• traveled 14 years ago
We rested in the Jetwing Sea from 29.03. 11 to 10.03 11. I liked the hotel. Quiet, calm place. The staff is very friendly. If you decide to choose this hotel, keep in mind that it has two "wings". In one wing of the room there are "improved doubles" (as we ordered). These rooms have a very small bathroom. There is a toilet, shower and washbasin on 2 m2.
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We rested in the Jetwing Sea from 29.03. 11 to 10.03 11. I liked the hotel. Quiet, calm place. The staff is very friendly. If you decide to choose this hotel, keep in mind that it has two "wings". In one wing of the room there are "improved doubles" (as we ordered). These rooms have a very small bathroom. There is a toilet, shower and washbasin on 2 m2. The photos of these bathrooms are not posted on the site. Accordingly, this was a surprise for us, because we were guided by the photos posted on the site, and everything is beautiful there. All the rooms in this wing are 3 *. The next day we changed our "Superior Double" to a Deluxe in the other wing. Here the rooms are 4 * category, modern, large, with a huge bathroom. In the evenings there is no entertainment in the hotel. Regarding excursions... Read before the trip (even printed out with you ) previous review by Irina Vasilyeva, where she gave the phone numbers of the seamstress Silvia and the driver Randik. On the very first day, this Silva herself approached us on the beach (she saw white, new ones) and began to advertise herself and invite us to her place. We were tempted. We decided to sew leather jackets for ourselves. Bargained for $180 each. The fitting was supposed to take place 3 days before departure and the next. day after trying on the finished jacket. We were measured, measured and we went to sunbathe. . . Every day we saw Silvia on the beach walking and looking for new clients. We had a doubt, but when does she sew? And where, in your closet in the dim light? We tried to reassure ourselves that maybe she does not sew the skin herself, but gives the order to the atelier. As a result, our fitting was moved to the penultimate day before departure, at 7 pm in the twilight at Sylvia's, a young man brought our basted jackets. The husband's jacket turned out to be sleeveless (they said that there were some problems with sleeves, but they would fix everything). In general, it was difficult to evaluate the result. The next day they took the finished jackets. Measured in Sylvia's closet, dim light, distorted mirror, but with the naked eye you could see that.... And when they brought it to the hotel and examined everything, we were just in shock. . She was sewed by some artel of the homeless. The seams are all crooked. Pockets one above the other. Something was torn open and stitched nearby, all these holes can be seen. It’s scary to talk about sleeves, as they are sewn on. In short, we were completely screwed! Guys, do not order anything to sew there! This Sylvia introduced us to Randik (her neighbor), he took us on a tour in his minibus. We took the whole day to 4 places - elephants, a tea factory, a waterfall and a park. Paid $220 for three. This price includes tickets to these establishments, but be prepared to pay separately for guides. Where there are elephants - there you will have to pay the trainer, then the person who, out of "courtesy", will photograph you on the elephant with your camera. All this is unofficial, but they ask urgently, it is necessary! At the tea factory, a person will lead a 10 minute tour and then shaking and not releasing your hand will repeat "I am finish" until you guess what you need to thank. If you order excursions not through Sylvia, but directly with the driver (the same Randik), it will be much cheaper, because Sylvia takes her percentage for pandering. She will also offer you gold and diamonds, take you to the store, where they will process you for a long time. What we looked after and bargained for, we still found in neighboring stores for 15-20 dollars cheaper. And everywhere they give you a notebook with reviews and ask you to leave yours if you buy something. Randik, for example, invites everyone to his home, introduces his family, his mother treats him to dinner, then they are all photographed together and in an album to show to the next clients. Our advertising is the engine of their business! And so we had a good rest. Burnt out, bought up. At the hotel there is a restaurant where there is always fresh sea fish, shrimp, etc. You come up and choose who to eat and everything is cooked for you right there. There are very few people, everything is quiet, calm and all this is 30 meters from the water.
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We returned from Sri Lanka on 28.09. 2009 Hotel "Seashells" ("Sea Shells Beach"), Negombo, West Coast - a solid 3-ku and in some ways even with a "+". A big plus is that it is close to the airport (if anything), close to Colombo and quite convenient to go on excursions to other interesting cities. The tsunami was not affected.
