The most valuable thing about this hotel is its owners and the people who work in it. They are all very involved and make every effort to provide the best possible service. They selflessly try to provide a comfortable stay for their guests. They show so much care and attention that sometimes it becomes awkward and it seems that you don't deserve such a respectful attitude towards yourself. Here you are treated not as a source of money, but as a member of the family. This can be seen in everything, starting from daily short conversations at a meeting and ending with catering and tours, as well as solving non-standard issues. And the owners themselves and their children live here, so in any case, you resist with their way of life. If you have asked for help or told us about your plans, be sure that these guys will do everything possible to get what you want. About Ambalangoda. There's not much to compare it with, this is our first time in Sri Lanka, and besides Ambalangoda, we only had a chance to wander around Hikkaduwa on our own. The conclusions are as follows: if you are looking for a wide variety of restaurants, shops, entertainment, like noise and night fun, and you are not bothered by a large number of people and pestering sellers on the beach, then Hikkaduwa is most likely more suitable for you. If you need a spacious, clean beach with almost no people and you like a more measured and relaxing holiday, then Ambalangoda is for you. There aren't many establishments here, cheaper accommodation, and a great beach. There are also disadvantages, of course: dirty and noisy streets, which are difficult to walk along during daylight hours, there are a lot of people and vehicles, and the sun, stuffiness and smell are very oppressive. But when you get to the beach, all the negativity is left behind. Hikka also has a lot of garbage and unpleasant odors in places, but at least the main street is much cleaner. About the hotel. When choosing a hotel, we saw many options with 2-3 stars, with beautiful pictures and a high price, but in the reviews many wrote about the abundance of mosquitoes, fleas and cockroaches, about mold on the walls, windows, bathroom and toilet, about dirty linens and questionable staff. Therefore, it was important for us to choose a hotel that would not spoil our vacation experience. We had enough beds, a bathroom, and an air conditioner for comfort, but the most important thing was that it was all clean, free of mold and insects. In general, to avoid unsanitary conditions and stuffiness. In the reviews of Italia Hotel, we saw a lot of good things about the owners, but at the same time we saw the disadvantages of the hotel itself. Therefore, in general, we understood what we were doing in terms of comfort by booking accommodation here. The hotel itself generally meets our expectations, it is really clean and comfortable, there is everything you need. The bathroom leaves much to be desired: the shower stalls are tired, there is mold in places, broken parts, rust. We lived in two rooms (we moved out of the first one because the shower water didn't drain well there), and in both rooms the shower condition was the same. It would not hurt to update the bed linen, it is clean, washed, but over the years of use, it still leaves traces that cannot be removed. But in terms of unsanitary conditions, mold on the walls and insects, everything was fine. The walls are clean, there is no mold, the only insects are small house ants that come to the smell of fruits, which we ourselves leave in the rooms, but they do not interfere in any way. A large local tragic cockroach was seen in one room. But these are not the red-haired cockroaches that breed in dirty places and need to be etched out with chemicals; as I understand it, these local cockroaches roam alone and crawl into random places. I saw the same cockroach in a clean restaurant and a clean tour bus. In general, we treated him as a representative of the local fauna, and not as an indicator of unsanitary conditions. We've also come to terms with the condition of the showers, which is a small compromise compared to all the other advantages we've received. It seems that the owners are gradually updating the rooms (this can be seen from the air conditioners and water heaters), so I hope that the showers will be put in order. Then the hotel will be perfect. About nutrition. We bought a tour without meals. We checked into the hotel late in the evening, when the shops were already closed, and we had not yet had time to explore the local restaurants. Actually, when we were going on vacation, our tour operator sent us information that in Sri Lanka shops and restaurants close at 18:00, but this is not the case, many of them work until 22-23. But we didn't know that on the first day, we were very tired and thought we'd be hungry until morning. But the owner of the hotel (Upul) took us for free on his tuk-tuk to his second hotel (Italia beach), where the kitchen was still working. There we were heartily fed delicious fried noodles with shrimp for a nominal amount, and also treated to free desserts. As we later found out, the kitchen never closes by the clock at all, they are ready to work until the last visitor. Over the next few days, we often came to eat in this place. Compared to other restaurants in Anbalangoda and Hikkaduwa that we visited, the cuisine at Italia beach seemed to us to be an ideal place in terms of price, quality and comfort: you can eat delicious food here, lie under palm trees on sun beds (for free), and walk on the beach, and swim in the ocean, and socialize with local fishermen. Of course, there are many other good places in Ambalangoda where delicious food is served and where you can combine food and swimming in the ocean, so we chose several restaurants we liked and took turns going to them. Every time we tried to order something new, but sooner or later we came across something tasteless or unreasonably expensive. Italia beach is probably the only place where everything was delicious! And the price was reasonable. Every meal was like a celebration, the dishes were always beautifully decorated and professionally served. And on New Year's Eve, we had a big belly feast, where for 3,000 rupees (in some restaurants this is the price of one dish) we received a buffet and so much varied and delicious food that we ate it for two days. Tips are not a pity for these guys. In addition, local residents came to celebrate the New Year with us: the family and friends of the hotel owner. They staged national songs and dances, and surprised us with their playing of national percussion instruments. The celebration ended with a big fireworks display. We felt like we were part of one big family. And the next day we had a free breakfast with a wide variety of local dishes. About the owners. As I have already written, they are the sweetest and most caring people. This can also be seen in the previous blocks. But in this section I will tell you about a few more moments that surprised and touched us and for which we are grateful. 1. Upul often took us for free on a tuk-tuk between his two hotels to eat and back. 2. We were treated to fruits. 3. One day, Upul took me to the local fruit market, which we had never seen ourselves, although we often walked by. There he helped to choose good fruits at a lower price. 4. Upul organized a tour to the Sinharaja Forest for us and went with us. The price of the tour was lower than that of other tour operators, while the tour was individual. After Sinharaja, he took us to the Big Buddha Temple and showed us the elephant. 5. On the day of departure, we left for the flight early in the morning and would not have had time to have a full breakfast. Upul and his wife gave us a free breakfast with them, although it was not included in the room rate. They also gave us fruits, which we were able to take home to Russia.

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Евгения Анкудинова

Level 6 Local Expert

So-so, to spend a few nights, yes. There is no refrigerator in the room, air conditioning is paid, cleaning is only on request. It's not very long, the beach is 800 meters away, the beach is small and dirty, there are a lot of fishermen on boats who smoke and drink in the morning at sea in the afternoon under palm trees in the shade. Swimming is not comfortable, the smell of gasoline and garbage on the beach. The hotel has a second building right next to the beach, where you can lie on a sun lounger, but it's not very comfortable there. We went to other beaches in Hikkaduwa or Bentota.

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