Had two weeks at the Dolphin at the beginning of January and it was wonderful. The villa was well appointed and cleaned every day with fresh towels and flowers on the bed. Bottled water is supplied (2) every day as well as tea, coffee and coffee-mate. There was always something
for everyone on the menu in the dining room though after 2 weeks I think I was tiring of it. Drinks are ok but no wine is included. For the energetic there are several activities during the day including bowls, darts, archery, croquet and volleyball. All are played for fun in a way that suits everyone. All these go on around the large pool where the majority of people are and music is on all day. For those who want it quieter there is the quiet pool to relax in peace.
There is no shortage of sunbeds and parasols and towels are provided by the pool boys so you don't have to bring them from your room. The beach is nice but we found the sea quiet rough with a strong pull though some people chanced it and I saw three older women having to be pulled out after getting into difficulties. We went on a canal trip and a two day trip to the elephant orphanage (an absolute must) and Kandy, Dambulla and Sigirya with Aitken Spence and an excellent guide called Sihan. Lastly I must give a big up to the staff of the hotel, the reception staff couldn't have been more helpful when I had left something on the plane, they made phonecalls to the airline and the airport for me. All the restaurant staff are on the ball for drinks and clearing dirty dishes and are pleasant and chatty. The animators who run all the activities are brilliant and make every effort to get people involved so well done Pali, Johnny, Lala, Chatu, Kandy and apologies to those I haven't mentioned. Thank you all for making our holiday a memorable one.

what a lovely place to stay, nothing to much trouble for the staff, the room was so clean and the boys so friendly , did not get any mosy bites, took plugins but they were provided by the hotel, no bad stomachs, food was good,the only thing if you eat by the pools outside we were put off by the flys, i went to the maldives first and was not looking forward to sri lanka , all i can say is i loved it and would love to return.

We stayed for the Christmas and New Year, both specials evenings had exceptional buffet meals and entertainment, we stayed in a bungalow on the frontline of the beach which was spotlessly clean and comfortable, the hotel and grounds were beautiful staff second to none friendly and helpful. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with cheery friendly people we went on a trip to the north of the island it was amazing seeing elephants and monkeys in their natural environment, we saw wonderful countryside and carvings that were 1500 years old, well worth a visit. All in all we had a fantastic holiday met great people and lots of fun but....

I have a few gripes about the hotel this was definitely not an all inclusive when we first arrived we drank the cocktails but they were really boring and not to our taste we usually only drink wine this worked out expensive at £16 a bottle for bad wine from chilii, we went to Apprico (not sure of spelling) supermarket in town for our supply which we drank at the bar each night, we were told if we took it into the restaurant tp drink we would have to pay corkage, you also had to pay extra for the Al La Carte restaurant and even pizza.
The curries had a good selection and hot, the buffet food was plentiful and varied but nine times out of ten it was cold, there were huge silver bai marie’s with small porcelain dishes in then that never seemed to heat up. For someone with a sweet tooth there was a whole chilled room of scrumpcious deserts to choose from.
There is nowhere to go for a walk outside the hotel the hotel is in a dead end the road to town is quite dangerous, to get a change of scenery you we had to get a taxi to Nagombo which was mich more lively with bars and restaurants.
While we were at the hotel there were so many events from outside like weddings and coming home from honeymoon parties we were wondering it is was a wedding venue or holiday hotel, a few days of our holiday we were almost shoved out of our sun beds in the quiet pool area to make way for tables for a wedding.
The music in the bar in the evening was a bit hit and miss to me someone playing as flute was a bit shall we say boring, on the odd nights there was a live band it was great.

I would definately go to Sri lanka again but try another area and resort with perhaps a bit more life..

Stayed here the above dates following an 11 night stay at the Kani Lanka. Was very impressed with hotel, staff and location. Staff, friendly, pleasant and helpful. Animation team brilliant, they kept my daughter entertained and motivated all the holiday (particular thanks to Sonny :). Food plentiful with enough choices. Room was pleasant (306) Sea view also looking over large pool.