bgraff

my wife and I just completed a 4 night stay at Amangalla. After spending a few days in Colombo (not particularly interesting), we REALLY enjoyed Galle. The hotel is very nice (albeit old), and the service is fantastic. We met the GM, Sean, and his staff really does a great job with the guests. We were there over Chinese New Year, so pretty crowded, but they also did some special events for the guests.

1) The (included) breakfast was really fantastic... you can enjoy it anywhere, and the menu was varied and well prepared.

2) They did 2 or 3 room cleanings per day... Really top notch on cleanliness. The standard rooms are a little small. Not bad if you dont spend much time there, but if you want to relax in your room, i suggest upgrading to a larger suite.

3) the hydro rooms are COOL. They have 2 private rooms you can reserve for 1-2 hours... It has their own jetted tub, cold plunge pool, sauna, and steam room... and 2 showers and bathroom. My wife and i booked it every afternoon for an hour - awesome to do before evening drinks/dinner.

4) lots of great restaurants in Galle. We had very good (and cheap) dinners all 4 nights...

5) We did a private blue whale watching trip. We booked one online for about $450 for 2 of us. It was efficient - started 10am and back by 1pm. We saw the same whale about 4 or 5 times... It was cool, but not sure it was worth a day and $450. There are normally 30-50 boats all surrounding the same whale in the early mornings...

6) I did the (included) yoga at Amangalla one day and should have done it more. There were only 2 of us in the class, and it was one of the best "resort" yoga classes i have done. Kudo's to the team.

7) my wife did a massage at the spa and really enjoyed it... You can save money and do treatments at Spa Ceylon about 3 blocks away in addition. About $50/hour at Spa Ceylon and $100/hour at Amangalla.

8) Afternoon tea (included) at the Aman was also great.... Tea, service, and biscuits made a great afternoon activity

9) they do NOT have a fitness center at the hotel, but they directed me to the Jetwing Lighthouse Hotel. It is about 7 min by tuktuk from the hotel. I would suggest they figure out how to have a small fitness room in the hotel, but if not, but should have a program to allow guests to use the Jetwing hotel gym complimentary. It cost about $8/day plus $5 for the tuk-tuk. Not expensive, but a hassle...