Karpaha Sands

Karpaha Sands is a luxury hotel with unique beach Glamping tents all situated in amongst the palm trees, with fantastic views, it's a most beautiful Sri Lankan location. This really is a hideaway resort, luxury meets authenticity. Guests can unwind and be close to nature and relax in the infinity pool, or sit and chill in the artistic boutique surroundings. A walk across the beautiful white sand and then swim in the turquoise sea you can observe the local fishermen go about their daily work. The food and drinks were out of this world as was all the staff working in the Karpaha sands, we really can't wait to go back.

It's difficult to overstate how good Karpaha Sands is. Visitors can be forgiven for thinking they have taken the wrong road, but once you pass the stylish entrance, you reach a tranquil haven of a palm tree studded endless empty beach, only disturbed by local fishermen bringing in their daily catch. The Palam beach front tents are effortlessly cool, with every feature you could wish for. The beds are so comfortable and huge. The restaurant has the widest breakfast menu I have ever seen, with every choice prepared perfectly. Lunch and dinner menus are equally varied, interesting and tasty. All the staff are so friendly and helpful. We had Bandar as our butler/concierge, and he was outstanding. I have never felt so relaxed. Can't wait to go back.

It was a lovely experience. Friendly and willing staff. Excellent food. Magnificent beach . Comfortable and well appointed cottage. Great location ( middle of nowhere !!) The Seafood platter was out of the world. Really enjoyed our stay.

Overall we had a wonderful stay at Karpaha Sands as part of our honeymoon in August. The hotel was beautiful. We stayed in one of the ocean front suites and it was such a gorgeous room, with wonderful amenities and décor. We had our own sun loungers to use on the beach which was a lovely touch and the butler service was fantastic, it was very special to have breakfast brought to us in the morning to have on the veranda close to the ocean. The massage treatments were brilliant, and the swimming pool was lovely. The beach and ocean were beautiful. Unfortunately there were two areas that we felt needed improvement which is why we haven't given a five star rating. First, there a quite a few dogs that live/roam on the beach and on one day some of them got into a fight which was quite distressing to see, especially as one of the dogs became injured and was bleeding. There was also a cat in the restaurant area that was limping. It was unclear whether the hotel owns the animals or if they were wild, but either way it could be doing more to make sure the animals have good welfare, including medical treatments. Second, the quality of the meals was inconsistent. On several occasions the dishes we ordered were missing key elements without any acknowledgment or explanation from the staff, which was disappointing given the cost, e.g. I ordered the wok fried rice with tofu, but it didn't have any tofu in it. What was very frustrating though was that we had informed the hotel at several points (before our stay, when we arrived via a form which asked for dietaries) that I was vegan, but no one seemed to care/remember. At dinner for example I was repeatedly brought an amuse-bouche which I couldn't eat, and when I asked if it was vegan they would take it away- no alternative was offered. In the afternoon the staff would bring cookies to the room which was a lovely touch, but again they weren't vegan. For such a high-quality hotel, the staff should know if guests have dietary requirements. The Sri Lankan food in the restaurant was very good but some of the other dishes lacked flavour.