Somewhat belatedly, I am posting a review of the Ramada Resort at Kalutara, where we stayed from 10 - 24 June.
We had a good holiday and certainly enjoyed the culture shock and assault on the senses that one experiences on arrival in Sri Lanka - it's colourful, noisy, loud, crowded and fascinating. The hotel is like an oasis of calm because even just walking up to the main road takes you into a completely different environment. We met someone who was very keen on walking and took himself off in different directions each day, and then began to encourage others to leave the confines of the hotel and experience something of the 'real' village surroundings that are close by. Although we were gently warned by the rep that it was not wise to go off on our own, we did not encounter any problems at all, other than being besieged by tuk tuk drivers who offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go, but you soon learn that a firm and polite refusal does not offend.

The area around the hotel is generally poor, with a few shops such as the jewellers catering for the tourists, but little else geared for visitors. The usual souvenir shops are a tuk tuk ride away, although you will invariably be led to the driver's favourite shop unless you go under your own steam. Haggling is of course the order of the day and it is possible to find some nice items, like carved elephants etc to bring back, and plenty of Sri Lankan tea!

Some of the guests at the hotel were quite intrepid, taking the 'observation car' train from Colombo, meeting up with a driver and spending two/three nights in different hotels to see the cultural triangle that includes Kandy and the tea plantations - but we chose not to undertake this particular trip. The distances involved are great and with Sri Lankan roads being generally poorly surfaced, quite arduous.

We did however take the local train from Kalutara South to Galle one day, with a detour to one of the gemstone mines, and it was a good day out, despite a hair-raising journey along the main road to Galle in a tuk-tuk when it was pouring with rain"¦
Sadly there is much evidence of Tsunami damage near Galle, but the resourcefulness and positive spirit of the local people shines through with their efforts to reclaim their lives when they have been left with so little. It is humbling indeed.

We visited the Elephant orphanage which was well worthwhile even though we had to leave at 6am to get there! Don't underestimate the time it takes to get from A to B, partly because of the roads but also because the drivers take long detours to avoid the traffic jams through Colombo. We also visited a Spice Garden, and this too was well worth doing, it was fascinating to see such plants as cardamom and turmeric growing, when you are used to using the products at home in the kitchen.

The hotel was fine although it is obviously in refurbishment mode. The interior corridors are somewhat dark and gloomy, but our room was lovely; - very large and with a lovely view of the beach and ocean. The room boys were excellent, and the fresh flowers on the bed were a nice touch, although we soon caught on that if we didn't tip them when they brought round the pool towels, we didn't get the flowers the next day:)

Take up the option of your free massages - most relaxing and very skilled, the head massage in particular was really lovely. Be prepared that the masseurs expect you to take off all your clothing, although it is not obligatory - and the body massage excludes very little!

We found the food to be pretty good on the whole, although we were quickly 'curried out' and the Sri Lankan curries are, in the main, very hot! The hotel does lovely soups, and some of the western dishes were ok. We were intrigued to know what 'potato kevies' were, then discovered they were little potato croquettes with garlic butter - potato Kievs!!
Desserts were fabulous as was the fresh fruit, particularly the delicious bananas.

The hotel pool was kept pretty clean although it became very busy at the weekends, and the water was generally warm. The sea was too rough for swimming, there are dangerous undercurrents. However, the animation team organised 'going into the sea' excursions, as they themselves are superfit and swim like dolphins. My husband unfortunately parted company with a crown from one of his front teeth when he was hit on the back by a wave! Off he went to Kalutara in a tuk tuk with a driver who 'knew a good dentist'. He returned a little while later with an excellent replacement crown that cost the princely sum of £30. Try getting that in the UK!

I would highly recommend taking a cycle tour from the hotel with one of the animation team - although they say this is 12 miles it didn't feel like it, and I hadn't been on a bike for about 15 years! We set off early to avoid the heat of the day, but despite this the humidity meant that we were drenched by the time we got back. But it is lovely to see the local environment, it is so peaceful once you get into the rural countryside. We saw so many wonderful plants, birds and animals on our rides - however, we would not have been quite so keen to stop off in the rubber plantations had we known that they attract one of the most venomous snakes in Sri Lanka! We seemed to cause quite a deal of amusement to the locals, who invariably waved and smiled at the crazy westerners on the bikes!

The weather in June was mixed, with quite a bit of rain, and it was invariably windy, but we still managed to get nicely tanned. The humidity was not unbearable, and the breeze tended to drop at night.

Although we enjoyed our holiday, we aren't planning a return trip to this particular resort - it is a long way from the airport (although we were prepared for this) and we felt a little too isolated and dependent on the hotel itself. It did however represent excellent value for money and I would recommend Mercury Direct for their efficiency and accuracy of brochure descriptions - our flight back was delayed by 3 hours but Colombo airport is brilliantly equipped for delays having plenty of shops/restaurants etc - in fact I did more shopping there than I had done the entire holiday!

I hope this review is helpful, there are some photos from our trip at http://www.pbase.com/andreac