We stayed at this hotel in January 2025. The hotel was very pleasant and the staff was quiet and friendly and helpful. There are not many tourists in the modern hotel, you can swim in the pool around the clock) The only food in the hotel was monotonous, so we ate lunch and dinner over the fence from the hotel Fishing Cafe. A family of Fishermen, Suga's son catches the freshest fish and seafood, his mother and brother cook delicious dishes.🔥🔥🔥 Moreover, at very budget prices, You should never take excursions from the Nova Gida hotel. It was our mistake. We bought excursions for $ 130, and Sugata's brother Anna sells for $65. The water is the biggest disadvantage of our vacation. Overall, we are very satisfied, and we plan to definitely return.
A good hotel, large rooms, the three of us lived together-there is enough space. A big minus is cleaning, they only wash the center of the room without looking under the beds. We took breakfast/dinner - the food was varied and delicious. Sometimes live music was played in the evenings - even Russian songs were sung. The staff speaks English and there are a couple of people who know a little Russian. They steal cigarettes a little-it's a good way for them to earn extra money. There are tuk-tuks at the hotel, very convenient, but you have to bargain. To get to the center of Kalutara- 500 rupees is a good round trip price. There are lifeguards on the beach, but it does not belong to the hotel, the local mafia works there, if you quarrel with them, you will be forbidden to swim in the ocean and spoil your rest days, so it is better not to communicate with them at all.
Just returned from vacation, 18 nights with breakfast and dinner. We visited Sri Lanka for the first time.
The hotel is for a family relaxing holiday. The area near the city of Kalutara.
By food: breakfast (7:30-9:30) and dinner (19:30-21:30) were enough for us, in the afternoon we snacked on fruits from the supermarket and the market (take a mango knife with you), tea / coffee/ water are replenished daily in the room (there is an electric kettle, mugs / spoons). I didn't want to have lunch in the heat at all. Who bought lunches or "all inclusive" went without much desire)). And those who bought only breakfasts regretted the dinners.
They cook well, sometimes everything is delicious, sometimes you can do with vegetables. Soup is always for dinner, once there was even borscht). Shrimp and squid every day. Chicken and fish super spice! Barbecue every day. Desserts are also normal, pineapples and papaya.
I liked the service in the restaurant, the helpful, efficient, polite, smiling guys.
They make great smoothies at the bar, and alcoholic cocktails seem to be good.
A small beautiful heron arrives for breakfast. A monitor lizard ~ 50 cm in length lives on the territory - a local landmark.
A trio of musicians with a lounge repertoire performs at the weekend - we liked it.
The hotel itself is tired, the walls are sad. There is nothing on the roof (there are tables and chairs in the advertisement) - only "weeds". But no one prevents you from taking cool photos there against the background of the ocean in the evening!
The gym is open, but there are very few athletes, so there is no air conditioning, only a fan.
Room cleaning is poor, plumbing and linen too. If the room is "with a sea view", then the sun shines through the windows in the afternoon, morning and evening on the balcony is pleasant. If "with a view of the garden", then you meet the morning with a beautiful sunrise and the rumble of trains.
Take an extension cord with a tee with you, we had only one outlet at the mirror at 220v, and all the phones were charged there. Someone takes an adapter, but we didn't need it - you just use a triple outlet like a double one. There was not enough tension in the bathroom for our hair dryer.
The refrigerator is working, and the mini-freezer is also working. The safe is fine. If anything, they fix it quickly.
They always update soaps/shampoos/gels/conditioners/tual.paper/towels in any quantity.
Almost all the rooms are the same, at least one lives, at least three. A large double bed and an extra bed on wheels will be added.
The pool is clean, almost hot, perfect, the tiles need major cleaning. Since there are not many guests, there are enough sun beds, towels are brought immediately. According to the rules of the hotel, you can swim in it until 19:00, but usually they swim at least as much, and under the stars too. Moreover, the heat is both day and night. Sometimes it rained tropically, at this time the water in the pool gets even hotter - it's amazing!
The sea is nearby, 10 meters behind a glass fence, muddy, the sand is not white, but there are no other tourists. But there are local sellers of "everything" - excursions, cocktails, and clothes.
For the sand and the sea, they go to Bentota and Unawatuna beaches. There were no cows or dogs on the beach. There are dogs in the village itself, if you move away from the main highway, you immediately find yourself in the village silence, there they can quickly get together in packs and surround us - one day we could not reach the temple, they drove us away)).
Mosquitoes - yes! Big, confident. As soon as the sun starts hiding ~ 17h, they're right there. In 18 days, my daughter and I spent 2.5 bottles of sprays. They weren't in the room, we didn't open the windows.
Since the hotel is very small, no one bothers anyone, even in the pool. All speakers of the same language instantly begin to communicate together, have dinner at large tables, cooperate on excursions. There are large arrivals of tourists, but not always.
The hotel has Wi-Fi, they give you a personal password, but it's better to take a SIM card at the airport.
The staff does not speak Russian, Yandex translator with offline mode will help you!) At the reception, they immediately start a chat with you on WhatsApp, a very convenient system.
Keels Chain market is a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Alcohol market in Kalutara, it's a long walk.
The Google maps application will bring you even on foot, even by transport. We drove through it on a crazy bass - an unforgettable experience! And quite inexpensive. There is one road from Colombo to Galle along the ocean line, all major buses travel along it, you can get directly to any beach (including the Turtle Beach in Hikkaduwa with giant turtles).
The main hangouts and concentration of Russian-speaking tourists in Galle (Unawatuna beach) is a complete analogue of Anapa))
The tour was taken through a Tez tour, they do not have hotel guides in Sri Lanka. For the first time, the vacation was without a meeting with a guide, but we quickly figured everything out.
I wish you all a wonderful vacation!