Hotel with a view over a lake

Hi Everyone, I am hoping that the seasoned travellers among you have some suggestions for a hotel with %26#39;sweeping vistas%26#39; of a lake or %26#39;tank%26#39;. Ideally, the rooms should overlook the lake (and if there are balconies even better!)...

Tnanks in advance for your time

Jayaka

Hotel with a view over a lake

Hi Jayaka,

There are quite a few but not all of their rooms will have lake views. So a need to be specific in booking:

* Heritance Kandalama, Dambulla

* Royal Lotus, Deer Park hotel and Giritale hotel (all at Giritale)

* Seeduwa hotel P%26#39;ruwa (now under a new name? Ceylon Hotel Corporation and hence not to a high standard)

* Centauria hotel Embilipitiya

And no doubt others will find more....

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Hotel with a view over a lake

Thanks for your help Erik and Sandya. I finally decided on Deer Park Hotel for two nights (Dec 12/13.I have received mixed reviews of the place from recent visitors, so I am curious to see how the trip will turn out. Will post afterwards for everyone%26#39;s benefit.

cheers

Jayaka

revlon

Oryx lounge

can anyone tell me how to book this as I can%26#39;t find it on the Qatar Website.

Thanks

Oryx lounge

Hi

try this link

www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html

Rebecca

Oryx lounge

thank you - am now booked in - approx £25 on today%26#39;s exchange rate for 6 hours.

shower, food and drinks - looking forward to it!

Which terminal at LGW?

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone can confirm which terminal you fly out of at Gatwick when flying to Colombo with First Choice?

I sure it%26#39;s North Terminal, but I just wanted to check prior to booking my parking and airport lounge.

Cheers,

A

Which terminal at LGW?

Hi Ali, we went with first choice last year and that was the north terminal. Off again in 4 weeks time cant wait.

Have a good holiday

maria

Which terminal at LGW?

Hi Maria,

Thank you so much, I can start booking now :))

Four weeks, lucky you - enjoy!! I go at the end of March, can%26#39;t wait either.

Cheers,

Ali

Hi Ali

Thanks im sure we will we always have a fantastic time there thats why we keep returnng. Im sure you will also have a gret time . You cant meet nicer people its such a beautiful island.

Thanks again

Maria

6 night stop en route to Maldives trip options ?

We are a family of four (teenage daughters) who are heading to the Maldives for a week at Christmas. To add some interest to an otherwise lazy beach holiday we have booked 6 nights in Sri Lanka.

Our stay is at the Royal Palms in Kalatura but we don%26#39;t want just a beach holiday. We are generally an active bunch and not used to package holidays - like to do our own thing but we know very little about Sri Lanka.

The girls HAVE TO visit the elephant orphanage. From reading through the forums it would seem that a 2 day / 1 night trip to Kandy would be our best option. Can any body give advice on arraging this trip - Best car/driver and hotel or guest house? Best to arrange it in advance or sort it when we get there in mid December?

6 night stop en route to Maldives trip options ?

Hi there,

Yep seeing your stay this one main outing is best. Next to this you can make a day trip to Galle and include some other beach fun, like the Ambalangoda mask museum and a turtle hatchery, in that route.

Better arrange locally once you%26#39;re there, also for the Kandy trip. In the FAQ there are guidelines on how to get the best price/quality balance. Generally the chosen driver/agency also has a list of hotels/GH%26#39;s to choose from.

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

6 night stop en route to Maldives trip options ?

If you go to Ambalangoda do not miss the Inoka bathic factory. There you can see how they work on bathics and buy them for good prices (for exemple for souvenirs).