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We returned from Sri Lanka on 28.09. 2009
Hotel "Seashells" ("Sea Shells Beach"), Negombo, West Coast - a solid 3-ku and in some ways even with a "+". A big plus is that it is close to the airport (if anything), close to Colombo and quite convenient to go on excursions to other interesting cities. The tsunami was not affected. It simply wasn't there. The rooms are clean, all with ocean views. Some things look a little old, but it's just constant humidity, I think other hotels suffer from this as well. 30 meters to the ocean. Of all the nearby hotels, Sea Shells has the gentlest entrance to the ocean. The beach is fine sand, clean. A little further from the hotel there are two fishing villages, near them the coast is dirty, but, however, no one forces you to go there. The waves are quite gentle, but it is better not to swim far, as it pulls you deep into the depths. Pool of medium size, maximum depth 2.5 m, clean.
Sunbeds and mattresses near the ocean (with "fungi") and by the pool are free and it was full of free ones, no one occupies them in the morning. The smile and attentiveness of the staff comes to helpfulness and deserves 5 stars. They feed excellent. For breakfast - a large selection, but somewhat monotonous. But dinner is a buffet, but more often the choice of dishes on the menu is varied, well served. There is national cuisine, but try carefully: we love spicy, and that seemed very spicy. Bedding, towels are changed every day, sweeping, etc. - everything is as usual. Beach towels are in the room, always changed and free of charge. The room has a small kettle with water, tea, coffee, sugar, a balcony with two chairs. The bathroom has a shower cabin. There was no TV, but personally we didn't need it. Moreover, not everyone manages to catch Russian channels in Sri Lanka, and watching local ones is a little pleasure.
Refrigerator, air conditioning - on request, set free of charge. But take your time with air conditioning: we opened a small window to the balcony at night (mosquitoes did not bother) and the wind from the ocean blew the room better than any fan. Although there is a ceiling fan and all this is more than enough. At the reception - a safe, umbrellas (there are short rains) - free of charge. Internet at the reception in translation into our rubles is only 20 rubles. /hour. , but the speed is insanely slow, it is better to use the Internet in street Internet cafes. The exchange rate of $ for rupees is quite a bit lower than at the airport. I recommend buying a card of a local mobile operator at the entrance immediately at the airport. We had Mobitel: translated into rubles, one minute of conversation with Moscow cost only 20 rubles. (! ). For 500 rupees, you can negotiate with relatives. The hotel is a little away from any street bars, but quieter. Yes, there are no entertainment, discos, etc.
There isn't much to do with kids either. It is not quite the season yet and the hotel was mostly visited by English pensioners, but the locals say that there are many Russians in the hotel during the winter months. Often, locals come to celebrate a wedding (it happens very quietly and calmly), you can watch the bride in very beautiful clothes. From the animals - palm squirrels already fed by various tourists run onto the balcony. Feeding them or not is up to you, but they are not a concern. Well, the crows are dragging food left on the balcony. In general, the impression of the hotel was very good.
A separate story about the beach shops located near the hotel (to the left and right of the hotel on the beach). There was an opportunity to compare prices and assortment: as a result, we returned to the owners of these shops. Their quality is the same, the prices are lower than in the nearest cities. Plus discounts and numerous invitations for tea.
In such a shop, a very decent quality tuxedo (! ) was sewn to my husband in 4 (!! ) days in total and excellent fabric and for only $ 200 (this is a jacket, trousers, shirt) and they also gave tea as a gift! The same seamstress sews leather outerwear and the quality of the leather is excellent, but we didn't have enough time. If anyone is interested: the name is Silva Tailoring, if you leave the hotel on the beach, then to the right, a hundred steps away, is her house. Everyone knows her name there. Her tel. : 077-6555405
For those who want to bring good fabrics: very cheap (for us) and a good choice (what they don't have - they will get it and bring it) - Irish Tyloris. Her shop and house are in the same direction, 10 steps further than Silva's. In addition, Irish's husband has a good car with air conditioning and will take you on any excursion, city, shopping - wherever you want. They communicate well in English and try to learn Russian. Tel. Irish: 077-9617406
On the left, next to the new entrance of the hotel under construction, there is a shop of various antiquities and clothing. The owner's wife, on an official basis, sells jewelry and precious stones from factories: she has a very large selection and will bring whatever you want to order and prices are lower than in other shops on the street.
