Jeremy & Gill
England, January 2016
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The mountain regions/tea plantations.
Wildlife.
People.
Kelaniya Temple [Colombo] and Forest Rock Garden Resort [Anuradhapura],
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Galle.
Yala Wildlife Park.
Leeches!
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Enjoyed the variety of places, all interesting, some outstanding like Forest Rock Garden Resort, Maalu Maalu [Resort & Spa, Passekudah] and The Safari [Tissamaharama].
Lake Lodge [Colombo] – Small & quiet – The room & shower were fine. We had an excellent grilled fish dinner. The staff were friendly and helpful, except in the morning we had to leave at 4.30am and had trouble finding and waking the ’24 hour’ reception to open the gate and check out.
Jaffna Heritage Hotel [Jaffna] – OK but somewhat chaotic – Our room was good and everything worked. Dinner was very late and when it eventually arrived it was the same stuff as lunchtime with a couple of additions. Very tasty though.
Breakfast was late and chaotic, and settling our bill was pure Fawlty Towers – but it turned out they were having a big group including the president of Sri Lanka for lunch.
Forest Rock Garden Resort [Anuradhapura] – Amazing and beautiful – It’s a work of love by a local architect. He's created the look of a huge ancient Buddhist temple over about 12 acres with dozens of buildings and a few square ponds. The huge T-shaped swimming pool is like a Hindu holy bathing pool with big stone lions gushing water from the corners. There is a maze of paths connecting everything, all built 6 metres above the ground to avoid elephant paths.
We had a fantastic large airy well-designed room. The hotel is great for wildlife viewing, and there are literally dozens of interesting shelters, mini-temples and features to discover.
The food was good, especially the huge breakfast. The staff are very friendly and always tried to be helpful. The hotel has a policy of employing local villagers, so there were occasional slight misunderstandings. You have to be patient and see the funny side sometimes.
Nilaveli Beach Hotel [Nilaveli] – Lovely beachside hotel – Our good room was only 30 metres from the sea which was lovely. There’s a big pool and a beachside bar to enjoy. The staff were all very friendly and nice to chat with. We were grateful for a good beef burger after several days of vegetarian curries. And the breakfast offer was fantastic.
Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa [Passekudah] – Exceptional beach hotel – This was an oasis of a small hotel tucked between some big ones. The rooms are well-designed and lovely, especially the huge bathroom. The very large pool stretches right down to the beach. There are pleasant half-mile walks to be had along the sands on either side.
The staff are exceptionally good and the food excellent. Great place to relax.
Madulkelle Tea & Eco Lodge [Knuckles] – Fantastic setting, tents look silly – High up in the mountains, looking across at the Knuckles Range, each ‘tent’ at this ‘eco-hotel’ has a private and superb position. But with massive concrete bases and a concrete bathroom inside the tent, a nice wooden cabin would have been much better. Closing and locking the door would have been ten times quicker, especially as the zips are starting to wear out and tear away.
That gripe apart, there are plenty of lovely walks around the area, lots of bird life, and excellent guided tours every day. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the food is good.
Clove Tree House [Ella] – Lovely quiet rural location – Our room was simple but had everything we needed. The two staff cooked excellent food for us, and there is a manageress with good English who comes in everyday to help and sort out.
We did some lovely walks straight from the house, with stunning views of the Ella area one way and right down to the sea on the other side.
Kalu’s Hideaway [Uda Walawe] – OK for a night – We had a good room in this modern hotel although the overall layout is strange: e.g. the toilet block is right in the middle of the grounds and you have to walk round it to go anywhere. Dinner was very good, breakfast was poor and the service almost non-existent: e.g. a lunchtime ‘tuna’ sandwich took 40 minutes, with no other guests eating, and then it was sardine. There is very little interaction with the staff apart from the manager, and that makes it feel impersonal.
The Safari, Tissamaharama – Classy hotel in a great location – We enjoyed our time here and it’s a great base for safaris. From the hotel there are lots of birds to see, many fruit bats at night, and we even had a mongoose wander through the lobby.
The staff were friendly and helpful and the food was good.
Fort Bliss, Galle – Convenient location – This is OK for a night in Galle, right in the heart of town. We were surprised by the ‘friendly service’ comments of other reviewers, as we did not receive this. Breakfast and room were adequate.
The Rainforest Ecolodge, Sinharaja – Disappointing – As we climbed the last twisting and spectacular 8.8 kms to the Lodge, we were anticipating stunning views from our room. Then we went over a ridge into a little valley, and the lodge had no view a all. The Lodge itself is very ugly, being all re-used steel and glass and aluminium-tread corridors. Our cabin was very comfortable, however, and we enjoyed watching lots of fireflies at night.
The staff were excellent and we had some reasonably good nature walks.
There was no Sri Lankan food option at night, which was a pity.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Really, really good. He went out of his way to look after us and drove very carefully. He definitely went the extra mile! (Nihal – his first job with you)
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Good, but not exceptional. Quibbles – bed in Business Class not very comfortable, food a bit variable in quality. [SriLankan Airlines – booked their own flights]
Any other comments?
Everything went extremely smoothly, no problems at all re organisation.
The friendliness and helpfulness of our driver [guide] made for very enjoyable times.
We were interested to see the north and the east, but can see why they are not much visited, just not as beautiful or interesting.
A small map would be useful.
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