather makes guests captive to the site, so a greater and more flexible menu choice would have been welcome. The management did ask for our honest feedback and they did agree with some of the points made by us. The railway right at the bottom of the resort grounds was a bit of a surprise. Walking across the railway line to get to the beach would be a challenge for anyone with mobility difficulties. Additionally, it might not be everyones cup of tea as the trains hoot loudly as they pass the hotel, starting at 05.30 in the morning. All said and done, would I agree with your recommendation?… yes.
I hope you don’t think I am being critical. I thought you might like to know how things were for us just in case it provides useful information for others you may be recommending these hotels to.
Should we know of anyone who is planning a trip to Sri Lanka, we will recommend you highly.
Many thanks.
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