As part of this years holiday we decided to travel around a bit and part of our travel was here to the Kani Lanka resort in Kalutara.
Having flown in from the Maldives on a 1.5 hour flight with emirates we arrived in Colmbo and were greeted by our transfer to Kani Lanka with no problems. The transfer it self was approx 3hrs long, although not very far the state of the roads and traffic congestion was terrible.
On arrival at the Kani Lanka we were greeted not only by fiendly staff but also one of the beach boys that we had been e mailing with regards to certain trips we wanted to do. His name was JAMBO and had organised everything prior to our arrival, he was very good and i would recommend him to anyone, just contact me for his e mail address, all he asks is that you contact him prior to arriving and e mail him a photo of yourself so that he can recognise you. We only stayed here from the 21st -24th sept 08 so time was of premium to us.
We had originally only booked half board in the resort, but on arrival we upgraded to AI for a cost of $40 per day for two pers which was very good compared to the brochure prices. This resort is graded as 3*+ but iwould definately say it was higher.
As the hotel sits on the estuary of the Kangu Delta and the Indian ocean the hotel was completely devasted during the Tsunami what it has achieved since then is fantastic. Previouspeople have mentioned that the staff/management were very surly and un approachable we never found this to be true in fact it was totally the opposite.
The rooms were very comfortable but in some cases quite small, bathrooms were clean and presentable. The one down side is that you have to keep the air con on all the time as condensation does build up quite quickly.
The restaurant in the hotel was really good the staff there also very friendly and helpful catering to all your needs. The food there was fantastic with lots of choices for all your meals, there is also an outdoor snack bar where you could order food outside whilst round the pool. The bar area is very pleasent and had a lovely ambience to it, non of your football lager swilling yobs, the entertainment in the evening was very limited but it passed the evening whilst sitting on the terrace chatting to othe guests on the days activities.
The hotel also provided free internet acces and had a gift shop but the goods were very limited.
One of our trips was as everybody wants to do is to go to Pinnawela elephant sanctuary, as previously mentioned JAMBO arranged this for us.Leaving at 0530 in the morning as its approx 4.5 hours travel. The journey was broken by a visit to a pineapple garden and then the elephants. We wanted to wash,feed and bathe the elephants, you cant do this at Pinnawela but again JAMBO came through with a solution, this was what my partner had wanted to do and she was not displeased. On our return we stopped of at a local restaurent and had a lovely curry for lunch, not just any curry but this one contained 13 side dishes of local cuisine all for the cost of £3.50. The day after Jambo took us to a turtle sanctuary in BENTOTA in his tuk tuk an experience not to be missed. If you go there after dark you can assist in the release of turtles back in to the sea. he also took us to the gem museum where my partner bought a white golde and sapphire ring that was made within 24 hrs and brought to the hotel.
Would i recommend this hotel /Sri Lanka to other people most definately

2nd - 16th Sept 2008
We booked our holiday to Kani Lanka through Virgin Holidays and flew with Sri Lankan Airlines. The flight was good with attentive staff, good airline food and plenty of drinks. There was a reasonable choice of films and a good selection of games on board.
Colombo airport is a modern well run airport with plenty of outlets and helpful staff.
We were met at the airport by a private air conditioned taxi with a very friendly and knowledgeable driver. The transfer took two and a half hours which is basically down to traffic congestion ( too many tuk - tuks ) .
On arrival at the hotel we were met by the Virgin Rep and given a drink and refreshment towel both of which were very welcome.
We were informed that our room had been upgraded free of charge to a superior room from a standard. I cannot comment on the difference between the rooms but suffice to say, we were very pleased with our ground floor superior room with river view.
The hotel is set in a beautiful peaceful position on a peninsula with great views all around.
The pool area is well looked after and the boys will quickly sort you out with a sunbed, there are plenty of coconut trees if you like to get out of the sun.
There is volleyball, water volleyball, cricket and water aerobics organised by the two sports instructors they will even have a game of snooker with you.
We went half board and found this okay, the food is very good, all served buffet style with a tremendous choice. Also there are Sri Lankan, Mexican and barbeque theme nights.
We also booked up for the seafood night and although this cost extra it was a fabulous evening with all the tables and chefs cooking the food on the quay beside the lagoon.
We went on two trips, the first one to the turtle sanctury and the second a two day trip to Kandy, both trips we went with Fernando who is one of the beach boys. Both trips were half the price of the tour operators and we had an excellent time with the highlight, watching 70 elephants walking down to the river for bathing ( truly stunning ). Yes we were taken around some retail outlets, but at the end of the day you don't have to buy, we did and now have some lovely hand made momento's.
We are both well travelled and don't suffer bad service, we will tip for good service and can't see a problem with £5 a week for a room boy who picks flowers to lay out on your bed and keeps your room spick and span or a waiter that keeps your table clear and wine glass topped up.
All in all we had a very good holiday at the Kani Lanka and would recommend it.

