De Silva Wind Resort Kalpitiya - Kitesurfing School Sri Lanka

It’s the first ‘premium’ accommodation option I have come across where the hot water cuts out unless there’s bright sunshine - not something, of course, that’s mentioned on their website. The rooms themselves are completely basic. A kettle, but no teabags. No fridge. Unpleasant drain smells coming from the bathroom, which didn’t drain properly. Air conditioning which has one setting - “Arctic Tundra” - which is an issue when you’re provided with barely any bedding. The WiFi is laughably unreliable. The bedside light had the wrong plug so was useless. If all of this makes you want to spend time outside the room, then why not hang out in one of the communal areas? Well, there is a bar, but there’s never anyone manning it, and apparently they don’t have a full licence to operate it (again, not something they mention on the website). There is of course the communal pool table, but in the evenings this is reliably occupied by one of the members of staff who can be found lounging across the sofas on apparently never ending video calls - not exactly a welcoming environment. As for the food, when we arrived we were told that there was basically none left and what they did have would take over an hour to prepare, so we may as well not bother. The breakfasts and dinners are overpriced and under-provisioned. Finally - the reason we’re all here - the activities on offer. There’s no discount on offer if you’re staying at the accommodation and the rates are pretty steep. We did windsurfing and had a really friendly, knowledgeable, and good-natured instructor. However, that’s about as far as it goes. There is no safety boat out on the water - when we got into trouble on a windy day we had to shout to the shore for assistance (which came in the form of said helpful instructor on a paddle board). This is just downright dangerous and irresponsible. I once asked if I could try wing-surfing as opposed to windsurfing, and was told with a nonchalant shrug that there was only one instructor and he was busy out with the kite surfers. All in all, a thoroughly disappointing experience which left us with the feeling of being utterly ripped off (with the exception being the windsurfing instructor Sam, who was great). We did complain to management at the end, so hopefully they take all of this on board.

Our stay at De Silva Palm Resort had its ups and downs. The resort is a tropical paradise, with lush surroundings and a peaceful atmosphere. The rooms were functional and met our basic needs, but it was the outstanding service that really stood out. The staff were warm and accommodating, and our Tuk Tuk driver, Shifan (+94 77 770 1751), was an absolute gem. He spoke perfect English, was always smiling, and went out of his way to make our trips around the area enjoyable and stress-free. That said, there are a few areas for improvement. The menu could use an update, as it lacks variety and doesn’t cater well to kids. Additionally, the internet is only available in the lounge area, which is tricky at night due to the constant attack of mosquitoes. With a few tweaks, this resort could truly shine, but the friendly service makes it worth considering

Breakfast is a delicious buffet selection of both sweet and savoury items plus omelettes on request. There is a nice swimming pool here, plus table tennis and a snooker table. De Silva kite surfing school is on site, by the beach area. The rooms are clean, comfortable and well maintained. The restaurant for dinner is just by the beach, which is where my boyfriend proposed to me. The staff were friendly and very helpful in making the proposal special. I honestly can't fault the place.