Avani Kalutara Resort

5* hotel booked to end our trip in style. Bar staff and cleaners were super happy, polite and love to great the guests in the hotel. Reception staff were generally unhelpful. I tried to book activities and excursions, but was initially told to go the hotel next door before being given a random book While trying to sort late check out one receptionist began serving another customer over my head. Late check out was eventually agreed to which was helpful but after being sat face to face in silence for minutes. Facilities are wonderful. Nice private beach, great pool area. Two bars and buffet style restaurant with ala carte option. Locals got charged significantly less for our event dinner. Some would say that's fair, others would disagree, but not being transparent probably suggests it was trying to be hidden. Service wasn't 5*. When we arrived our bedding was ripped and had a huge hole in it. Thankfully this was fixed, but I think atleast 2/3 people came to check before it was resolved.

Stayed for 12 nights. We found the hotel to be very clean. We opted for half board, the food was very varied and delicious. The restaurant staff were very attentive in fact all the staff were friendly Ananda from room service certainly went out of his way for us and was brilliant. The pool men were very good providing extra dry towels coming out of the pool

When I arrived, I seemed to be the only guest. I asked where the other guests were, and they replied that the resort had lost power so the guests were out for the day. When the power returned, the wifi still didn’t work. Avani boasts that they are “located on a peninsula all our own,” but they fail to mention that they allow garbage to pile up on their peninsula. I sat at a table in the bar area and had a stunning view of an inlet heaped with trash and filth. The trashy atmosphere was complimented with an apparently all-subwoofer sound system that pulsed through the whole place. When I finally went to pay, their system wasn’t working, so the guy behind the counter did the math by hand on a scrap of paper and input the total into a little handheld device. Instead of giving it to me to sign for my credit card, he simply forged my signature without my consent. How convenient!