Palazzo Beach Hikkaduwa

We decided to leave without staying because the cleanliness was far below even basic standards. I don’t think this place deserves its three-star status or the 3.7 Google Maps score, let alone Booking.com’s 8.6. The Booking.com reviews and photos don’t reflect what we found, in my experience. The room wasn’t the Deluxe room we had booked. It smelled strongly of damp, the bed linen looked dirty and had mould marks, and the towels were stained and seemed unclean. When we moved the curtains, we found heavy mould around the windows. The lobby had flies and mould marks across the ceiling, while the back corridor near the seating area smelled strongly of urine. We later noticed the AC units were leaking, making the shared areas unpleasant. The pool area had no shade, despite the palm tree in the Booking.com pictures, and the water was green. The supposed beach is across the main road and consists of rock armour, so you can’t access the sea there. The hotel name gave a different impression. Booking.com said cancelling would mean a charge of 50% of the booking, but the hotel charged us the full 100%, which made an already disappointing experience worse. I’d give it zero stars if I could, and urge people to avoid it or be ready for disappointment.

The staff are what made this such a lovely place. The manager sent over fresh fruit and coconuts, checked that we had what we needed, and welcomed us with a big smile, saying we should feel at home. When we arrived, the team greeted us warmly with juice and fresh coconut, then showed us to our room. Our room was very clean, with plenty of towels and a spotless bathroom. The pool has a nice ocean view. It’s a peaceful spot for a quiet getaway, far enough from town to relax. I’d definitely stay here.

We booked two triple Deluxe rooms at Palazzo Beach Hotel in Hikkaduwa, but neither room nor the rest of the hotel came close to that description. In the lobby, flies were overwhelming, and a large mould stain on the reception wall made for a poor first impression. The first room had a strong damp smell, stained, dirty-looking linen with visible mould, and towels that looked marked and not properly cleaned. The room for our friends was just as bad, with mould on the ceiling and around the windows. The cleanliness throughout was unacceptable. We chose not to stay and had to find somewhere else for the night. It was December 30th, just before New Year, and very little was available nearby, which made things especially stressful for our whole group. This is advertised as a 3-star property, but it doesn’t meet that standard. The Booking.com rating of around 8.5 as “very good” seems misleading and possibly fake. I wouldn’t recommend Palazzo Beach Hotel to anyone wanting a clean, safe, comfortable stay.

We tried breakfast once, but the fruit tasted like onions because they seemed to use one knife for everything. The towels were damp and felt unhealthy to use, and we couldn’t open the balcony door because it hadn’t been cleaned for ages. The bathroom was another problem, and there was no WiFi in the rooms, though they acted as if they were fixing it. The place was full of flies and mosquitoes and shouldn’t really be considered a hotel. They wouldn’t let us check out a day early, so we had to pay the whole amount for an unpleasant stay.