Book Arugam Bay hotels

I had high expectations despite some negative reviews, but unfortunately, my experience was disappointing. Only one bottle of water was provided at check-in, with no further supply during the stay. Room cleaning was offered only once a week and only upon request. The drawers in the room were broken. The mini-fridge in one of the rooms did not work. The bedsheet had a visible hole in it. The images online are misleading — there is no direct beach access. The pool is not at this property but across the road in their older property. The reception can only be reached via a mobile call, as there are no in-room phones. The rooms do not have wardrobes, making it inconvenient for longer stays. The locks are outdated, and the hallway tiles creak when walked on, giving an impression of poor maintenance. We tried to raise these issues with Hotels.com but were unable to get proper assistance. Our request for a full refund of the last night (since we had to cut our trip short) was not resolved. The manager of the hotel did not respond to the booking platform, and customer support was not helpful. Adding to the inconvenience, