When we first went to Sri Lanta in December 2004, we were absolutely delighted by the service, the zen-atmosphere, the beautiful flowers and the always-smiling staff. We met and spoke with the German owner who was really proud of this place. Everything looked so perfect there.

Logically we then decided to go back there last January, and what a disappointment...! The staff had changed and did not even speak english enough to understand a simple query.
We always had to ask 3 times for a service (room service, we waited an hour to get 2 beers); the room was noisy (becaus eof the road and although we were in the villa up the hill - star path). We were harrassed (every day!) to indicate when we wanted the massage included in the package. I used the hotel laundry for a pair of Juicy Couture pyjamas on which I attached a note mentioning that they should not iron and dry it; guess what: they ruined it! And when I spoke to the girl at reception she did not even apologize as she did not understand what I was taliking about. The room was dirty, they did not change the sheets once (during 10 days!) although we requested it. I met a cobra in front of my room and had a giant gecko in my bathroom (I know, it is supposed to be a nature lovers place, but when I asked the staff to help me with the gecko, they never came).
Also at breakfast (which was gorgeous 2 years ago) we ALWAYS had to ask 3 times for a spoon or something missing on the table...
I think that because of its success (it was full), the hotel is not as good as it was before. There's not enough staff.
Now that the travel agencies work with the hotel, they are always full and therefore they think they don't need to be as good as before... And the prices are not even less high...
There are lots of new places there (unfortunately, the Island is not as wild as it used to be, you don't meet monkeys on the road anymore and the jungle looks like a forest now) so my advice would be that you book your first night somewhere and then you rent a motorbike to find a better place to stay. Do not book for the whole holidays at one place.

We have been to Thailand more than 30 times, we therefore know very well what to except from different price levels. In this case, we clearly feel misled by Sri Lanta’s marketing. In our point of view, the bungalows of the island resort should not cost more than 2000 bath per night, maybe even less.

When we contacted the resort with our feedback after our stay, one of the managers promised to come back to us: “we will get back to you for out finalize solution for all of this trouble”, he wrote in a E-mail. After several reminders, he still haven't done so.

Here are our experiences from our stay in February 2007:

The resort:
- The check-in procedure took 20 minutes. This is rather bad taken into consideration that the whole stay was prepaid and they should have had all the information they need. In addition, there seemed to be a lack of staff since we had to wait for a while before hour luggage could be brought to our rooms.
- The resort is promoted as a getaway zen-inspired place at which one can find peace. Our experience suggests they shouldn’t underline to much your marketing. Some examples: a) No matter which bungalow you stayed at, you could here the noisy cars on the road (located between the bungalows and the beach) b) The yoga training platform was located beside the noisy breakfast buffet
- The first day, we did not have freshwater in the bungalow due to problems in the resort’s water supply. We ended up not showering the whole day. And when the water eventually returned it was brown and full of dirt. And the second day, there was almost no pressure in the shower water (much less then normal Thai island bad).
- When we came home to the resort in the evening, the reception was un-manned, and even worse – the key shelf was wide open. Any thieves could have helped himself. By the way, in general, the young staff seemed to lack the proper education and experience to run Sri Lanta resort properly at the level expected and paid for.

The restaurant:
- It is definitively overpriced! The prices do not match the standard of service and selection of courses. Some examples: a) A glass of wine of average quality at Sri Lanta costs 250 ++ bath. This is three times more expensive than the other restaurants on the islands who also served wine of same quality b) the very inexperienced staff played not very zen-like music by Britney Spears! c) Many of the courses offered in the meny were not available d) when we ordered rum raisin ice cream, the waiter asked us what kind of ice cream I wanted.

I stayed with my partner at Sri Lanta for 5 nights in November 2006. We had the most fantastic time. We were greeted by friendly staff, who, although their English lacked fluency (it was much better than my Thai) checked us in, provided us with a fresh cocktail which was much needed in the heat, and took us to our room informing us about the spa services, restaurant etc on the way to the room.

Yes the room is up a hill, but it really is not a very steep hill as some would have you believe. The room was very spacious, the bed was extremly comfortable (no damp pillows in sight) and just as we had expected, because we had done our research, the bathroom was functionable but basic - a hot shower, basin with mirror, and flushing toilet -what else does one need?

The whole point of Sri Lanta is that the hotel blends in with the natural surroundings and as long as you are not a complete insectophobe, the insects in your room (of which we had very minimal experience) can be controlled. The hotel provide you with a very strong bug spray, and also if you are sensible enough to keep the door to the bathroom closed nothing can really enter the room anyway. For all those people complaining about insects - this is Thailand, not the UK, and the hotel is set in and amongst the lush Thai countryside, what do you expect?
Also it is great fun watching, and listening to, the chorus of frogs in the evening especially after a quick rain storm.

The pool was a lovely size and a great temperature and each day we generally had it to ourselves. Lying on the sun lounger with the attentive staff providing drinks from the bar made me feel like I was in a private villa. The view out across ths sea is also beautiful and very relaxing.

For the most part we made the most of the serene, tranquil atmosphere and lazed by the pool and ate in the restaurant - the food was very tasty. I had one of the spiciest penang curries I have ever eaten, and the spring rolls were fabulous. We tended to eat gradullay over the day, popping into the restaurant for a bowl of something to share, then popping back an hour or two later for another dish.

We did also venture out to explore a few times. We treated ourselves to a 4 island boat trip which was fantastic; and we also explored the main town on the island, making many purchases in the market !! (a girl must shop!!)

I would recommend to anyone staying here to hire a moped or take a taxi out to the "Same Same but Different" restaurant. This is one of the most beautful settings I have ever eaten in and I would recommend being there for sun set.

Do not come here if you want a spotless, built up resort with a TV and all the mod cons (similar to something you can stay in anywhere around the world), come here if you want to experience Thailand and relax.

I've never seen such a rip-off hotel in thailand before...
neitehr are there any rooms at the beach front as advertized, nor is there a beautiful beach. The bungalows are uphill, no telephone, no tv, a very empty minibar, and there are millions of moscitos...

The beach is sandy but somewhat dirty, and stony, so it's no wonder nobody wants to go swimming in the ocean. The pool is tiny, more like a giant bathtub. The hotel itself is very stlyish, but over all uncomfortable... sitting on the floor while eating, even on pillows is not very much fun. well, you can hear some phsychodelic cover version of rolloing stones hits..

A very sarcastic description might be te hotel of the inapt hippies...
a room price of 4200 baht (€ 86) is definitely far too high...

yeah, we wanted to stay there for a week after seeing the beautiful pictures on their website but left after 2 days... and we will never go there again.