William & Alicia
England, January 2023
Here is the essential feedback:
- Our driver/guide Mahesh was fantastic – prompt, polite, knowledgeable, helpful, accommodating, and a very safe driver.
- The three places you chose for us to stay in (Amaya [Hanthana Boutique Villa by Amaya] in Kandy, AMBA [Estate] in Ella, Buckingham Place in Tangalle) were all excellent with good scenic locations, friendly staff and reasonable prices. AMBA was Alicia’s favourite because she really liked their sense of purpose and the hiking, whilst I loved Buckingham Place because I thought the food was outstanding and liked the whole relaxed/chilled-out vibe, but we both thought both of them were extremely good.
Given that we liked our driver/guide and where we stayed, and you managed to organise at short notice a lovely holiday around the dates we wanted, you [John] clearly did a very good job too, but there are some points that you might consider passing onto other customers.
- Bringing some pounds or dollars in cash is handy because you get a much better exchange rate than using a card at an ATM. We also asked our guide if he would prefer his tip in pounds or Sri Lankan rupees, and whilst he stressed that it was completely up to us and we should not feel obliged to give him any tip at all and he would be very grateful for any tip in whatever currency, he did say that he would prefer pounds because he was trying to save money for his wedding and with inflation at about 50% rupees lost their value very quickly. [Tipping advice is sent with the departure information and recommends tipping your guide in GBP.]
- AMBA is in the middle of nowhere which is part of its charm and it doesn’t have a license to sell alcohol but guests can keep alcohol in their fridge. So it would be useful advice to tell guests that if they would like a cold beer after hiking or whilst eating a curry at night, they should ask their driver to stop at a shop on the way to AMBA so they can bring a few bottles or cans with them. [Many thanks for the advice and we will include it in the accommodation description in the future.]
- Although the beach in Tangalle is more for Turtle-watching (we saw one laying her eggs which was fantastic) and atmospheric walks rather than swimming because of its big waves and strong undertow, there is a sheltered cove about 15 minutes walk down the beach from Buckingham Place. But it is quite rocky (everyone calls it ‘the rockpool’) so it would be useful advice to tell guests to bring shoes or flip flops they can swim in, if they want to swim in the sea. [Many thanks for the advice and we will include it in the accommodation description in the future.]
Apologies if you told us these things before we set off, but if so, we forgot, so maybe make the advice more prominent. But don’t worry too much as we had a great time anyway.
PS: we hope to go back to Sri Lanka but probably not for a couple of years. And if/when we do decide to go back, you’ll be the first person we call as your expertise was invaluable. [This is very good to hear and much appreciated!]
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