Ahungalla, Ahungalla Heritance

This hotel had been carefully chosen by us through UK travel operator, Kuoni. Their brochure stated that Heritance is a 4/5 star hotel and guests should expect "elegant rooms" as well as a property that has "been restored to its former glory " As we were only interested in finding a hotel directly on the coast, the sentence which promised "excellent choice for a relaxed Sri Lankan beach holiday" only convinced us that it was a perfect option for this very special occasion our once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon. However, we were soon about to learn how did these meaningless marketing promises differ from the actual truth.

Although we got to the hotel late, after 4pm, our room was not even ready, despite it being well after check-in time! However, no one was willing to share this information with us directly. Instead, we were taken to the bar upstairs where we were given some juice and face towels to refresh ourselves after the journey. The towels had stains all over them, so without even using them we gave them back to the waiter in disgust. After sitting there for half an hour we returned to reception asking to check in after the long journey. Instead we were told that we first needed to fill out some forms! The reception staff sent us back upstairs and after another 10 minutes we were handed the forms to fill out. The questions made no sense (example: "what method of payment are you going to use throughout your stay at hotel", etc.) and we did not understand the purpose of it all. We went back to reception and complained about the late check in again. We were finally told that our room was not ready and given keys to another room instead, where we were meant to wait in the meantime! All the business with towels and form-filling were delay tactics as the room was never ready in the first place.

The moment we opened the door we were met with the horrific sight of a very large, dead cockroach on the floor that was being eaten by dozens of ants. This was the first impression of our room in the Heritance and it was very different to what anyone may expect from even a 2 or 3 star, let alone a 4/5 star hotel. It took several calls to reception and us going there in person twice, for someone to come and clean the cockroach from the room. Finally, the housekeeping manager himself came to speak to us and did not understand our distress about the cockroach. Instead of apologising, he was defensive by attempting to explain to us in great detail that the hotel undergoes a pest control action on a regular basis and that we just happened to arrive on one of those days and therefore we should be prepared to expect and accept that it was absolutely normal to have dead cockroaches in our room! He was extremely patronising. In fact we found it difficult to believe that we were actually dealing with a member of the hotel management team who lacked the ability to deal with guests' complaints in a competent and professional manner, preferring to marginalise our complaints.

Although aesthetically pleasing, the room design could not make up for the shabbiness; holes in the stained bed linen, filthy curtains and a marked rug on the floor in the seating area. The bathrobes provided for us were also stained and torn. As for the very few toiletries available, the shampoo, shower gel and body lotion were provided in ceramic bottles which took forever to get the liquid out! There also seemed to be enough supply for only one of us per day, although they were meant to be refilled daily. The ceramic bottle containing the body lotion was filthy and had brown layers of old lotion stuck to the cap of it. We did not risk using it! There was no conditioner, cotton buds or bubble bath available at all. Shortages of basic toiletries' and supplies, as well as the old towels and bathrobes made a horrendous and lasting impression.

Admittedly, the housekeeping staff and cleaners who actually serviced our room worked very hard to keep the room spotless and were not to blame. The state of the supplies and furnishing is a management issue and the housekeeping supervisors who did not clean our room however happened to be the most intimidating of all the staff members. One of them even followed us down the corridor repeating over and over that he was entirely responsible for cleaning our room, yet he wasn't, and this was an attempt merely to receive a tip.

We also experienced often power failures and therefore obviously disrupted air- conditioning. This would not be the end of the world in itself but we should have been provided with at least a torch in the room instead of sitting in complete darkness until the power came back on. Calling reception was almost a waste of time, as we had to call back several times before someone turned up to deal with the problem.

We found it unbearable to go for walk on the beach by the Heritance as we were constantly pestered by locals who did not take no for an answer, and continued to harass guests while they tried to relax on their sunbeds, shouting from the edge of the hotel property. The security guard was ineffective and did not attempt to prevent this from happening.

To sum it up, the main issues which turned our holiday into a real nightmare were as follows:

. needing to complain about uncooked beef to the waiting staff at the main restaurant

. the cutlery served at tables often had leftovers of food stuck to it

. the bed linen, bathrobes, curtains and rug were stained and torn

. hotel services directory, available in the room, ripped into pieces, with dirty finger prints visible on the surface

. provision of toiletries was inadequate and inefficient

. problems with electricity

. lack of communication between the team members serving meals in the restaurant; requests for a pot of coffee or a bottle of water had to be repeated, provided that the waiter understood us on the first occasion, and even then it might not be delivered at all! Meanwhile approached by another team member with exactly the same question finally the ordered drink would arrive 30 minutes later, when we were just about to leave

. tipping was expected while the lack of service did not justify it

. the hotel was full of damp and looked as if its times of glory had long gone

. the reception staff were always smiling, but poorly trained and inefficient with simple requests having to be made several times before anything got done

. the majority of juices served in the hotel were made from concentrate

. there were lots of flies in the main restaurant, especially in the morning

. overall, the staff were friendly and helpful as long as it did not involve complicated activities such as room maintenance, directions to anywhere, or being served coffee in the restaurants

In short, we will never be back, neither will we recommend this place to anyone.

The hotel has just re -opened after the Tsunami. The people of Sri Lanka are lovely and they make the place. The Sri Lankan's on the beach are very friendly and yes, they do want to sell you things but that is their livelihood. They are always kind. We met up with the tour guides on the beach and went on 2 trips with them. They were very professional and looked after us very well. Visit a turtle hatchery to support the conservation project- you will never forget it.

Well worth a visit!!!!