Aman picked us up for the 2 hour drive to Amanwella. Much of the drive is along the coast and is very scenic. We saw the fishermen on stilts, who are not actually fishermen and become aggressive if you don't immediately hand over the cash - tourist nonsense.

I have very mixed feelings about Amanwella. The beach is really stunning. A perfect crescent of sand backed by dense palm trees and clear turquoise water. A real tropical paradise. The service from the beach boys at the palm grove is spot on. They watch over you when you are swimming as the waves are sometimes fairly large, but I was able to swim every day without any problems. The views from the public areas are fantastic and the staff everywhere are very friendly and helpful.

We stayed in pavilion number 113 which is very private as it is almost the furthest away from the main building and it is also raised up quite high above the beach. There are now doors at the entrances to the pavilions so you can use the small plunge pools without being seen. The pavilions in the row nearest to the main building are not private at all (101 to 105 I think) and 101 and 102 seem to have vegetation growing right in front of them meaning hardly any view at all. They were being used as spa treatment rooms when we stayed but I think at times of full occupancy are sold to guests - I would not be happy at all.

My main issue with our pavilion is that it was nowhere near cool enough. There is only one aircon unit which is in the bedroom, meaning that the bathroom is not cooled at all. We complained several times and were shown different rooms, but they were all similar. We were shown another room further up the hill which had been renovated, I think 305, and that seemed cooler, but it was a downgrade from our Ocean Suite. I know that renovations to all of the units are being carried out in May, so this may no longer be an issue. The shutters are also almost useless as they do not shut out any light at all. You need to sleep with an eye mask, otherwise you will be woken up at 6am. On the last night we had to be moved because there were issues with the drains in our room. We were moved to 110 where we liked the view less as the fishermen seem to have set up a messy looking structure on the beach below. I think 111 next door may have the best views overall.

There are similar design issues with the main buildings in that it is not possible to eat outside at the main restaurant at lunch time because there is no shade and there are no umbrellas. Similarly the main pool cannot be used after about 3pm unless you don't mind full sun, as the umbrellas cannot be moved. The main pool is also incredibly hot, whereas the beach is breezy. The grounds showed some signs of a lack of maintenance. Loose tiles at the main pool and rust on the pavilions.

Food was good at breakfast but otherwise lacklustre and needs a re-think. We liked the look of the beach club for lunch, but the limited menu was disappointing. The head chef would often talk to us about preparing something special but when we asked him for suggestions he seemed to struggle.

The manager Filipe understands the issues and I am sure they will be addressed now that Sean F has arrived. While it's one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka, Amanwella needs a lot of work to be in the same league as Amanpuri or Amanoi and I am not sure I would go back until there are changes. I would note that we were well compensated for the issues that we experienced and Aman behaved very fairly in this respect.