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Great place but where is everyone?
Just returned from 10 day all inclusive at this resort. Can only reiterate so many of the comments made in previous reviews. Cocktail on arrival particularly welcome after the "interesting" transfer from the airport. Whilst I had been to Sri Lanka before my girlfriend hadn't and found it all a bit of an eye opener!!
Room was the largest I have ever stayed in with views over the beach from the balcony. At night you could lie in bed listening to the crashing waves.
Staff almost too attentive!! Unfortunately the room boys don't appear to understand the concept of the "Do not disturb"sign on the day which resulted in a couple of potentially embarrassing incidents!
Particular thanks to Kandy and Piyal who looked after us during the day keeping us regularly supplied with cocktails by the pool. Also thanks to Ajith in the Bluez bar for teaching us some card tricks.
Food fabulous though surprised how many Westerners come to Sri Lanka and eat Western food. Local stuff was delicious. Even on an all inclusive basis it is worth having at least one meal at the Fisherman's Lantern resaurant for great sea food. Thanks once again to Kandy for making our evening there so special.
Perhaps what surprised me most was how few guests there were. At the beginning of our holiday there were a couple of times when we were the only people in either of the bars. Got slightly busier towards the end but it would appear that many people are not booking or cancelling bookings through ignorance of the situation with the LTTE. Also the locals say that the country generally is still struggling to get back to the levels of tourism pre-tsunami.
Would highly recommend the two hour cycle ride around the local lanes, rice fields and jungle with one the staff acting as a guide. He showed us so much. Very good price too. One regret is that we didn't do a couple of other local trips. Didn't see the details until the last day as poster hidden away by the reception desk. As thes were locally arranged we were not given these details by our holiday company rep.
Used tuk-tuks from front of hotel for local trips and one of the drivers, Sajeen, then took us out for the day to the elephant orphanage and Kandy in his car.
The beach touts were a slight annoyance. They were not particularly persistent (well not compared to Goa, The Gambia and Vietnam for instance) but you would be very conscious of their presence and their attempts to attract your attention whilst you were relaxing on the sun beds. It also meant that many people were reluctant to leave the confines of the complex. This is a shame as they were missing out on experiences I enjoyed whilst walking along the beach such as talking to the locals, watching the fishermen land the catch, taking photos, etc.
Even on all inclusive basis it would have been nice to be able to wander out to a couple of beach bars or restaurants such as at Hikkaduwa further down the coast. Unfortunately there is nowhere really within walkable distance. However there are a handful of bars/restaurants in Abrew Road a short tuk-tuk ride away.
The only sour note was on the last day when I had some money taken from my wallet when I rather stupidly left it unattended in a bag by the sun lounger for a few minutes. They didn't take the rupees only the English money!!
