Tim_Hodges
14. huhtikuuta 2025
We stayed in a deluxe family beach villa, which was clean and spacious. The bathroom was completely outdoors, and while the outdoor shower was nice, I would have preferred it if the toilet and sink area had been within an air-conditioned part of the room. The towels were a bit thin but good enough. Staff were always polite and friendly. The main pool is great for kids, with the majority of it being shallow, but there are not enough parasols for the number of guests, so finding shade can be difficult. The whole resort is kept nice and clean and is well maintained. The main buffet restaurant offers a pretty good standard of food with plenty of choice, but it tends to be very busy and I personally don’t enjoy how crowded it feels. The Indian restaurant, also a buffet, serves a wide variety of Asian dishes that change daily and is generally less crowded. Thaava restaurant serves simple Mediterranean food of a good enough standard. On arrival, I tried to book it but was initially told there was no availability for the entire duration of our stay. This was clearly unacceptable, and after a complaint to management, we were able to secure two reservations, one for lunch and one for dinner. The ‘Premium All-Inclusive’ package was honestly the most disappointing part of the holiday. My family are not big drinkers and were especially looking forward to enjoying fresh, exotic mocktails made with proper ingredients. Unfortunately, these were all made with fruit squashes and syrups so strong we had to dilute them to make them drinkable. I raised this issue and was assured that the bars would start making them with fresh juice, but in reality, nothing changed, so we just accepted it and focused on enjoying the rest of our holiday. The constant upselling of almost everything became incredibly irritating. Most things were an optional extra, often at ludicrous prices. I had understood that non-motorised water sports were included, but despite having a sailing licence, I still had to pay to prove I could take the catamaran out. As you walk into the restaurant, they display beautiful lobsters, which cost nearly $100 if you want to have one. The beach BBQ was another $100 per person. We dined at the water villa restaurant one evening to take a break from the buffets, which was another $100 per head, and if we wanted steak or lobster there, it was an additional $70 or $100 respectively. Motorised water sports were rarely used by guests, likely due to their excessive prices. They would probably get more than double the participation if they halved the costs. We did take part in the free dolphin excursion, which was on a very uncomfortable and smelly boat for two hours, with only some tepid water provided. It was a free trip, and they made sure it felt like a budget option. On a more positive note, the resort did put on a lovely Sri Lankan New Year celebration with local sweets and delicacies, which we appreciated. Overall, we had an enjoyable holiday, but it was
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