Nicole & Martin
England, February 2019
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The country was so beautiful and diverse with such a wide variety of things to see and wildlife. Everyone we met was so friendly, we never felt unsafe or like we were being scammed. The weather was wonderful too!
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
It was disappointing to see so much rubbish being burned.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Overall we felt out accommodation was of a very good standard for our budget. Our favourite places to stay were the villa in Palm Paradise Cabanas, AMBA [Clove Tree Cottage] near Ella and Jetwing Jaffna. Our least favourite accommodation was Wilpattu Tree House in Wilpattu, we have written a short summary of each accommodation.
Fort Bliss, Galle
A wonderful oasis in busy Galle. The staff upgraded us to a sea view room for our honeymoon. The breakfast was lovely and the staff so friendly.
Palm Paradise Cabanas and Villas, Tangalle
We loved this accommodation, it felt so luxurious and relaxing. Our villa had a wonderful view.
Kalu’s Hideaway, Uda Walawe
Very comfortable accommodation, the balcony was also very nice. The Sri Lankan food was of a good standard, we did not try the western food. They also did some nice touches for our honeymoon.
Clove Tree Cottage, Ella
There was some confusion over this accommodation, we arrived at Clove Tree and they had no record of our booking. It turned out the owner had moved us to Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock was very nice, the staff were great and put flowers all over our bed and let us watch while they cooked. The breakfasts were very good.
Hanthana House, Kandy
Very nice accommodation, initially we were disappointed that we were out of the city centre as we could not walk around Kandy, however after experiencing Kandy we were glad to be away from the madness!
The Other Corner, Habarana
The accommodation was very nice, we especially liked the large tank/lake at the back of the hotel and enjoyed walking there. We wish we had more time at the hotel to enjoy it! The food was not great, very bland and no sign of BBQ as mentioned in the itinerary. For breakfast we were only offered continental when Asian guests were offered a Sri Lankan breakfast which we found disappointing.
Wilpattu Tree House [Corridor]
In the daylight the treehouse looked lovely. However at night time the accommodation was not very practical or comfortable, there were no shutters or curtains so we felt very exposed, also only 1 light worked so the room was very dark. There were no spare blankets in the room and with the air conditioning on it was very cold, there were no nets over the windows so we could not sleep with the windows open. On both nights we also had a large rodent in our room (a pig mouse we think), small rodents are understandable in jungle accommodation, but something of that size must have come through a large hole. On our first night there was an all-night Buddhist festival going on next door so we got no sleep, while this felt very Sri Lankan with a safari at 5am we really needed some sleep. It would have been nice to have been warned by the staff who were aware of the festival. On our second night my back and neck got covered in bites from what looked like bedbugs. At check in the staff did not tell us when breakfast or dinner would be served. We also felt the hotel has a lack of respect for the drivers which we hadn’t experienced in other places, for example they did not provide an early breakfast for drivers, and Sateesh was only able to eat when we had almost finished our breakfast so we left late.
Jetwing Jaffna
We really appreciated staying here after sleeping so badly at Wilpattu, the staff were always friendly and well mannered. We appreciated having the choice of the bar and restaurant to eat. The hotel was in a good location and the views over the whole of Jaffna were wonderful.
[Taru Villas] Lake Lodge, Colombo
We only spent a very short time here but the accommodation was really cool. We arrived after the kitchen had closed but the staff arranged to have some food made for us and delivered to our room along with a cake to celebrate our honeymoon. The breakfast was the best one we had in Sri Lanka, a lovely place to spend our last night in Sri Lanka.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Ravi was our guide from Colombo to Tangalle, he was very well mannered but as he was only our guide for a few days it would be hard to comment more.
Sateesh was fantastic and by the end of our holiday, although he always remained very professional, we felt he was also a friend. Sateesh’s knowledge of wildlife and birds was exceptional, this was perfect for us, he was always stopping to let us take a look at what he spotted and to take pictures.
On the way to Tangalle, Ravi told us he would be leaving us early. It would have been useful to know this in advance as we did not have a tip ready for him and after some rustling around in our suitcases we found some cash but ended up tipping more than we would have liked. Similarly we tipped Sateesh and thanked him for being a wonderful driver, only to find out later that he would be staying with us for the rest of the trip, the tip was returned etc. It would have been simpler to be told in advance about the changes to who would be our driver.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
We booked our own flights through Emirates, we were very happy with them. [Economy – Manchester]
Any other comments?
We absolutely fell in love with Sri Lanka. All of the staff we had contact with from Tikalanka made our honeymoon so effortless.
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