“A total relaxing holiday at a great hotel. ”

My wife and I recently returned from a wonderful 15 night stay at The Pandanus Beach Resort & Spa. Where to begin.... The Hotel is well positioned on a gorgeous very clean beach. Where there are plenty of sunbeds under sun shades or gently swaying coconut palm trees and near to the pool bar. The se… more

My wife and I recently returned from a wonderful 15 night stay at The Pandanus Beach Resort & Spa. Where to begin.... The Hotel is well positioned on a gorgeous very clean beach. Where there are plenty of sunbeds under sun shades or gently swaying coconut palm trees and near to the pool bar. The sea was beautifully warm, with the hotel providing life guards as a precaution for the sea as well as the fabulous swimming pool. The pool was one of the longest we have ever experienced... and always clean. The Hotel is spotlessly clean and very well run in all departments.... We have never received such a warm welcome and service during our stay as we did here.... Our room was a superior room, which was very spacious with large balcony, bathroom and plenty of storage, which makes a change... Most evenings on returning to our room we would find an animal, turtle etc made up out of towels on our bed and surrounded with hibiscus flowers and leaves... such a lovely touch. We were on an all inclusive package, which worked very well for us.... Bar staff were very attentive and efficient.... The dining room was well set out and never overcrowded... There was an excellent selection of food for all tastes. Very well set arranged, decorated, and extremely appetising. The Chefs and kitchen staff as well as the waiters, always had a smile on their faces and served all guests very efficiently. If you wanted a particular dish or sauce that wasn't present, you only had to ask, and they would do their best to provide it. We did go out on a number of excursions: a river safari up the Bentota river, day in the tropical rainforest which was fascinating, visit to a tea plantation with a delicious traditional meal with homemade tea, coffee and fudge.... delicious followed by a swim in a river pool with a water fall, and a visit to The Sunami Museum.... a must to realise the devastation it caused. These were arranged by a man on the beach called Indika who gave us first class service and spoke at least 4 languages. There is a railway station close by with trains to Colombo and Galle... Certainly worth a ride as the fares are very reasonable. All in all the Hotel and all its staff from the security guards, pool and beach attendants, bell boys, kitchen staff, waiters, bar staff, maintenance, front desk, two delightful managers and lastly the staff who cleaned our room every day - hope I haven't missed any department... If I have apologies. It would be unfair to mention any by name as they all did such an excellent job in ensuring we had a everything we needed, and were very much appreciated by us, which really made our holiday so special!! There was evening entertainment most evenings on the large verrand, we especially loved a trio where the lead singer played the fiddle and whistled.... Was so beautiful and relaxing to listen to. We definitely recommend this hotel and will certainly return. What a special place Sri Lanka is, and especially this hotel.

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“Extremely good service”

The staff could not have tried harder to please. We felt genuinely welcome. The restaurant has a wide variety of food on offer, a lot of European. That was not what I was there for. As this was our last stop before home we had got used to certain dishes. When I was asked if I was happy with the fo… more

The staff could not have tried harder to please. We felt genuinely welcome. The restaurant has a wide variety of food on offer, a lot of European. That was not what I was there for. As this was our last stop before home we had got used to certain dishes. When I was asked if I was happy with the food or was I needing something I mentioned the missing curd which was regularly on offer in our other hotels. No problem, said chef, I can get you curd. And it then arrived at our table on request! So kind. The hotel is rather remote from anywhere else so beware.

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“Paradise”

Our first time to Sri Lanka, we chose the Pandanus for our stay at the beginning of January and had an amazing time. We had a room with a sea view and balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean and never tired of the view, beautiful sunsets or hearing the waves at any time of day or night. From the mom… more

Our first time to Sri Lanka, we chose the Pandanus for our stay at the beginning of January and had an amazing time. We had a room with a sea view and balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean and never tired of the view, beautiful sunsets or hearing the waves at any time of day or night. From the moment we arrived, we were met by smiling, kind, friendly and professional staff and during our stay we never encountered anyone who behaved otherwise. Nothing was ever too much trouble and if you had a request it was dealt with immediately (the safe in our room needed attention halfway during our stay as it needed a new battery). The food was absolutely delicious and it varied on a daily basis - it was especially lovely to see the different chef’s come into the buffet area and chat with guests! We took advantage of the seven course sea food dinner, served to us on the beach by candlelight, for an additional amount of money as we were all inclusive - it was delicious and I’d highly recommend. Tharalga put so much effort ensuring that we had an unforgettable experience even down to the beautiful decoration on the table. I have never experienced such amazing hospitality before or met such kind and smiling, friendly staff who helped to make our holiday unforgettable. I am unable to remember many names but I would like to say a huge thank you to Tharalga, Dilip, Isuru. We rarely go back to the same hotel but will certainly make an exception with the Pandanus! I highly recommend.

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“Not a repeater for me”

There are a lot of pluses at the Pandanus - spacious rooms, well maintained and cleaned, (my cleaner was lovely and very attentive) all with sea view, hygiene and cleanliness were excellent, beautiful beach, clean and plenty of sunbeds (though many guests were out with their towels very early to r… more

There are a lot of pluses at the Pandanus - spacious rooms, well maintained and cleaned, (my cleaner was lovely and very attentive) all with sea view, hygiene and cleanliness were excellent, beautiful beach, clean and plenty of sunbeds (though many guests were out with their towels very early to reserve their favoured spots). The beach attendants were helpful and the reception staff attentive and gave good service. There was entertainment every evening outside (with the smokers and the mosquitoes) and live music in the restaurant at some meal times (a little loud for me). The gym is small but the equipment all works and enabled me to have a good pre breakfast work out. I also did ‘yoga’ with the gym attendant some afternoons which incorporated some yoga/pilates and although it was different I enjoyed it. I used the spa for massages and the masseuse is excellent. I had the Asian one which is described as ‘strong’. The hotel gave me a breakfast bag when I left very early for my flight and ensured my case was brought down to reception which was a nice touch. However I did not find the food appealing to my taste and much of it is rich for anyone with a sensitive digestion. The breads and pastries were excellent, the salads were repetitive. A lot of work had been given to presentation. I liked that oat porridge was available for breakfast most mornings, but on two occasions it was like hot milk with a few grains of oats in it. There was always fresh fruit at every meal. Whilst service in most areas of the hotel was very good, I found the bar and restaurant staff were not always attentive, twice I was overlooked for a drink in the restaurant and several times was half way through my meal before I was served. The restaurant was not busy during the times I ate. The filter coffee was not maintained adequately and the bottom 1/3 of the pots was undrinkable. There was no schedule of daily animation. What was offered (as far as I know two aqua gym and two darts sessions in 14 days plus a few sessions of yoga. It was random and seemed ad hoc. I knew the all inclusive drinks were limited before I went but not to offer diet drinks as part of AI is not satisfactory, neither is serving instant coffee in the lobby bar and very limited snacks. The wifi was spotty and I had to repeatedly log in during the day on all devices which was annoying. Five times I had to ask for reception to open the gym attendant 7 am when it is supposed to open. Whilst the ‘cons’ might all be considered minor in nature, (apart from inconsistent service which I think needs addressing), an accumulation of niggles, some of which I have not mentioned, mean that I could not give more than four stars. Compared to other all inclusive hotels I have stayed in, in my view this hotel is offering full board with a limited drink offering. Hotel preferences are personal and many people love the hotel but it wasn’t for me I am afraid. I do appreciate that the management are working hard to provide good service and I did having a relaxing holiday.

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