Guest User
April 25, 2024
First of all, the beach: On many review sites you read that women walking alone feel uncomfortable and 'followed' by vendors. Personally, I can only say: No, that's not true. I have rarely felt so safe. The beach is long and really beautiful. Due to the weather/wind, wood and other things often wash up at low tide. Nothing compared to Thailand or Bali. But almost every 'vendor' tries to keep his section clean as best he can and the non-German garbage collectors play along and collect it. Yes, the sellers of clothing, coconuts and tuk tuk drivers (all completely manageable, there are only a few) speak to the guests on the beach. Because it is very wide, there is no other way to draw attention to their micro-shop/tuk tuk. In the short period WHERE guests are on the beach, they try to sell, because that is what they live off of. Sri Lanka is poor and the small hut or rope with goods is often the only source of income. There are only a few hotels on the beach, so there aren't many guests. If you don't like that, India/Sri Lanka isn't the right place for you. Or just stay by the pool. There are two annoying, persistent salespeople, but the rest are incredibly nice and if you say no in a friendly way, you'll be left alone in a friendly way. There are also great bargains in the 'shops' if you negotiate well. It's definitely worth looking around. And no, there are no loungers on the sand belonging to the hotel, as the section of beach doesn't belong to the hotel. So it's forbidden. But if you walk a bit, you'll find loungers, so everything's fine. Hotel: Yes, you can't deny that some of the room interiors are very old. Especially if you're picky (I am). So I was in a slightly bad mood at first and wrote to the management in Germany. But after 2 days of getting used to it, it almost doesn't matter. And the MGMT has reacted and is working as quickly as possible to get everything sorted out. The treatments are so relaxing, yoga & meditation are great (even for beginners like me), the Ayurvedic food is delicious, even if you can't stand the sight of curry on the fourth day :). You can always go to the second restaurant. And I wasn't there to 'gorge yourself'. How you accept and use the treatment is up to you, you can be dogmatic, but you don't have to. If you want it straight and without any other options, you should perhaps book a small house. If you want to have a drink somewhere else, the Maharaja beach bar next to the hotel is perfect. For excursions into the surrounding area, there are enough tuk tuk drivers who can then get you a car (driver Bob, for example, speaks excellent German and is a great help). All in all: I will definitely go there again.
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