Hotel "Diana"

The room had almost nothing in it beyond an old bed. There was no TV or kettle, and just one electrical outlet. It was filthy too, with sand on the floor, dirt on the closet shelves, a dirty toilet seat, and a towel covered in some sort of mess. Everything in the room seemed rusty. The bathroom door hinges squeaked loudly enough to wake people, the lock could rub your hand raw, and the bathroom dryer would ruin your clothes. You have to handle everything yourself, including taking out the trash. There’s no cleaning or maintenance. In the evening the owner closes the place and gives you a key, then threatens that if you lose it, you’ll have to pay for a whole new lock, not just a key cylinder or copy. Apparently that’s how locks are changed here. The sea is at least 1,200 meters away, not 200. Don’t rely on the map of Thailand to work out where the hotels are, and you can’t walk through them. This is a guesthouse, not a hotel, and it’s the worst place I’ve ever stayed.

The location is peaceful, away from city noise, with a lovely green courtyard, cared-for trees and flowers, and all sorts of wildlife, including monkeys and lizards. It felt like being in the jungle. The rooms are cozy and clean, and the cleaning was fine. Towels were changed without any fuss, and we had Wi-Fi, a kettle, and the utensils we needed. Sergey was warm and welcoming, showed us around, and was happy to answer questions. He also made a wonderful breakfast, though I could always have eaten more rice. It’s a lovely place for a holiday in Sri Lanka. The only trouble we had was that the booking confirmation took a long time, which was the travel agency’s fault because of local competition.

We stayed from December 25, 2024, to January 5, 2025. The best things were the air conditioning, hot water, and being close to the ocean. Downtown Hikkaduwa is 2.5 km away. After that, the positives run out. This feels more like a guesthouse than a hotel, and there’s no access to a kitchen. The rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, so you need to keep the curtains shut when other guests walk past, which blocks the sunlight. Inside, ours had a bed, air conditioning, a closet, and a plastic table and chairs. There was a kettle, but it looked like garbage and I was afraid to plug it in. The owner, Sergey, was extremely petty. He only gave toilet paper when asked, and told us to take our rubbish out and leave it by the stairs. The air conditioner remote’s temperature buttons didn’t work, so it stayed at 24 degrees, apparently to save energy. Luckily I had a phone with an IR port and could control it myself. The Singer air conditioner worked with a TCL remote. The biggest problem was no refrigerator in the room, and we weren’t allowed to use the one in the kitchen. There was no TV or hairdryer either. The Wi-Fi was very weak, though we didn’t use it because we bought a local SIM card. Breakfast was meagre: one egg and sausage one day, then fruit and rice with papaya the next. Some of the fruit was starting to rot, and we found a worm in the tomatoes served with the egg. That says a lot about the food quality, especially when food in Sri Lanka is cheap, particularly where locals eat. They cleaned every three days, but the sheets weren’t changed once in 10 days. No soap, shampoo, or beach towels were provided, so bring your own. This is only suitable for a couple of nights. I wouldn’t recommend a longer stay.

The location is the one thing that works for me, the beach is just five minutes away. Otherwise, what’s written about the place feels like a lie. The room had a bed, plastic table, two chairs, and at least air conditioning. I’d seen glowing breakfast reviews, but it was nothing special: rice and fruit one day, egg and sausage the next, and that’s the routine. There’s no refrigerator, which seems pretty necessary in this heat. Two stars, no more.