Richard & Sheila
England, January 2019
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Above all, we loved the variety of the country:
- The many things we saw in and around Kandy, like the old temples, the Temple of the Tooth, botanical gardens [Peradeniya], Elephant Foundation [arranged independently, since Tikalanka does not promote or support any activities that exploit captive wild animals], dance show [Kandyan dancers & drummers] and tea factory. It was a great centre from which to visit all these different attractions and we were very glad that we spent 3 nights there.
- The Hill Country was magnificent – a wonderful climate, the patchwork of the tea plantations, the stunning scenery.
- Galle – a lovely town beautifully preserved/restored.
We also greatly appreciated the friendliness of the people we met and the quality of service we received at hotels, restaurants and Mahesh [chauffeur guide].
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
The visit to Yala was in some ways a little disappointing, mainly because it was very busy and we have been on safari in Africa many times, so Sri Lanka doesn’t have as much to see. Having said that, we did see leopard, elephant and sloth bear, so we were lucky!
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Uga Residence, Colombo: Very good city centre hotel, a good place to spend the first 2 nights.
[The] Kandy House [Kandy]: Excellent accommodation, service and setting. Would happily go back again.
Stafford Bungalow [Nuwara Eliya]: Wonderful position and good accommodation, but the service level was patchy - fine when the manager or chef were involved, but the rest of the staff were fairly clueless and could have done more to promote the house party spirit!
Uga Chena Huts [Yala]: Superb accommodation and location, service. They really have their act together.
Aditya [Galle]: Very impressive but, oddly enough, we felt slightly uncomfortable in what was a rather incongruously grand place in an area of much simpler properties. Service very good, but let down by indifferent food. Because it had such a large menu, we felt they were trying to cater too widely and therefore had to stock a lot of processed/frozen food. It would have been better to have a more limited menu, perhaps with daily specials, and thus be able to concentrate on more fresh food.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Mahesh was very informative, obliging, diligent and considerate of our wishes. We admired his competence at driving in Sri Lankan traffic – assertive but not aggressive!
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Excellent. [SriLankan Airlines - Business Class]
Any other comments?
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and were most impressed with the professional way in which you organised it, both in making the booking and in its execution on the ground. It was a fairly packed schedule and we had underestimated how tired we would be at the end of the day! The only area of service where we would suggest a slight tweak is in connection with the transfers after Mahesh had left us at Stafford Bungalow: from [Uga} Chena Huts to the Aditya and from the Aditya to the airport. Although we thought we had agreed pick-up times, we weren’t absolutely sure that they had been relayed to the new drivers. At Chena Huts, for example, we were on the point of ringing the Kandy office when no driver appeared when we had expected, but he then arrived. It would have been good to have had a text or message via the hotel to confirm arrangements.
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