Although it was supposed to be a 4-day
vacation but due to exams and a wedding of a close friend had to let go the
idea of a long vacation and be satisfied with a single day. Luckily 2 others
joined me. We were looking for some deals at hotel and finally found a good
offer at the Long Beach resort and spa on a half board basis.
One of my friends had visited
this couple of years back and he highlighted on the beach that was adjacent the
hotel. What we wanted was to have a relaxing time and enjoy the day.
We left Colombo around 11:30 in
the morning and we stopped at Welipenna for a short break. Then we left the highway
from Galle exit. From Galle we had to take the Galle Matara road. After a short
lunch we headed to the hotel which was located very close to the Air Force Camp
and Madolduwa. It takes you around 20 minutes from the Galle exit to reach the hotel.
From outside the hotel had a
traditional look with brick walls. Inside looks better. As per the front
office, the hotel was fully booked for the past few days, many being tourists
from Russia, Germany and China. It was around 2 p.m. and the front office was
very busy. There were some foreigners waiting for the rooms to be prepared. We
also had to wait for nearly half an hour till we received our room. Something
that they did was to put a wristband on us to distinguish us from Full board
and Half board customers. This was seen as something uncomfortable for the
guests which I think the hotel will need to consider in future.
We were hoping for a sea view
room and we got one. In fact, I think all rooms had a seas view as the hotel is
built along the beach. The view from the top was good and had a good view of
the sea. The room was great. Unlike other hotels the triple room had a good
double bed a comfortable single one. It was relatively spacious with a Balcony.
There was only two proper towels and single face towel available. Apart from
that there was nothing to complain.
There are two swimming pools. One
very closer to the lobby and for me it was bit too open. The other one was
bigger with a mini kiddies pool and was located at one end of the hotel which according
to me was located at a good place. There was a pool bar but was no open.
The best part of the hotel was
the beach. It was surprisingly clean. The sand was pure white. The water was
very clear. No garbage was to be found, which was surprising. As per my friends
the beach was bigger few years back but
maybe because of Tsunami the beach has reduced. Lifeguards were available
throughout and almost after sunset everyone was asked to get out of the sea.
The beach was not rough. As the sky was very clear a good sunset was visible
though the sun was not seen as a ball there were hues of yellow, red and orange
painting a picturesque background and the white froth created a magnificent
foreground with the blue waters.
We had a wonderful relaxing time
at the beach. First, we had a nice swim in the pool and then a salty bath in
the sea. Even the blue sky above was creating a wonderful picture with the
white colour clouds. It was amazing just to lie down on the sands and look up at
the sky. It almost got us into a trance when we were lying enjoying the serenity
and the beauty of the surrounding. We were covered with sand all over and by
the time we left the beach we were fully satisfied on all our senses.
Although the hotel was booked,
there were only few to be seen outside. Few groups of people were seen
scattered and there was a DJ playing music and some were enjoying this with the
sound of the sea breeze in the background. Many had bought their own booze and
were enjoying them either in the rooms or the beach benches. We did not have a
room menu card therefore we had to go down and get a menu to order the food
that we wanted.
The food as a whole was tasty. The
dinner buffet was not large but had a good mix. Two action stations one for
hoppers and the other for Chinese soup. The spread had various types of bread,
salads, rice, meat and some good desserts mainly made of chocolate. The tables closer
to the sea were already reserved but it was open to outside and had little
disturbance.
The DJ stopped closer to 10:30
p.m. and there was no disturbance from outside to sleep. We had a good night
sleep. I woke up to see whether the sunrise was visible. Though it was not
clear, the sky had a pleasing aura and was indeed like a gift for those waking
eyes. Hot water was available and after a hot bath we went to have breakfast
which was also a buffet. Like the lunch it had a good selection. There were
action stations for hoppers, omelet and bacon. We had a heavy meal, a good cup
of coffee. The staff was very friendly and quick attending to the needs like providing
hand wash bowls or refilling cups with water.
The checkout was at 12:00 p.m. but we
wanted to leave early to visit Madol Duwa which was close by. We had another morning
path from the pool and the sea before we left the hotel around 10:00 a.m. While
one of my friends was sleeping someone from the room service has come opening the
door which was an unpleasant experience as we had not checked out and this was
even before 10:00. a.m. Apart from that the stay at the hotel was pleasant. When
we were about to leave the hotel the person in charge came and asked about the
stay and apologized for the rush. But I recommend going to the hotel specially
look for offers and it will be a memorable stay for anyone who loves the sea
and wants to reach a location within a short time.
On our way we visited Madol duwa.
There was nothing much to see except for the trail through the island which was
covered with a lot of Mangroves. But the time of the day gave a good relaxation to both the body and the eyes specially by the colour of the greens and the blues. Best timing would have been a bit early or late evening so that there could be more chances of seeing some birds in the vicinity. There are tour operators that take you on the ride and they charged us Rs 1500 for the ride. The length would depend on the time you wanted to spend there.
I am glad I made this tour even
for a single day as it was a great stress relief and also an opportunity to
meet some new friends.
Until I meet you all again on another
article cheers. Do let me know anyone who wants to explore some good hotels with me preferably with a vehicle so we can have some time relaxing...
