Hotel Panorama

We had spacious, comfortable rooms and a lovely pool to relax by, with a fantastic view from the hotel. The driveway up from the main road is long and steep, but the hotel can send a tuk tuk if you need one. The Wi-Fi only worked for about half of our stay. DON'T BOOK VIA AIRBNB.

The view and uphill location weren’t the only issues. There’s no dinner service, and if you go out to eat or party, the tuk tuk service stops after 10 pm. That left us climbing a very steep hill back to the property in the dark. Our experience with the Airbnb booking was also bad. When we arrived, some things weren’t as described and others hadn’t been mentioned. The hotel staff said we could cancel and get a refund if we weren’t comfortable, but the third-party agent, Askalu, refused to refund us. I found him uncooperative and irresponsible, and felt he took the money and then stopped replying. I’ve included an image that I say shows the hotel management agreeing to refund me, while Askalu refused to let Airbnb issue the refund. In my view, the hotel should remove this third-party agent. Please be careful if booking through Airbnb.

We spent the last two nights of a lovely holiday here. The beach was wonderful, lively in the evenings with plenty of restaurants, and only about 200 metres from the front gate. From the hotel, the views were breathtaking. Our room was excellent, the staff and pool were lovely, and the eastern-style breakfast was superb. I’d highly recommend it.

The view alone could keep you on the grounds all day, and the beach across the way is great, with lots of restaurants. Breakfast was excellent too. It was our favourite of the 28 days we spent in Sri Lanka. A little splurge, but worth it, and I’d happily recommend the place.