Gorky Park Villa

My bathroom was dirty and the shower was broken. The place is closer to 150m from the beach, not the 50m stated. Being near the train tracks meant I was woken up 2-3 times during the night, and after dark it was impossible to walk there without my own lamp. The stay fell below what I expected.

The owner was really attentive, and the beach is very close. Good value for the price.

Michael and Nina made sure we had everything sorted, even though we’d booked just one night ourselves and our English was very limited, with no Sinhala. Michael speaks excellent Russian, having lived in Moscow for many years, and gave us the number for his tuk-tuk driver. If the driver didn’t understand us, Michael would explain what we needed. Nina is a lovely, pleasant woman. The villa was wonderful, and the owners were beyond praise. We were there at the end of July 2016. The ocean wasn’t swimmable for us, with big, treacherous waves. Shandima came to make a simple breakfast of fried egg, butter, toast and fresh juice from fruit grown there. We also had a wonderful dinner at Gorky Park Villa, which is also Michael’s. We could have gone somewhere else, but decided to enjoy the good thing. The chef had worked at a large hotel, the seafood was magical, and the salad served with it was so good. Prices were very reasonable. I recommend it to independent travelers who aren’t fussy about where they stay and want to get to know the country and its people. If you love all-inclusive places, hotels with pages and fans, please don’t bother!

After a long journey, we arrived to find that the owner had given our room to other people who had rented it for longer. We had booked through Bookincom, so we felt cheated.