We stayed at the surf for 3 weeks all inclusive the last week of october till the 3rd week of november 2011 The weather was very good (sometimes to hot) The food excelent the hotel was always very clean. But without doubt the best thing was the service nothing was to much trouble We celebrated our 40th wedding aniversay there We were served a special meal and wine with no extra price charged All of the staff were fantastic but above them all was a waiter called Anura ( we called him simon) We will without doubt go back there as soon as we can

We were made to wait 1 hour at the lobby (with Mosquitos and all) while waiting for the reception staff to settle some administrative matters. They could have asked us to rest at one of the rooms (which was already confirmed) instead of taking one hour to talk about the pricing of the room with their head office. Guess what? The rate they quoted is was no difference from the one they quoted an hour ago.

We just travelled 7 hours from Amaya Hills Resort where the service was first class and the price of the room less than The Surf, yet the service of the staff at The Surf was unacceptable.

The rooms are clean but I had to shower with cold water one of the nights. To pay $167 USD for a third bed in the room (at Amaya, it was only 19 uSD) and not feeling welcomed and comfortable is quite a put off.

I highly recommend you check out neighboring resorts before choosing The Surf.

This hotel is very comfortable and the food is great although it does get repetitive after a while. We stayed for 3 weeks and thought we could use this hotel as a base so we could travel about, but unfortunately the railway was closed and the buses were mobbed so the tuk tuk drivers put up their prices. Be warned you need a lot of money, if we hadn't been all inclusive we couldn't have afforded to eat and drink at the hotel and there is no nightlife, nothing , the only thing you can do for a change is to go and visit the other 3 hotels in this resort.
We did find a tuk tuk driver who took us to hikkaduwa for 1000 rupees @ £6, they will take you to a spice garden first, take the free massage and bung them a couple of quidm but don;t buy anythng you can get everything cheaper in the supermarkets. A visit to the turtle farm is only 300 rupees and you might get to hold the babies.
Whatever you do don't pay for a glass bottom boat ride at mamas they charged us 3000 rupees for 20 mins then tried to get more money when we got off, greedy greedy
All the trips are expensive and everything is so far away you need to go overnight, I would suggest organzing everything yourself , speak to the taxi drivers , make sure you get one that speaks good english and can communicate and ask for basic accomodation coz they will take you to a luxury hotel if you don;'t.. We booked Yala National Park though the comos rep and our driver couldn't speak English, it was a disaster. Remember they will tell you anything just to get your money so take everything with a pinch of salt.Oh and some of them expect tips just for sayng hello.
We had no problem with mozzies but sandfiles are a nightmare, so be careful , the locals suggested a lemon balm and you can get this at the chemist. It sounds quite down this review but it really wasn't bad just not what we expected. Goa is much better.

We stayed 2 weeks on all inclusive basis, in this hotel. It was earlier this year reopened so everything is fresh, new, clean. Nice decorated rooms, walk-in shower, aircon, comfy beds, flatscreen tv with bbc world service and hbo among others, balcony or terrace all with seaview. At this moment (dec 2011) 55 rooms are available, but they are still working on an extension of the hotel, will be ready in 2012 i guess. The hotel has at this moment 1 large restaurant, with enough space for all the guests. In the to be opened part there will be a a la carte restaurant, so buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner is the only option; quality of the food is excellent. In front of the hotel there is a large garden with new sunbeds, a swimming pool and childrens' pool (with a sort of jacuzzi). And where the garden ends, the white sandy beach starts. There are some squirrels in the garden and one ortwo friendly large lizzards. The hotel has guards 24 h. Wifi is not available yet, but you can get a cable to connect in the lounge. There are a few restaurants nearby if you don't want the buffets daily. It is really a place where you can relax and rest; Bentota is not a place for shopping or going out.