Whoever has problems with English, I highly recommend: if you leave the hotel on the street to the right, go to the Topaz Hotel (on the same street, somewhere 800-900m. ), Then there will be a Golden Fork restaurant opposite the hotel. Its owner is Russian Sasha. Firstly, it has a lot of seafood, delicious food, a little cheaper than other restaurants. Secondly, he, if anything, will orient the new arrivals what, where and how much. Thirdly, he has an acquaintance - a wonderful local guy Randika, who also in a good car, for a small amount, takes you around the country wherever you want. We were happy to travel with him.
I am writing about drivers because the guides from the tour operator absolutely do not show any initiative in showing the country to tourists (we saw our representative once during the entire vacation), and if they do, then their prices are exactly three times (in dollars! ) More expensive than local guides. Moreover, local guides will even help you bargain somewhere. It's short. Have a good rest! If you need more detailed information, some nuances, as well as how to relax even cheaper and longer, write to us. I will answer based on my recent experience.
Hotel "Seashells" ("Sea Shells Beach"), Negombo, West Coast - a solid 3-ku and in some ways even with a "+". A big plus is that it is close to the airport (if anything), close to Colombo and quite convenient to go on excursions to other interesting cities. The tsunami was not affected. It simply wasn't there. The rooms are clean, all with ocean views. Some things look a little old, but it's just constant humidity, I think other hotels suffer from this as well. 30 meters to the ocean. Of all the nearby hotels, Sea Shells has the gentlest entrance to the ocean. The beach is fine sand, clean. A little further from the hotel there are two fishing villages, near them the coast is dirty, but, however, no one forces you to go there. The waves are quite gentle, but it is better not to swim far, as it pulls you deep into the depths. Pool of medium size, maximum depth 2.5 m, clean.
Sunbeds and mattresses near the ocean (with "fungi") and by the pool are free and it was full of free ones, no one occupies them in the morning. The smile and attentiveness of the staff comes to helpfulness and deserves 5 stars. They feed excellent. For breakfast - a large selection, but somewhat monotonous. But dinner is a buffet, but more often the choice of dishes on the menu is varied, well served. There is national cuisine, but try carefully: we love spicy, and that seemed very spicy. Bedding, towels are changed every day, sweeping, etc. - everything is as usual. Beach towels are in the room, always changed and free of charge. The room has a small kettle with water, tea, coffee, sugar, a balcony with two chairs. The bathroom has a shower cabin. There was no TV, but personally we didn't need it. Moreover, not everyone manages to catch Russian channels in Sri Lanka, and watching local ones is a little pleasure.
Refrigerator, air conditioning - on request, set free of charge. But take your time with air conditioning: we opened a small window to the balcony at night (mosquitoes did not bother) and the wind from the ocean blew the room better than any fan. Although there is a ceiling fan and all this is more than enough. At the reception - a safe, umbrellas (there are short rains) - free of charge. Internet at the reception in translation into our rubles is only 20 rubles. /hour. , but the speed is insanely slow, it is better to use the Internet in street Internet cafes. The exchange rate of $ for rupees is quite a bit lower than at the airport. I recommend buying a card of a local mobile operator at the entrance immediately at the airport. We had Mobitel: translated into rubles, one minute of conversation with Moscow cost only 20 rubles. (! ). For 500 rupees, you can negotiate with relatives. The hotel is a little away from any street bars, but quieter. Yes, there are no entertainment, discos, etc.
There isn't much to do with kids either. It is not quite the season yet and the hotel was mostly visited by English pensioners, but the locals say that there are many Russians in the hotel during the winter months. Often, locals come to celebrate a wedding (it happens very quietly and calmly), you can watch the bride in very beautiful clothes. From the animals - palm squirrels already fed by various tourists run onto the balcony. Feeding them or not is up to you, but they are not a concern. Well, the crows are dragging food left on the balcony. In general, the impression of the hotel was very good.
