Прекрасный отель, мы в восторге! Great hotel, we love it!

Well, friends, my vacation has almost come to an end - the plane is already flying to Borispol ...But if you are reading this review, it means that all the best is yet to come and it's time to prepare for an unforgettable trip to Sri Lanka! So, let's start with whether this country is for you, because it is as beautiful as it is specific. Hot humid climate, a huge variety of animals and reptiles (in close proximity to humans), spicy unusual cuisine, crazy street traffic with an unhurried pace of life of the population, based on Buddhist philosophy and tranquility ...People who speak Sinhala, which we do not understand, but invariably smiling at you at a meeting with their eyes ...Elephants, monitor lizards, iguanas, chipmunks, a sea of ​ ​ ​ ​ birds, caimans, monkeys, chameleons - you can't count them all! And fruits are a separate issue ...Sri Lanka, like the island of Chunga-Changa, "it's always easy and simple here: chew coconuts, eat bananas ... "
Arriving in Colombo, do not be too lazy to change dollars for rupees right at the airport, experience has shown that the most favorable rate is there! Don't change money at the hotel, it's just a rip off! It’s better to ask a tuk-tuk (about them a little later) where you can change money, he will show you, and may even ask for a better rate for you!
We chose the Bentota Beach Hotel 4 * because: 1. This is an incredible location (very close to a wide river and ocean, and the hotel is in a picturesque place) 2. Reviews of delicious food (turned out to be absolutely true). We had breakfast and dinner. Breakfasts are the same as everywhere else, but there is also a lot of national food, and dinners are generally beyond praise!! ! Everything is very tasty, fresh, a large selection, the stomachs did not hurt, there were no problems with the "pot" either))) 3. Relatively close distance from the Colombo airport (about 2-3 hours depending on the traffic, but there are hotels where to go much longer!

Considering that you will spend almost a day at airports, even these hours are important) 4. Good value for money, reviews about the hotel staff (indeed, everyone is mega-positive and sympathetic, and most importantly, sincere, especially the waiters in the main restaurant and the security guards at the beach exit)
They settled us pretty quickly, they gave us a normal room (overlooking the river and the pier and a green lawn with palm trees). The room, of course, is damp, because the climate is very humid, BUT! The industrious Conder is buzzing around the clock, which makes the chill more than necessary! Before I forget, there are sockets with a triangular plug (English) in the rooms, so stock up on adapters. We were given an adapter, but one, so it’s better to take it with you, charge all your phones, a razor, tablets, etc. Take also a fumigator, there is one in the room, but it doesn’t cope well with biting mosquitoes, it’s better for sure two!
The room has a hairdryer, a kettle, tea and coffee sets, glasses, a mini-bar, they gave all the bathroom accessories, especially two toothbrushes with tiny paste were touched))) they even gave slippers, very good for 4 *. Everything in the room is old, worn out, the shower cubicle is old, but at the same time very pleasant bed linen, comfortable beds, pillows, light blankets, there is even a small plasma lamp and a DVD player (greetings from the past), which we have never turned on for 12 days! The room is spacious, cozy balcony, everything is fine! This is not a 5-star Hilton, and Sri Lanka is not Dubai, do not forget, but there are a lot of advantages here! The territory of the hotel is very green, there is a soft lawn everywhere, palm trees, trees and flowers, chipmunks are running, iguanas are slowly crawling (lizards, as it turned out, live directly near the river and are poisonous, and iguanas are safe guys), the pool is large and clean (little chlorine).
Sun loungers can be placed anywhere your heart desires. You can also take them to the beach, we spent a lot of time there, but you can quickly burn out near the ocean, so don't be lazy to smear yourself with cream before swimming!! ! The ocean is a completely different story! I would slap on the hands those who wrote that they say that swimming is bad in the Bentota area ...The waves are gorgeous, we didn’t climb out of the water for an hour like children !! ! If you overcome the line where the wave forms, you can safely swim, but of course you won’t go out with dry hair; ) the sand is so nice and clean!! ! The beach is wide and clean, there are always few people on it, so you feel like in a Bounty advertisement)) there are friendly dogs that hide from the heat under sun loungers) on the beach there are merchants of all kinds of rags, saris, handicrafts and all kinds of rubbish...They are friendly and not very intrusive (compared to Turkey and Egypt), they always smile at you and offer you goods every day.