Well here we go...After reading many a bad review and getting more and more dissapointed as the arrival of our holiday came closer and closer, as you can imagine me and my partner were very anxious about travelling to the Kani Lanka Hotel. Arriving in Sri Lanka we were immediatley met with what we expected, a porter requesting to locate our bags and take them to our transfer. We agreed and paid over the odds as a tip, but we didn't make the same mistake again. The journey to the hotel is quite a unpleasant one as you have to travel through the hustle and bustle of Columbo facing crazy Tuk-Tuk drivers and speeding lorries. Finally arriving at the hotel we felt we could start to relax and enjoy the holiday. We were greeted with flowers and a drink and then shown to our rooms. The rooms were very clean and tidy and we had a great view of the lagoon. We had no issue of the rooms being smelly as other reviews suggested. We did have an issue with the floor becoming wet which we soon realised was due to turning off the air-con. We overcame this by turning on the fan when the air-con was off. The first night we had dinner the food was great with alot to choose from and all being fresh. After an early night we started to really look forward to our stay at the Kani Lanka. Day 2, we met a few of the beach boys who offered there services for a few different tours and we ended up chatting with a chap called Lawrence. He was very friendly and showed us what he had to offer. Travelling with First Choice we were given the welcome meeting where our Rep Ananda gave his speech, this was the worst experience we have ever had to encounter. He referred to the trips as being products like it was one big sell for him. This completely put us off using First Choice, not to mention the costs of the trip were not cheap, bringing us back to
the beach boys. After meeting another couple, Claire & Tim who also mentioned they were looking to arrange a short trip we arranged a trip with Lawrence and Desmond the beach boys for the following Thursday. We then decided to book a trip for the approaching weekend but for three days, keeping the trip for the following week still booked. The next day or so was spent relaxing and enjoying the most of the hotel. The watersports centre offers kayak's and windsurfing included at no extra charge for All Inclusive. Well worth taking a Kayak out on the lagoon, quite an eye opener, and a great chance to take photos. The 3 day trip consisted of travelling up country to Sigiriya Rock then to Kandy and back through lush hillsides and waterfalls of Nuwara Eliya. This was easily the best experience of our lifetime. The beachboys were very helpful always stopping for photos and ensuring the Hotels were up to standards. I have to admit, yes you will be pestered and yes you will be expected to leave tips, but you have to remember if you can afford to travel half way across the world then you can afford to leave a few pounds tip. The guys had us scrambling across rivers to get to the bottom of waterfalls located in the middle of a jungle loaded with Cobra's, immense. So as the trip came to an end we decided to change our next weeks trip to a 1 night and two day trip instead of just the 1 day as we had such an experience on the 1st trip. Again this was a truly amazing experience. We travelled to Yala National Park which is not being offered through any of the travel agent's excursions, but if you're like us and realise that you have to make the most of these opportunites then it is well worth it. The Safari is out of this world. It takes around 5 hours to drive around and you are faced with all varieties of animals. We encountered Crocs, Vipers, Elephants, Monkeys, and loads more. The second day involved 3 boat trips and again beautiful views of what Sri Lanka has to offer. The Hotel itself was spectacular, the food was varied, the staff were very helpful and during the day, entertainment was readily available. Silva the entertainer is quite possibly one of the greatest guys I have ever met. And no he is not in it for the money. I think alot of the bad reviews have been made by guests that have simply used Sri Lanka and the Kani Lanka as a get away and a chance to relax by the pool. This is simply not the case. You will need to take advantage of the trips and see the sights otherwise you will feel bored. The reason we had such a fantastic time is we split up the 2 weeks with travelling then relaxing and not just spending all the time lounging by the pool. The weather was great, we had 1 night of rain on the first night then odd showers but we were very fortunate. All in all the holiday and the hotel was everything we had hoped for. Chances are we will never return to Sri Lanka as we feel we will never be able to top this experience. We hope this review helps at least one person as we really don't want people being put off. If you are an adventurous couple and want to explore then this is the place for you. Happy travelling, Lucy and Karl. P.s if you happen to meet another couple as pleasant as the couple we met and travelled with, it is well worth challenging them to a Tuk-Tuk race, we still think we won the race back to the Kandy Hotel, haha.

We stayed at the Kani Lanka for 2 weeks with friends and family.We were there to get married what a mistake! We imagined a beautifull beach wedding and a relaxing care free holiday not what we received.
Firstly they tried to put us with 2 children in a normal small room when we had paid for a tripple room, we had to argue to get the room we paid for not a good start! Then we were given half dead flowers, a bottle of wine and no cork screw and no fruit basket (bear in mind u pay for this in your wedding package!). Prior to this my husbands phone was pinched on the short walk between the coach and the lobby on arrival.
The staff are very rude i was insulted by a member of bar staff he basically called me fat (actually i aint really that big a 14), they tried to charge us for things in the mini bar we hadn't even had in it let alone consumed and forged my signature for them! They even tried charging for 2 extra people who didn't exist for our wedding night meal. They constantly pester u for tips and beggers stand on the beach round a white rope only a couple of meters from the pool and sun loungers begging all day!
The rooms do smell especially 449 (our room) it smelled of raw sewerage! You have to pay for ice cream for the kids and we were all inclusive!! There is very little entertainment at night and i agree with previous reviews you are treated second class to sri lankans they get priority over u! When they visit the food is better, the entertainment and they are allowed to wear t shirts in the pool we are not! As a result the kids got sun stroke despite sun cream!!
The important part- do not get married at the kani lanka, it is poorly organised my dad didn't give me away because of them! We had a mouthfull of wedding cake which we never saw again they charge for things u have already paid for and treat u like dirt. We had half dead flowers and not a clue what was going on at the ceremony. The photographs are poor!! And we had to pay £20 per head extra for everyone to eat with us on the night and was shoved in a pitch black corner no music like previous weddings no fairy lights like previous and freezing cold food and poor service!! STAY WELL AWAY!! There was 17 of us all together what a disapointment and it ruined my big day!!