The Retreat Hotel

I went a little over a week ago for a French manicure with gold details, and it took four hours. I had to remove the nails as soon as I got the chance. I was leaving town that day and asked the owner, I believe, how long the wait would be because I was in a hurry. He said another person could suddenly do my nails, though I was willing to come back later. I should have taken that as a sign. The woman was sweet, but the nail drill cut my skin. I asked for an almond shape, yet the nails were uneven. I kept asking her to file one side more, but she did both sides and the shape was still uneven. The base color was okayish, but the French tips were very uneven. I asked her to even them out several times, including on one nail. Then I noticed little hairs all over the polish on my other hand. I explained I didn't want the polish if my nails were going to be covered in hair, and the tips were still uneven. We had trouble communicating, so the owner translated, but he kept asking if I just wanted the color. I tried to explain that I didn't want it either if the nails would end up full of hair. Another guy came and started redoing them without anyone explaining what was happening. I assumed he was the nail artist. He did the base again without hairs, but didn't show me the French tips before putting them straight into the oven. They looked thick and uneven afterward. The gold color didn't look nice either, and again it went into the oven before I could see it. The line work was uneven, so he painted the tips gold after I said I didn't like them. Once again, they went into the oven first, and the result was uneven. By then, I was tired and late after four hours. I asked him to file the bottoms so the nails looked cleaner, but he said they wouldn't last as long. I didn't want them to last long. I got up, but they still made me pay. I got a 2500 lkr "discount" and still paid 7000 lkr for nails that were so ugly I removed them as soon as I had time.

The nail painting was okay, but it couldn't make up for how poor the massage was. The therapist seemed to have no proper technique or understanding. They were sweating and used their elbows instead of proper hand pressure, which made the massage very uncomfortable. For the price, it felt like a total rip-off. Extremely disappointing, and I wouldn't recommend this place.

The beds were clean and comfortable, with the AC on. Sameera has wonderful hands for massage. He started with a head massage, then moved to the bed and gave me a wonderful deep massage from head to toe for 90 minutes. I couldn't be happier. 10/10, absolutely wonderful.

I love coming here for a foot massage every evening. It's amazing, and a very nice place.