Your rating of this hotel:
8.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
6.0
Service:
8.0
Cleanliness:
10.0
Food:
8.0
Amenities:
8.0
Let me start off by saying that it was a VERY hard ride. First, Fly Dubai airlines (5.5 hours to Dubai and 5 hours to Colombo), in which food is for money, and even what is on the menu is not available. Then the road to the hotel, which takes 4.5 hours. While we were being transported, we saw enough of such "good" hotels that we thought with horror about where we would be taken. Nevertheless, they were pleasantly surprised when they got off the bus and saw a pleasant structure in front of them, from which a ferry departed across the river to the hotel.
Having crossed the river, we got to the reception: nothing pretentious, everything is very cozy and makes a good impression. The room was not big, but also quite good. I will say this, before the flight we read a lot of reviews, among which we met quite negative and my personal opinion:
1) the shower is really not big, but 2 people can easily fit in it
2) the beds are not super wide, but very comfortable
3) there is a TV, though there is no Russian-language channel
4) there is air conditioning and a fan (although you should not turn it on)
5) there is a hair dryer, but really weak
6) on the last day they brought us a kettle and tea with coffee;
so, if you come to really relax, and not wallow in the room, everything is very even on the level.
The ocean is just a fairy tale, but even the locals do not advise swimming in their river.
From entertainment: volleyball, big and table tennis, billiards. True, on the first day, my husband had to look for animators and load them about volleyball, since the tourists who come there are very difficult to climb.
There is only one pool on the territory and it is not big, but there are sun loungers both near it and by the ocean.
There is a library.
1 bar and 1 restaurant (the second one was closed after the tsunami). The food is very tasty, but on time (specifically breakfast, lunch or dinner). There is practically no seafood.
Evening shows of animators we never saw, but there were invited groups and live music.
During our stay, all the furniture was updated, as the owner changed.
The hotel is considered one of the best in water sports and this is justified for Sri Lanka.
Now a little about excursions:
The first tour went from Pati (a young man sits behind a fence from the ocean side with various offers) 7 people for 75 dollars each. We visited the spice garden, the elephant nursery, the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the botanical garden, the tea factory, and along the way we stopped by a jewelry store, for clothes and supposedly a pineapple plantation (where as many as 5 pineapples grow). We left at 5 am and returned at 21.50. The guide was Russian speaking. Since we did not get dinner, he called the hotel back and warned. So, upon our return, the table was set separately for us and we were able to eat normally during the day.
The second excursion, namely fishing in the ocean, we took already through Robert. It's like a Party, but at the Vivanta by Taj hotel. Our friends stayed at this hotel.
All this pleasure cost us $ 135 for the 4th. I want to warn you right away: ON THE OCEAN IT IS VERY SICKING! ! ! so you have to be ready. For example, our friends became ill after almost half an hour of the tour. We sailed at 6 in the morning and were supposed to return at 12, but for obvious reasons, we were already at breakfast at 8.
The next day we were already sailing with friends on the river. It cost Robert 35 dollars from the 4th. We saw a lot of monitor lizards, different birds and even took pictures with a small crocodile. On the way back, we ended up in a woodworking workshop, in which a souvenir shop operates.
By the way, about souvenirs: When the Sri Lankans see a tourist, prices immediately rise 10 times. local.
There is a guard with clothes, but 800 m from the hotel there is a shop (opposite the bus station, on the second floor), where you can dress up men at fairly low prices and at the same time get excellent quality.
Also in Sri Lanka, VERY DELICIOUS BEER!
We got to the airport on our own. We got there in 1.5 hours and it cost us $ 50 (this is taking into account the fact that the driver first picked up our friends from Vivanta by Taj, and then picked up my husband and me).
P. S. Very unpleasant guide Svetlana from Join Up. 2 women flew there with us, who were outraged by the road to the hotel, so after they were dropped off, she called back and said that they should not be settled earlier and not given a 2nd floor overlooking the ocean, although they had all this initially paid for.
Having crossed the river, we got to the reception: nothing pretentious, everything is very cozy and makes a good impression. The room was not big, but also quite good. I will say this, before the flight we read a lot of reviews, among which we met quite negative and my personal opinion:
1) the shower is really not big, but 2 people can easily fit in it
2) the beds are not super wide, but very comfortable
3) there is a TV, though there is no Russian-language channel
4) there is air conditioning and a fan (although you should not turn it on)
5) there is a hair dryer, but really weak
6) on the last day they brought us a kettle and tea with coffee;
so, if you come to really relax, and not wallow in the room, everything is very even on the level.
The ocean is just a fairy tale, but even the locals do not advise swimming in their river.
From entertainment: volleyball, big and table tennis, billiards. True, on the first day, my husband had to look for animators and load them about volleyball, since the tourists who come there are very difficult to climb.
There is only one pool on the territory and it is not big, but there are sun loungers both near it and by the ocean.
There is a library.
1 bar and 1 restaurant (the second one was closed after the tsunami). The food is very tasty, but on time (specifically breakfast, lunch or dinner). There is practically no seafood.
Evening shows of animators we never saw, but there were invited groups and live music.
During our stay, all the furniture was updated, as the owner changed.
The hotel is considered one of the best in water sports and this is justified for Sri Lanka.
Now a little about excursions:
The first tour went from Pati (a young man sits behind a fence from the ocean side with various offers) 7 people for 75 dollars each. We visited the spice garden, the elephant nursery, the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the botanical garden, the tea factory, and along the way we stopped by a jewelry store, for clothes and supposedly a pineapple plantation (where as many as 5 pineapples grow). We left at 5 am and returned at 21.50. The guide was Russian speaking. Since we did not get dinner, he called the hotel back and warned. So, upon our return, the table was set separately for us and we were able to eat normally during the day.
The second excursion, namely fishing in the ocean, we took already through Robert. It's like a Party, but at the Vivanta by Taj hotel. Our friends stayed at this hotel.
All this pleasure cost us $ 135 for the 4th. I want to warn you right away: ON THE OCEAN IT IS VERY SICKING! ! ! so you have to be ready. For example, our friends became ill after almost half an hour of the tour. We sailed at 6 in the morning and were supposed to return at 12, but for obvious reasons, we were already at breakfast at 8.
The next day we were already sailing with friends on the river. It cost Robert 35 dollars from the 4th. We saw a lot of monitor lizards, different birds and even took pictures with a small crocodile. On the way back, we ended up in a woodworking workshop, in which a souvenir shop operates.
By the way, about souvenirs: When the Sri Lankans see a tourist, prices immediately rise 10 times. local.
There is a guard with clothes, but 800 m from the hotel there is a shop (opposite the bus station, on the second floor), where you can dress up men at fairly low prices and at the same time get excellent quality.
Also in Sri Lanka, VERY DELICIOUS BEER!
We got to the airport on our own. We got there in 1.5 hours and it cost us $ 50 (this is taking into account the fact that the driver first picked up our friends from Vivanta by Taj, and then picked up my husband and me).
P. S. Very unpleasant guide Svetlana from Join Up. 2 women flew there with us, who were outraged by the road to the hotel, so after they were dropped off, she called back and said that they should not be settled earlier and not given a 2nd floor overlooking the ocean, although they had all this initially paid for.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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