We booked this guesthouse for 5 nights directly with the owner as it was rated the number 1 guesthouse in Kandy on Tripadvisor, but I have to say that we were pretty disappointed on arrival, as were the other 2 parties staying there.

I feel a bit bad writing this as the staff were very sweet and friendly, but as I use Tripadvisor as a tool for opinions for booking my accommodation, I feel I should pass this on.

We had booked the guesthouse on the premise that we could use the pool. The pool, however, is not situated at the guesthouse, but was a short drive away. The pictures on the website are off the apartment, which is more expensive, and not of the guesthouse. The room was clean, but the mattress and the pillows smelt - maybe damp, I wasn't quite sure. The bathroom had a glass door by the toilet which was by the communal lounge/eating area. It was opaque - but still a bit offputting as we didn't know the other guests staying there! The toilet also leaked, and they put lots of those funny urinal balls on the floor, in the sink and in the shower to cover up the smell.The breakfast was cold. I'm not sure if they cooked it the night before, but we had cold toast, cold omelettes and cold fried eggs! This became a running joke - but nobody ate very much of it - or asked for it to be reheated in the microwave. Reheated fried eggs aren't great...!

We also got charged 20% on top of our bill at the end of our stay for tax and service. We have been used to being charged that on food, but not one other accommodation I have stayed in during my travels have done that - and as I am away for 5 months and working to a strict budget it was somewhat unexpected and not great news!!

The guesthouse was about a 15/20 minute walk from town - situated at the other end of the lake - slightly longer back as it's up a hill, but a very pleasant walk. However, none of the tuk-tuk drivers have heard of it, so I would keep the address with you as the language barrier is sometimes difficult when issuing directions! We almost got dropped at the stations once...stay-chun sounds like days-inn...!

The BEST bit was that there were loads of monkeys playing arounnd everyday!

I don't want to put anyone off - it was an absolutely OK experience - the room was fine, the food was not good, but it is dirt cheap to eat in town - I just wanted to portray my view as the other ratings were, I believe, painting too good an impression of the guesthouse.