Хороший отель, только очень скучно. Good hotel, but very boring.

Our family vacationed at Kalutara at The Sands By Aitken Spence in August 2014. The hotel left a pleasant impression, although there were some unpleasant surprises. The staff is very friendly, they smile a lot, all requests are met, although we didn’t really ask for anything more than what was. Upon arrival, at 8.30 in the morning, they refused to feed us breakfast and offered to pay 3 thousand rupees each, for which we just finished our sandwiches from the road. They posted it quickly, within an hour. The room is good on the 3rd floor with a side view of the construction site. But she didn't bother much. Direct view of the palm trees and the ocean - all compensated. On the first day it rained, which caused me a real hysteria, but the next day we were already sunburnt.
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.