Hiriketiya Beach Resort

The team were so kind and accommodating, they really made our stay. The location is perfect too, and breakfast was delicious every morning. We had such a lovely time at Hiriketiya Beach Resort and would definitely recommend it.

We booked at the last minute and the manager was so welcoming and accommodating. The staff were helpful and friendly, service was quick, and there was a great range of food and drinks. The beach is just two minutes away, with popular bars and restaurants close by. We had an amazing time, thank you.

The mattress smelled awful, and the breakfast seemed to be made without any care. The shower didn’t work at all, and there was no hot water either. Forget sleeping past 8 a.m., they start construction then, hammering and shifting things around incredibly loudly. Don’t book the standard bedroom. There’s a window that looks like it leads to a terrace, but step outside and you’re just in the hallway.

The room was the big letdown for us. It smelled really damp and musty, and the extra key the manager gave us so we could leave the aircon running didn’t fix it. The room and bathroom felt run-down, the towels were frayed and very worn, and the safe didn’t work. There was a flatscreen TV advertised, but only a wall bracket and a hole in the wall. There was also a random kitchen sink in the bedroom with nothing to wash up. The room just didn’t look like the photos. Maybe it depends on which room you get, since some people in the more expensive rooms seemed to have a different experience, but we didn’t feel the price matched what we got. Breakfast was strange. There were two choices, English or American, and they were basically the same. The fruit and coffee were lovely, but the rest felt like a weird mix of prepared food, hard pancakes with chocolate sauce beside sausages and baked beans. The eggs were the only fresh thing on the plate. The next day we were offered a Sri Lankan breakfast that wasn’t on the menu, and that was lovely. We did feel well looked after by the staff. They were wonderful and always around, laundry was easy, and the manager suggested some cool local attractions. The location is tucked away but still just 100m from the beach, and having a pool is a real luxury for Hiriketya. There was also a smell of burning plastic during our stay because locals came to the road leading up to the property to burn waste. Overall, this is the most hotel-like place in Hiriketya, with amazing service, but the state of the hotel let it down for us. I’d suggest the owner put some money into the existing rooms before building upwards.