Pore

HI

I had a similar holiday with my husband and two teenage children (one boy and one girl) this summer. We were lucky enough to be recommended a tour guide/driver by another hotel guest who had used him twice before. Some of the other hotel guests arranged trips with the beach boys or tuk tuk drivers and unfortunately did not get all they wanted and ended up paying more. We had a fantastic trip with our guide who was great with the children.. Included in the trip was a visit to the elephant orphanage and also the millennium elephant experience where we were able to have elephant rides through the jungle. We stayed at the Palms in Beruwela. Send me a pm if you would like more details of our trip and details of our guide.

Best wishes

cope with divorce

Wedding In Sri Lanka

Hi

We are thinking of getting married in Sri Lanka and we wanted to know where the best hotels are to get married in. I%26#39;ve looked at the Taj Exotica ,Mount Lavinia and the Eden Hotel. Has anybody stayed or got married in any of these hotels??

My biggest concern at the moment are the transfer time from the airport, does anybody know the time and what the journey is like??

Thanks very much

Gemma

Wedding In Sri Lanka

Hi

Weve just returned from The Club Palm Gardens Hotel in Beruwela.

Whilst there an English couple were married.

The wedding was beautiful, Sri Lankan Drummers and dancers, an elephant and glorious sunshine.

After the wedding the couple rode the elephant down to the beach for more photos.

They told me that the wedding, including wedding cake and a wonderful photo album cost them an extra 拢400 on top of the cost of their holiday.

Also, there was three Sri Lankan couples married at the hotel and the ceremony was the same except that they did not have the elephant. It ws nice to know that the tourists do get a %26#39;real%26#39; Sri Lankan wedding.

The club palm garden hotel is only a 3 star and you are probably looking for something a little better.

Its sister hotel which is next door is the Hotel Riverina which is a 4 star hotel.

The only downside to visiting this area is the 2 1/2 to 3 hour journey from the airport, after a long flight this journey was not very pleasant.

Sri Lanka is definitely worth a visit though. Amazing Country with wonderful friendly people.

Wedding In Sri Lanka

thank you for replying so quickly, it really does sound fantastic and hopefully it is worth that journey from the airport Thanks x

Hi there,

If transfer time IS a big concern for you then two luxury hotels come to mind:

a) The Beach, Negombo. Supposedly 5-star, and 20 mins from airport.

b) Mount Lavinia, in your list already. For sure 4-star, 90 mins from airport. We had our copper wedding anniversary function there two years back, a well-organised reception with 125 guests. So they CAN organise well and should have no problem with a Westerner%26#39;s wedding too...

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Club Dolphin in Waikkal (about 30 min transfer) is also a possibility.

Try a search in this forum on ';wedding'; and you will find hundreds of threads.

my friend is looking for someone who would like to have a wedding or homecoming or what ever function that requires 275 guests at mount lavinia hotel.

preferably for the 16th of may 2009, dinner.(night function)

the package details are as follows..

2450 per head plus another 5% off on the menu which makes it 2340 per head,

plus 50% off on seat covers.

its a pretty attractive rate and i assure u no one will get a rate like this from a hotel again :)

if interested pls mail me.

If you are going to get married in May I would be very tempted to look at one of the Hotels in the Cultural Triangle area. Either the Kandalama (Dambulla) or Cinnamon Lodge (Habarana) etc.

The advantage of a hotel in this area is:-

1. It%26#39;s in the dry zone so a good chance of better weather.

2. There is a short cut from the Airport which completely avoids Colombo. Still probably 2.5-3 hours, but better.

3. There is fantastic scenary, wildlife and sites around this whole area.

The Kandalama might be a bit pricey but I%26#39;m told a weddings there are a wonderful experience. Might be worthwhile checking out the review on this site.

Just a thought

Kani Lanka Resort and Spa

Hi,

My partner and I are staying at the Kani Lanka Resort and Spa over Christmas and New Year. We were looking forward to it until some pretty dire reviews started appearing on this site recently.

Has anyone stayed there, and has anyone stayed in a suite? We have booked a suite (through First Choice) and I%26#39;m hoping that they are 1st or 2nd floor as it seems the ground floor rooms have problems with damp etc. Is it worth emailing the hotel and asking to be in a specific part?