A separate story about the beach shops located near the hotel (to the left and right of the hotel on the beach). There was an opportunity to compare prices and assortment: as a result, we returned to the owners of these shops. Their quality is the same, the prices are lower than in the nearest cities. Plus discounts and numerous invitations for tea.
In such a shop, a very decent quality tuxedo (! ) was sewn to my husband in 4 (!! ) days in total and excellent fabric and for only $ 200 (this is a jacket, trousers, shirt) and they also gave tea as a gift! The same seamstress sews leather outerwear and the quality of the leather is excellent, but we didn't have enough time. If anyone is interested: the name is Silva Tailoring, if you leave the hotel on the beach, then to the right, a hundred steps away, is her house. Everyone knows her name there. Her tel. : 077-6555405
For those who want to bring good fabrics: very cheap (for us) and a good choice (what they don't have - they will get it and bring it) - Irish Tyloris. Her shop and house are in the same direction, 10 steps further than Silva's. In addition, Irish's husband has a good car with air conditioning and will take you on any excursion, city, shopping - wherever you want. They communicate well in English and try to learn Russian. Tel. Irish: 077-9617406
On the left, next to the new entrance of the hotel under construction, there is a shop of various antiquities and clothing. The owner's wife, on an official basis, sells jewelry and precious stones from factories: she has a very large selection and will bring whatever you want to order and prices are lower than in other shops on the street.
Whoever has problems with English, I highly recommend: if you leave the hotel on the street to the right, go to the Topaz Hotel (on the same street, somewhere 800-900m. ), Then there will be a Golden Fork restaurant opposite the hotel. Its owner is Russian Sasha. Firstly, it has a lot of seafood, delicious food, a little cheaper than other restaurants. Secondly, he, if anything, will orient the new arrivals what, where and how much. Thirdly, he has an acquaintance - a wonderful local guy Randika, who also in a good car, for a small amount, takes you around the country wherever you want. We were happy to travel with him.
I am writing about drivers because the guides from the tour operator absolutely do not show any initiative in showing the country to tourists (we saw our representative once during the entire vacation), and if they do, then their prices are exactly three times (in dollars! ) More expensive than local guides. Moreover, local guides will even help you bargain somewhere. It's short. Have a good rest! If you need more detailed information, some nuances, as well as how to relax even cheaper and longer, write to us. I will answer based on my recent experience.
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Negombo. . . Textured place in paradise Sri Lanka. and there are several reasons for this: 1-this is the place where fishermen live (the colorful inhabitants of this country) - which means you can see what the local waters are rich in - both in the lagoon and in the ocean; 2-town with a distinct influence of the appearance of the Portuguese on the island (this happened at the beginning of the 16th century, when part of the population was converted to Catholics by subjects of the Portuguese crown, who arrived on sailboats as part of a sea expedition.
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Negombo. . . Textured place in paradise Sri Lanka. and there are several reasons for this: 1-this is the place where fishermen live (the colorful inhabitants of this country) - which means you can see what the local waters are rich in - both in the lagoon and in the ocean; 2-town with a distinct influence of the appearance of the Portuguese on the island (this happened at the beginning of the 16th century, when part of the population was converted to Catholics by subjects of the Portuguese crown, who arrived on sailboats as part of a sea expedition. Finding an abundance of spices and fruits here, they decided to establish a trading post here. Then there were churches, Catholic schools... And today there are many of them! And at every crossroads since then there is a sculpture in honor of one of the saints revered in southern Europe: St. Jude, St. Sebastian, St. Thomas and, of course, Virgin Mary Negombo is very close to the Katunayake airport, so upon arrival you can relax and swim in the ocean, look around the area, go to Colombo, and then set off on the island, starting from the Cultural Triangle. via Kurunegala) - Polonnaruwa - Sigiriya. . . further, from APRIL to OCTOBER - to the eastern coast, and ALL YEAR ROUND - to the western and southern. Yes, I almost forgot - ancient canals are still preserved in Negombo: in ancient times, under the Portuguese and Dutch, they brought spices from the hinterland to the coast, from where they were delivered by sailboats to European markets - Porto, Lisbon, Amsterdam. . .
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