The main drawback is that almost no one from the staff speaks Russian. They explained in sign language and minimal English words, such as - sori, nelow, good morning, etc. It didn't really bother me until I moved out. Half an hour before departure, we were presented with an invoice for a mini bar, which included 4 points, for which we had already paid earlier. but because we suckers did not take the second copy of the receipt, 5 dollars have gone into oblivion. Therefore, I advise you to take the spine after payment. The amount is not large, but still a shame.
Another minus is a great similarity with a boarding house for the elderly. Of course, for those who go stupidly fry in the sun near the pool - this is ideal. And for more or less active citizens there is an impenetrable anguish. We were lucky. Back in Sharjah, we met a couple from Moscow - Katya and Vadim (wonderful guys) with them and whiled away the evenings. And it seems that our gatherings with music from the tablet, cocktails with local rum and maps even irritated the staff a little. One day we were kindly hinted that it would be better to go up to our rooms with "ours", otherwise a fine would be possible. Which is what we did. In general, they had fun themselves, as best they could. And so the hotel is clean, cozy and safe.
By the way, local beach fights live on the shore right next to the gate. we talked with those on the left: Randy, Kolya and others. We dined with them in a cafe. Prices are almost the same as in the restaurant on site, only they are tastier and more fun. We went with Randi on a two-day excursion to Sigiriya, Dumbala, Kandy, etc. I liked that the tour turned out to be individual. We drove around half the island in a good Minivan, got a lot of impressions and were not rushed or restricted anywhere. All for us. Paid $195 per person. In the garden of spices, we foolishly collected all sorts of "miraculous" oils for $ 520, at the tea factory, tea is twice as expensive - this is because you must first communicate with people, and then show off. In Kalutara, you can buy the same things at half the price, but we were not very upset.
Now we are smeared and hope for the miracle of Sri Lankan oils.
In general, the impressions of the country and the hotel are positive. But if you are going to eat, two tips: in Bentota or Hikaduwa it’s more posh and more fun, if you want to swim in the ocean - our summer is not the season. And so the country is wonderful, exotic and friendly. Have a nice holiday everyone.
We only took breakfast. All 8 days it was the same, but there was plenty to choose from: eggs in various forms, yogurt, muesli, cheese, ham, chicken, fish, veal gravy, potatoes, vermicelli, salad, some porridges and soups incomprehensible, but edibles, pastries and fruits. We dined in restaurants on the beach or on the second floor of the hotel, at a price of up to 3.000 rupees for two. Who travels only with breakfast, I advise you to take food with you (sausage obviously did not stop us)! Outside the hotel (through the rails on the road straight ahead) is the main road, along it there are shops, bakeries, fruit counters. You can take a tuk-tuk to the supermarket - everything is there too - tea, coconut oil, sunscreen, fruits, etc. You can take a ride to the bazaar - there is more choice of fruits, we bought tea by weight, saffron, rum there. Some local, but very businesslike, got attached to us at the bazaar (in a good way), helped us change our vodka for their rum and choose good tea. There are souvenir shops near the hotel, but it is better to go to them by tuk-tuk. Prices are very high, but cheaper than in Kalutara, Kandy, Colombo. For example, magnets in the form of elephants were bought there for 40 rupees (UAH 4), and in others - 200 rupees exactly the same, I specifically compared.
We went on an excursion with Sandy and Daya (they are outside the hotel) to Kandy: the temple of the tooth of the Buddha, tea plantations, elephants (they give me an elephant to wash - I liked it), a botanical garden, a spice garden - for $ 40 per person, which is cheaper than beachboys , I liked everything very much. Only in the Temple of the Tooth Relic was forced to wrap up to the waist with a cloth, although we took appropriate clothes with us, they said it didn’t fit, I think this is specially bred for tourists - after all, the rent of this piece of cloth is 200 rupees.
My husband and I read reviews about the market in Colombo Petah, about a huge selection of everything you want from things and an unprecedented abundance of fruits, we decided to go. I will say right away, we were disappointed, there was nothing to buy, bananas, pineapples from fruits, well, we bought soursop. This market is definitely not worth it. But who cares, then: they wanted $ 50 from us to Colombo and didn’t want to take us to the market itself, only through shopping centers (for those who are ready for shopping, this is the best option), well, we refused and decided to overcome this path on our own by train . The station is next to the hotel. We bought tickets for 35 rupees (3.50 UAH) per person!! ! There are class 1.2, 3 carriages, but the 1st and 2nd class express does not stop near our hotel, so I had to buy 3rd class tickets. Basic knowledge of English and everything is in your hands! Riding with the locals is not as scary as it seems, everyone is looking at you and smiling, there are a lot of people, but you don’t feel discomfort or feeling dirty, people on the train were neatly dressed - white shirts, trousers, shoes, dresses and saris, well, there were a couple of beggars, although from the side - the train is dirty, the windows are open, the doors are open, people are hanging in the windows and in the doors (but this is during rush hour). If you talk normally at the station with the ticket seller, he will advise you on the best time to travel. The main thing is to remember the name of your station so that you don’t get lost when buying a ticket on the way back (although there is always someone who will help)! You can also travel by train to Halle.
In general, luxurious nature, insanely beautiful ocean, exotic animals, the sun, local flavor - everything is very impressive and pleases!
There are flies on the beach. Mosquitoes were not seen, although on the advice of tourists they collected funds from mosquitoes. Were not useful.
The territory is small, but compact and there is enough space for everyone without the visibility of the crowd on the beach. On the beach there are sun loungers under umbrellas, and there are just in the shade of trees. It was a little annoying that every morning I had to look for a sunbed, since the best ones were always busy (they throw a towel or a book on them). Although, I think if you get up at 6 in the morning, you can take a good place. We got up at 7 and already there were difficulties. It even happened that we were robbed of two towels and a sunbed (pre-occupied), but this happened only once.
