De Silva Wind Resort Kalpitiya - Kitesurfing School Sri Lanka

It’s the first ‘premium’ accommodation option I have come across where the hot water cuts out unless there’s bright sunshine - not something, of course, that’s mentioned on their website. The rooms themselves are completely basic. A kettle, but no teabags. No fridge. Unpleasant drain smells coming from the bathroom, which didn’t drain properly. Air conditioning which has one setting - “Arctic Tundra” - which is an issue when you’re provided with barely any bedding. The WiFi is laughably unreliable. The bedside light had the wrong plug so was useless. If all of this makes you want to spend time outside the room, then why not hang out in one of the communal areas? Well, there is a bar, but there’s never anyone manning it, and apparently they don’t have a full licence to operate it (again, not something they mention on the website). There is of course the communal pool table, but in the evenings this is reliably occupied by one of the members of staff who can be found lounging across the sofas on apparently never ending video calls - not exactly a welcoming environment. As for the food, when we arrived we were told that there was basically none left and what they did have would take over an hour to prepare, so we may as well not bother. The breakfasts and dinners are overpriced and under-provisioned. Finally - the reason we’re all here - the activities on offer. There’s no discount on offer if you’re staying at the accommodation and the rates are pretty steep. We did windsurfing and had a really friendly, knowledgeable, and good-natured instructor. However, that’s about as far as it goes. There is no safety boat out on the water - when we got into trouble on a windy day we had to shout to the shore for assistance (which came in the form of said helpful instructor on a paddle board). This is just downright dangerous and irresponsible. I once asked if I could try wing-surfing as opposed to windsurfing, and was told with a nonchalant shrug that there was only one instructor and he was busy out with the kite surfers. All in all, a thoroughly disappointing experience which left us with the feeling of being utterly ripped off (with the exception being the windsurfing instructor Sam, who was great). We did complain to management at the end, so hopefully they take all of this on board.

Our stay at De Silva Palm Resort had its ups and downs. The resort is a tropical paradise, with lush surroundings and a peaceful atmosphere. The rooms were functional and met our basic needs, but it was the outstanding service that really stood out. The staff were warm and accommodating, and our Tuk Tuk driver, Shifan (+94 77 770 1751), was an absolute gem. He spoke perfect English, was always smiling, and went out of his way to make our trips around the area enjoyable and stress-free. That said, there are a few areas for improvement. The menu could use an update, as it lacks variety and doesn’t cater well to kids. Additionally, the internet is only available in the lounge area, which is tricky at night due to the constant attack of mosquitoes. With a few tweaks, this resort could truly shine, but the friendly service makes it worth considering

The resort is amazing for windsurfing & relaxing, it has a great pool.The Sri Lankan food was absolutely delicious, the food was some of the best food of our whole trip.the staff is super friendly and helpful, thank you De Silva Team 🙏🏻we come again.

Excellent destination for kitesurfing- all levels. Kalpitiya is a little remote but well worth visiting if you want to Kitesurf. My daughter (16) had lessons and successfully managed to do her 1st longer rides so she was stoked! I took my own kit (8m,10m & 12m) and used all of them in the week we were there. We visited the Wilpattu nature reserve (organised by De Silva) which was amazing. We then when on a tour of the island and De Silva arranged for my kite bag to be delivered back to me at the airport!! The only thing we would say that it was very quiet and if you wanted to go to different places to eat it was limited - but Mamas restaurant well worth a visit.

Our group of 30 kitesurfers from Greece visited De Silva Windresort late February for 10days. Our experience with the team there was amazing. Upul, Kathy, Baba, Nalika and the rest of their staff were all very accommodating to us all, made us all feel very welcome and part of their team. Being a big group, I was surprised on how they could keep up with all of us from our accommodation stay though out our daily kitesurfing experience in Kalpitiya. Had great downwind trips through Kalpitiya waters, great scenery. Kite school is very well equipped, great drinks and chill out areas. The place is great for someone who wants to kite all day and relax in the evenings. We had full board meals though out our stay, very taste and lots to choose from. They planned daily events which made us feel special :) Visit DeSilva in Kalpitiya, only positive vibes :)

An awesome place to spent your kite holidays in NortWest Sri Lanka, Kalpitya, surrounded by tropical landscape. Great Vibes and Hospitality, and ..really lovely, helpful and happy staff ! Great spot for beginners and advanced kiters and windsurfers with flat water, new equipment, amazing beach crew. Spent 9 days there and I would stay for many more days if I could. Hope meet you again guys ! Thanks for the great moments