Peter & Kathryn
England, March 2025
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The warm and friendly people that we met.
We wanted to see the wildlife and were not disappointed, the safaris in the National Parks were fantastic. Particularly memorable were close encounters with elephants and seeing two leopards, as well as countless birds.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Hard to think of anything that we actually disliked, but some of the set menus were somewhat disappointing, being either like British food in the eighties or a much toned down for Europeans version of Sri Lankan dishes.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Well, it was all very interesting and the 6 hotels were completely different from each other. We enjoyed the variety.
Yara Galle Fort [Galle]. A very attractive hotel, spacious room and bathroom, lovely central courtyard garden. We only had breakfasts there. They were all excellent and we enjoyed eating outside rather than in the dining room. The hotel was well positioned for exploring the historic part of Galle and there were good restaurants near by.
Boulder Garden [Sinharaja]. I think the only word for this hotel is extraordinary. We wouldn’t have wanted to miss this experience and enjoyed being immersed in the forest, but three nights there were definitely enough. Despite what your hotel description says, this is not an all-suite hotel. As you are aware, our first night was spent in a gloomy room basic room. We explained that was not what we were expecting and were transferred to a larger, brighter room the next day. This was much better, but I was surprised that the bathroom area was only separated from the bedroom area by a waist high wall – an arrangement I have never encountered before and was not entirely comfortable with. [We apologise for the initial issue with your room allocation as we had booked a suite for your three nights. However, I am glad that it was sorted out and many thanks for your understanding.]
The manager, Edward, made us feel very welcome and did everything that he could to make our stay enjoyable. We were the only guests on our second and third nights, the food was excellent, he decorated our table with flower patterns and the candlelit dining experience under the great overhanging boulder felt really special. [We are very pleased to hear that the staff looked after you well.]
This hotel is not suitable for people with any mobility issues. The many stairs were not a problem for us during the daytime, but felt dangerous after dark as they were poorly lit, very irregular in width and depth and there were no handrails. Edward always insisted that I was accompanied by a member of staff to hold on to when it was dark and I appreciated that, but it did make me wonder if there had been accidents. [Many thanks for your observations regarding this hotel and we will certainly forewarn future customers about the challenges.]
Kalu’s Hideaway [Udawalawe]. This was our favourite of the six hotels. Lovely, spacious room in an impressive building. Our balcony here was large enough for a table, two chairs and a double daybed. We made good use of the inviting pool and enjoyed walking round the gardens down to the river. The food was excellent. There was a choice of set menus - European or Sri Lankan - the first evening and buffets on the other two evenings. The chef came to chat with us as his name was also Peter.
Flameback Eco Lodge [Weerawila]. I had my doubts about ‘glamping’ before we arrived, but needn’t have worried. Our tent was spacious and very well designed and equipped, in peaceful surroundings with a great view. We soon got used to all the zips when leaving the tent. There was a good pool with plenty of shaded sun loungers. Dinner the first night was rather disappointing as the Sri Lankan menu option was completely bland, but we explained that we eat lots of curries at home to the waiters and the food was much better on the following evenings. We both had excellent massages in the spa here.
The Beach House [Mirissa]. A very attractive villa, lovely room and a big balcony. We were well looked after by Indika who was always friendly, helpful and very efficient. Up to this point, our holiday was very active and exciting, so it was good to just relax, swim in the lovely pool and generally laze about for these last few days. We enjoyed the excellent food here.
[Sixth hotel: Waterland, Negombo]
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Ravi was an excellent guide. He was both warm and friendly and efficient and professional. He always made sure that we were clear about arrangements and was always on time to pick us up. He suggested some alterations to our itinerary which were always improvements, for example moving some safaris from an afternoon to the morning of a transfer day so that we could have a relaxed afternoon after an early morning safari.
Ravi had an amazing ability to spot birds and animals beside the road as he was driving us about which added interest to the journeys. On the morning of our last safari, he surprised us with a picnic breakfast which was such a nice thing to do. He definitely enhanced our holiday and we missed him when he left us at the Beach House.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
We would always choose Emirates for long haul flights if possible. All four flights left on time, food was better than on some airlines, good range of entertainment. [Emirates - Economy Class - Manchester]
Any other comments?
We had a fantastic holiday with many wonderful new experiences.
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