By the way, their prices are cheaper than in many places ...We bought dolls in masks for 2500 rupees for 2 pieces, for 2200 rupees two large cotton pareos ...We have to bargain, but the fact that prices can be cut in half and the Sri Lankans are dragged by this process is still a myth...The people are poor, the prices are not high, even sometimes it's inconvenient not to give an extra dollar...You can also buy fruits on the beach: drinking royal coconut 100 rupees, pineapple 300 rupees and much more, list for a long time...Here, near the entrance to the hotel, the "office" of local beachboys. These are the guys who actively offer you various trips and excursions. But these hard workers have high prices, because they hang out near the most expensive hotel in the area. Walking along the beach, about 1 km from our hotel in the direction of the lighthouse, a local guy approached us, saying "hello! Russian? ...." At first we somehow got frostbitten from him, but then a conversation nevertheless began ...
It turned out that he works near the hotel, where Germans mostly rest, there is Ayurveda, meditation, etc. , in short, not such a glutton as in our Bentota))) Now we are very glad that we met Dinu! Throughout the rest, he accompanied us on excursions (we swam along the Bentota River, went to Khikaduwa, Kandy and swam on ocean fishing) due to unforeseen circumstances that happened to us on the way to rest, we were limited in funds, so we could not take all the excursions who wanted to, but this is a reason for us to come again! I got distracted...About Dinu) A kind, sincere guy, he knows Russian very well, the main thing is that he understands our jokes and can really tell about something, and not just provide transportation. He has his own tuk-tuk (this is a local specialty: a three-wheeled motorcycle with a stretched awning roof is a very funny thing!
) on his tuktuk, Dinu took us to restaurants, and for red rum, and for fruits, and on the last day showed us the local temple (be sure to go! ). We learned a lot about local life while sitting in Dinu's tuktuk))) he did not always take payment from us, spending time with us purely in a friendly way ...His excursions were on average 20-40 dollars cheaper than the guys from our hotel, plus none of them know Russian like that, and by nature it is unlikely that such a smiling good man would be found there) here are his coordinates: . Dinusha (Dinu) Umendra dinushamendra@yahoo. com +9.77-6.21 180 + 9.76 69.75 76 skype: Dinusha273 You can call him from the reception (free of charge). Finding Dina is also very easy: after leaving the hotel on the beach, turn right towards the lighthouse, after about 1 km there will be a small guest house Paradise island (something like that .. ) if other guys pester you, just say that you are going to Dean and that's it, they will only show you the direction; )
Excursions - a wide variety, it all depends on how much time, desire and money you have))) personally my most unforgettable experience: holding a bunch of little turtles in the farm, visiting an elephant nursery (2500 rupees for foreigners) and riding an elephant (2000 rupees 10 min per person), free feeding of chipmunks in the hotel))) in short, Dinu will tell you everything and show you photos and choose, he gives practical advice when it is better to go and so on. One more! Having gone on an excursion, be prepared for a tip ...Not your guide, but a passing one, so to speak. For example, a trip to Kandy includes visits to elephants, the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the Royal Boat Garden and more...

In the temple and bot garden, Dinu handed us over to the guides (he paid them himself), but at the end these handsome men stand and look at you, they say give a tip)))) just so you know, we gave 100 rupees in the temple (the guide was clean he was a fool, he went about his business there, laid lotuses, and for everything he had one phrase "this is granite, oak, handmade, 450 years old ... ", and in the bot garden there was a good grandfather, he told about everything and showed everything, That's why we gave him more...In general, friends, a sea of ​ ​ positive emotions, bright tastes and sincere smiles awaits you!! ! If you have any questions, write, if I can answer - I will be glad to help you!! !