Sandu Guest

We had a great stay. The hosts were lovely, and the room was extremely clean. You can get to the beach and some nice restaurants easily from here, and having a kitchen downstairs was really useful. Highly recommend it.

We stayed for three days and had everything we needed in the room, with a shared kitchen available too. The location is great, and the hosts were kind and happy to help with any requests. We’d recommend it and will definitely come back.

We stayed for three nights in a room advertised with a view, balcony, and fully equipped kitchen. The room itself was okay and had what we needed, but the mattress and pillow smelled damp, so we slept badly. There were lots of mosquitoes, and the net had so many holes that it didn’t help much. The kitchen also smelled damp and was missing most of its equipment when we arrived. On the second day I asked the owner to lend us a blender, which was listed in the booking description and shown in the pictures, but she didn’t seem willing to provide one. Later, when guests who had already been there longer told her things were missing, she equipped the kitchen for them. We didn’t feel welcome. We’re friendly people who like meeting and talking with others, but from the first day we got the impression the owner was only interested in our money. We’d spent four weeks in Sri Lanka and guesthouses had always arranged a pick me or regular Tuk Tuk for us. When we asked her to organize one, she asked a neighbour, who quoted a very high price that seemed completely unrealistic for the distance. We told the owner we’d paid the same as two days earlier for the same route from Mirissa railway to the Homestay. She then said she wouldn’t help arrange another Tuk Tuk and that we should walk to the road and find one ourselves. That felt unhelpful and not guest friendly at all. I also work in tourism, including at a hotel and tourism information service, and to me welcoming and helping guests is the most important part of the job. Tourism should also be an exchange between cultures, with sharing and caring, not just money. We’d had that kind of experience in most guesthouses and homestays over the previous four weeks, with Sandu Guest as the exception. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

It’s a peaceful, lovely place, about 150m from a long beach with surfing and bars. The owners are a really nice family, and they make traditional Sri Lankan dinner and breakfast. You can rent a scooter, or go to Badura spa for a great massage. Thanks for having us 🤍