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.