Breakfast is good, but monotonous, ie. give the same thing every day. By the end of the holiday already a little pall. Lunches and dinners are much more interesting - the dishes are constantly changing. They cook well. But, if you only have breakfast, then dine in the hotel restaurant, as for me, is a little expensive - 3000 rupees per person (23 dollars). In a restaurant on the beach for this money you can dine together (fish, shrimp, beer or fresh juice). Although downstairs on the territory of the hotel they cook tasty and inexpensive (fried fish or squid - $ 10, large shrimp - 15, lobster - 20). All this is served with rice and vegetable salad.
The hotel area is separated from the municipal beach by a fence, where local women hang and sell all sorts of rags every morning. Access to the beach through the gate. Locals are not allowed to enter the hotel. Two guards are watching. This is very good, because otherwise there would be no escape from the beachboys. They run up and start offering you something, regardless of whether you want to talk to them or not. It's not very easy to get rid of them either. It’s unrealistic to walk along the beach strip yourself: a native immediately runs up and starts to sell you a standard package (excursions, massage (and only he does it well, while everyone else doesn’t know how at all), a restaurant, etc. ). They are especially zealous while you are still white, i. e. not tanned, i. e. in their opinion, newcomer and do not know anything yet. Those. It's time for you to get something. Then, when you turn brown, then interest in you slowly weakens (they switch back to the new "whites").
Beachboys have a clear division into groups and their own work etiquette. those. there are several groups to the left of the gate and several to the right. If you started to communicate with the "leftists", then the right ones cannot offer you anything that day, and vice versa. They don't even have the right to talk to you that day. One of the beachboys told us this. Therefore, choose with whom you will communicate and communicate only with them. This will make it easier for you. We talked with the "left". There is Ricky and Dima. Ricky speaks Russian better, Dima speaks worse. Normal guys. If you need anything, they will always help. We went on excursions with them for cheap, changed money through them, dined, dined at their restaurant.
They asked me to write a good review about them). All their business is only with Russians (Belarusians, Ukrainians). Bourgeois do not communicate with them very much.
Of the bourgeois on the beach, there are many Germans, there are British, French, well, Poles, Czechs.
In general, I liked the rest. There was sunshine every day. It only rained once, and that was in the evening. The air temperature is more than +30, the water in the ocean is at least 26 degrees. Constantly light breeze, thanks to which there is no feeling of the scorching sun.
It gets dark early there.
Although the sun is dangerous there. I burned out on the first day, although I smeared myself with cream and lay exclusively under an umbrella.
And so in general the feeling of the rest is super!
And have a nice holiday!
We stayed at the hotel for 8 full days. The hotel itself is not very big. In the main building there are good renovated rooms, everything is fresh. When we arrived, we were greeted with a glass of fresh pineapple. But there were nuances with the settlement. At first we were settled in a bungalow. The room was on the first floor. The room is dark and damp. I was vacationing with my mom and my 5 year old son. Extra bed, which we ordered and paid for back in Kyiv, was not provided to us, in addition to this, they began to demand another 15 dollars from us for this bed. We refused to live in this room, and the next day we were moved to the main building on the 3rd floor. The rooms are completely different, an order of magnitude larger, very bright and with excellent views of the ocean, plus a bed for a child was already there, but they still demanded $ 15. The food at the hotel is excellent. There is a large selection of both spicy and her spicy dishes. Dinner was always first, and there was plenty to choose from for the child. The territory of the hotel itself is small, there is enough space near the pool for everyone, both for those who like to bask in the sun and for those who like to lie in the shade. The ocean is just outside the hotel. You can always go out and swim in it. On the beach you will be guarded by beachboys who will offer you coconuts, dine at their restaurants, as well as excursions and massages. We met Dimidu there (or his name for Russians is simply Dima). He speaks good Russian. He teaches him every day. We did not take excursions at the hotel, but went with Dimidu. Somehow there was a lot of soul in him. He helped us choose fruits in the market, took us on a river safari perfectly. My little one was just delighted with crocodiles, turtles, chameleons, parrots and other living creatures. We also went with him to Kandy, to a tea factory, an elephant farm. The price is lower than the hotel. He always showed us more than just a tour of the meeting party. In restaurants on the ocean, you can always have a good and very cheap lunch with various seafood. Dinner for three with fresh juices cost us a maximum of $ 40 if we ate lobsters. And it's even cheaper. Plus there was a great massage, cost $10 for 1 hour and 20 minutes of total luxury massage. The hotel cost $80. One, as for me, a small drawback of the hotel - there is no entertainment for children at all, no animation. Of course, I didn’t expect such an approach as in Turkey, but the kids really have nothing to do, except for swimming in the children’s pool, playing table tennis, and building sand castles, so take entertainment for children with you
The flight is hard. the road takes two days of rest.
We only had breakfast - not super varied, but everything is quite tasty and there is a choice. And we bought lunches and dinners in the hotel itself. To be honest, the prices in the hotel restaurants are not much higher than the prices in the "restaurants" on the beach (if you can call them that) - but the service and quality cannot be compared. I especially recommend the a la carte restaurant, which can be accessed from the hotel lobby.
Rooms: excellent - very large. Cleaning is daily (sometimes even 2 times a day) and of high quality. Constantly brought new towels, tea, coffee, water. It was very convenient that there was an electric kettle in the room. And best of all, all rooms have amazing ocean views!
But the most important thing in our trip is, of course, excursions! I strongly do not recommend buying them from beach-boys! They are cheaper than the guides from the host, but you pay only for a taxi with escort, and you get "0" for interesting and useful information. They screwed up on this one : (