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks

Carla

Kani Lanka Resort and Spa

Hi Carla

According to Kani Lanka Webpage suites have balconies, so I guuess they can not be on the ground floor.

email: info@kanilanka.com

Hans

Kani Lanka Resort and Spa

Hi, we have recently returned from Kani lanka on 6 aug. we too booked with first chioce. this was our 2nd visit and we loved it. as long as you keep the air con on you shouldnt have any probs with damp, there is a notice on the wall next to air con controls telling you not to alter them but it got pretty chilly with it blasting out during the night, so i upped the temp to 23 nad turned the fan speed down to low and np probs at all.we stayed in rm 444 which is a seaview room, very nice, clean which is what you want. are you going half board or all inc. we went half but you can upgrade to all inc when your there if you want( which is cheaper than first choice at 10pppn)our bill came to £400 for the 14days which included drinks,lunch and laundry (which is cheap) food was lovely loads of choice, must say though its never piping hot but we%26#39;ve found this even when eating out in sri lanka, we didn%26#39;t suffer with tummy bugs and didnt hear of anybody whilst we were there. beach boys ok for trips we found but only used them for day trips. they will take you to gem museum wether you like it or not to which is attached a large jewellers called aida which is at bentota the next town down the coast. we ended up buying 3 rings! we were told they are worth uo to 4 times more at home,so i am due to shortly get them valued to ease my mind that i havent been hoodwinked. have a fab trip im sure you will, the sea will be blue and calm then and the humidity ok. hope this is ok for you if you have anymore questions i%26#39;ll be more than happy to help.

Thanks for your replies. We have booked all inclusive but we haven%26#39;t paid the full balance yet so I might try to swap to half board and then pay for the upgrade to AI out there - thanks for the tip. I feel reassured now that we will have a great time - thank you! Please let me know if your rings do turn out to be a bargain as I might buy some for myself when I%26#39;m there!

Thanks again

Carla

hi there Carla,

just read your message. if you do decide to change to all inclusive, check with first choice regarding their charges for changes to bookings, as we also made a change and we were charged £20 or £30 each for the pleasure!! worth a try though maybe.

We returned from the Kani Lanka on the 22nd August. We found the all inclusive good value, though there is pressure on you to have wine at meals and take part in the %26#39;Fish buffets%26#39; which are both extra. Every room feels damp if the air con is turned off, its the humidity of the area. We had a lovely time at the hotel, and saw about 8 weddings which were all lovely. If you are having the elephant at the wedding please check, alot of the parties were having to pay for the elephant at the hotel when they thought they had paid in England. The weddings have a stunning back drop and having seen some of the wedding albums the photopgraphs were beautiful. You will have a brilliant time. I don%26#39;t think there are any suites on the ground floor. If you have any more questions please don%26#39;t hesitate to ask. I have some wedding photos I could email you as an example of what you will get.

Debbie - Gloucester

I am staying there from 25th Feb 09 for two weeks where I am getting married. Am I right in thinking that alcohol is not included in the all inclusive?

Hi

Usually local alcohol (beer, arrack, gin, brandy etc.) is included.

Hans

Mobile phone

We are going to Sri Lanka in December and would like to know the best use of mobile phones. We are on contract with orange when I asked them the cost of using the mobile in SL they text back the amount £1.75 per minute to call from SL to UK, £1.00 per minute to receive and 50p per text. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative. Any help appreciated.

Thanks Jayne

Mobile phone

get a sim card in Lanka so cheap to phone home and localy. Make sure your phone has been unlocked for other sims at a phone unlocking place here.

Mobile phone

Do not forget, you need a copy of your passport

Hi

Better buy sri lankan free paid connection. sim card will be 4-5 us$ . you will have much more cheaper rate than the using uk one. Dialog having best coverage.

Thanks,

ind

revlon