Great Accomodation on Southern Beaches

Hello,

I have been to Mirissa and Tangalle twice and loved both.

I was in Mirissa for new year 07 and it was busier than when I was last there (August 2004) but was still really pretty and had a laid back, friendly atmosphere. I didn't think the beach was any more littered than any other beach I have been on (it helps if tourists don't leave fag butts on the beach please!) and the road is only near the beach right at the end - and it's really not the busiest road in the world anyway.

The first time we stayed, we were at Paradise Club and had a bungalow in a lovely garden with views of the sea. It suffered severe damage in the tsunami though and hadn't been properly rebuilt by last Dec although it may now be open.

Last time, we were at the newly-opened The Palace. It has a beautiful setting and our bungalow had the most gorgeous view out to sea (nothing between our balcony and the sea view). I still dream of that view. The pool and the gardens were lovely too. However, there were a number of problems with the service so I would check that these are ironed out before you stay there.

1. The evening food wasn't amazing and rather than do some nice simple curries or seafood well they did more complicated food badly. One of our friends who lives in Sri Lanka was a vegetarian and had real problems getting them to feed him something nice. That's pretty weird in Sri Lanka as many people are vegetarians.

2. The restaurant didn't have any tables outside on the veranda/garden bit, even though the setting is beautiful and all you want to do is sit outside and look out to sea amongst the fireflies. The interior of the restaurant was far too brightly lit, they didn't open all the doors onto the veranda area (where everyone wanted to eat), and they always had the TV blaring - not very atmospheric for holidaymakers. We were told consistently by the management and staff that 'we weren't allowed' to have tables outside. The manager was militant about this. We insisted on having tables outside and caused a mutiny amongst the guests who had submitted to their insistence that they 'had to' sit inside. In all the time I have been in Sri Lanka I never once been forced to eat inside - in fact most hotels and guesthouses are set up so you can eat outside, even the ones up in the hill country.

3. They had problems with their licensing and each person told us something different about this. For example, there was no cocktail menu at the bar (most beachside mid-range hotels have great cocktails based on local ingredients) and the barman told me that this was because they didn't have a license yet. When I asked the manager he said it was because the barman didn't know how to make cocktails. At dinner, there was a wine menu but this was all a bit cloak and dagger and the wine was stashed up near the hotel gates - again this was apparently because they didn't have their license yet but the manager said the staff couldn't be trusted with the alcohol. So this meant that if you wanted some wine, your poor waiter had to make a massive uphill trip for you. We ended up doing it for him.

4. They didn't offer a laundry service and the manager directed us to the local laundrette instead!

Basically it's a lovely setting but has terrible management - but that may have changed by now. We ended up tipping the staff massively as their manager was so horrible to us and to them so we felt sorry for anyone that worked there. I've stayed in tiny family guesthouses and very smart boutique hotels in Sri Lanka and always received great service and a warm welcome. At the Palace the manager really made us feel like we were there on sufferance.

Anyway, far too much info! There are also lots of nice simple guesthouses on the beach that you could check out too.

In Tangalle, I've stayed at Ganesh Garden which is fantastically good value in a wonderful isolated setting with great staff (No more than $12 dollars for double room with bath and balcony). Food was good too. Would recommend it highly although the beach isn't great for swimming as it is quite dangerous.

I've also stayed at Palm Paradise Cabanas at the other end of Tangalle. This is a very efficient and pretty place, but the small private beach was a bit claustrophobic after the expanse near Ganesh. From here, you can walk round to Silent Beach (I think that's the name) which is a beautiful big beach with fantastic sunsets. The only hotel there is an Aman hotel, so very expensive, but you can still use the beach even directly in front of the swanky hotel (very tastefully done, blends into the trees etc) or walk on further past the hotel.

I would check out the following websites for villa and hotels:
www.i-escape.com<BR>www.boutiquesrilanka.com<BR>wwww.reddottours.com<BR><BR>Have a great trip. It's a beautiful place.

e

thanks for all those replies
very helpful indeed

hopefully they will have sorted out those issues mentioned at the Palace. I can't find any reviews anywhere so looks like we'll have to chance it...

thanks again

Well, maybe you can contact the Palace. Obvioulsy? one cannot ask does the management stink but you could ask about the license and the eating outside. If they are positive print the email and bring it with you.