We have just arrived back from a 4 night stay at the Asian Jewel in Hikkaduwa, and felt we needed to share with others what a wonderful place this is.

Firstly, the standard of rooms is excellent - we enjoyed their luxury room, which includes four poster bed and breathtaking panoramic views from the balcony. What a treat!

Secondly, the owners, our hosts, Dale & Tanya are just the warmest and friendliest people you could ever wish to meet. Others have previously commented in reviews that you feel like you could count them as friends on leaving, which is exactly how we felt when we departed. We were genuinely sad to go.

We certainly will be back, hopefully many times, to catch up on how the baby chipmunks are doing, and to see Suki and Dotty (the sweetest dogs), and catch up with their staff, Sunny, Denesh and VJ - as well as, of course, seeing Dale and Tanya again.

I only hope they don't become too popular otherwise I fear we will be unable to get a room!

When we arrived in Hikkaduwa from Kandy we were in 2 minds about staying at a hotel which wasnt directly on the beach, we were even more unsure when our driver drove us up some very windy broken roads in land and even talked about turning around and finding a hotel on the beach....................

Thank god we didnt!

From the moment we arrived and were greeted by Tanya,Dale their beautiful hotel and fantastic views over the lagoon we knew we were on to a winner.

Our room was very tastefully decorated and included a 4 poster bed, step up double bath and gorgeous views out onto the lagoon.

Tanya's home cooked food was great with the jumbo prawns a real winner, the menu including an extensive european and seafood feel but also featuring some local curry.

For us after being accosted in Colombo and Kandy regularly by locals trying to do the rip off guide act it was a welcome relief to sit with Dale have a beer and be able to ask questions on where to go, what to do and what we should be paying.

Dale and Tanya offered impartial advice on the local restaurants, bars and tours and although they left us to our own devices we ended up spending most of our 4 days in their company at seafront bars and dining in their hotel as they are such a great couple who we now consider as their friends not just guests of their hotel.

We would also like to give a special mention to their Staff, Sunny who was also a brilliant guide and save us lots of money when buying paintings and our big buddha statue, VJ the dancing, singing, entertaining "soux" chef and Denesh the talented artist/housekeeper.....o and sukke the dog!!

Although they are the first to admit they have problems with low power at some points of the day due to the local power system the great rates, staff, accommodation, food and local surroundings make this a insignificance.

Obviously it dosent need to be said that we would recommend to anyone to stay at the Asian Jewel and we just wish we could have extended our Sri Lanka trip to stay longer at the hidden jewel in Hikkaduwa.

We will be back though....maybe to get married!!!

Chris and Carla

We have recently returned from a two week stay at The Asiain Jewel - two weeks were not long enough.

The hotel is everything it's website says it is. You get luxury with a very personal service. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left nothing was too much trouble - Dale and Tanya are a wonderful couple and are keen for you to get what you want from their hotel and Sri Lanka.

The staff are very personable, the rooms luxurious and the food devine. We stayed in the luxury room and could not have wished for anything more. The view is both breathtaking and calming.

Dale is very keen to pass on his local knowledge and is happy spending time with you, giving honest information and advice and will arrange any trip or activity that is available. If you are planning to tour any part of the island I would definitely recommend contacting Dale to arrange your tour whether it be at the beginning of your stay, in the middle or even on your way home. He will certainly be able to help.

Tanya's attention to detail is second to none and this helps make the hotel stand out. We stayed at two other hotels while we were in Sri Lanke but neither could compete.

The hotel is away from the beach (only a shourt tuk tuk ride though) but this means you get to learn a little more about life in Sri Lanka.

Tanya and Dale know what we though of them, their hotel and our wonderful holiday - we will definintely be seeing them again. I would recomend this hotel in a second - a supurb location, high standards of cleanliness and food but most of all the hospitality of the real jewels in Hikkaduwa Tanya and Dale.

The stay at Asian Jewel was such a highlight of our holiday and we only stayed one night as a bit of a stop over and we will definately go back when we vist next year. Dale and Tanya are fantastic hosts and all the little touches were so welcome. They even made a fuss of my 17 year old daughter celebrating her birthday. The accomodation is outstanding the best that we had while we were in Sri Lanka, everything was so beautiful. The location is amazing stunning views over the lagoon and so peaceful. Tanyas food was excellent and we even got a nice glass of wine here which is unusual in Sri Lanka.

Finally Dale is one of the best story tellers I have ever met and he has some great stories to tell and we are looking forward to hearing more next year.