I guess we arrived here a bit spoiled by what must be one of the best properties anywhere in the world, never mind Sri Lanka. After four days at the Reef Villa and Spa in Wadduwa, it was always going to be a hard act to follow.
But the good points. Location location location. Not because it is surrounded by lots of stuff to do (although there are some really lovely things to do, the best being a trip round Koggala Lake onto all the different islands). But because you can sit on your verandah and watch the jungle canopy come alive with monkeys, parakeets, wild peacocks and fireflies, whilst elsewhere you can spot mongooses, monitor lizards, water buffalo and who else knows what teeming wildlife.
The rooms my brother and I had were OK, a slight sense of glamour thought about a few years ago that might need a bit of a revisit. Although my brother's room was apparently very new, but not very finished. No screens on any open windows, and lots of bugs......Pity there was no tea and coffee making too - I didn't always feel ready to ask for tea in person early in the morning.
But the public areas are still really top notch. There is a lovely kind of general seating space for drinking, reading, lounging and looking at the beautiful view, open on all sides, which afforded the most magnificent view over Koggala Lake at sunset. The dining room, similarly open, was lovely too. Not quite so smitten with the pool, a bit concretey for me, but still nice to have it there.
George is definitely one of the highlights though. The owner/designer of the place, he is simply a Character, with a capital C. His stories are erudite, funny, wicked - I guess depending on what he feels his guests are up for listening to. There was one tale which Tripadvisor would probably censor that had me and my brother in tears from laughter.
And I have to say there was lots of helpfulness in getting us out and about. Linking up with a local tuk tuk driver, recommended by the hotel, was brilliant. And we were keen to get out, not least to eat. This is the only really sad thing I have to report, having read such brilliant reviews of the food. I think the regular chef might have been away................we had one evening meal out of a possible three and that was enough. It was OK but that was all. And lunches are a bit sporadic. On our arrival day we were given a lunch menu with some decent choices and got some nice food. The second day there was no lunch menu but we weren't sure why , but we were offered fish with saffron sauce and rocket. It wasn't good. When we asked for some bread, they said there wasn't any..........Now I know, from talking to George, that he sees this as a B & B, which is fair enough, but there might be something useful to do to make sure guests know what the deal is about lunch, being as it is a good 20 mins from anywhere else to eat.
However, don't get me wrong. We did arrive a bit spoiled. And this is a lovely place - I have never sat and watched wild peacocks before.. We don't have them in Somerset, England. George, you are great, but I think you may have taken your eye of this place just a little bit.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
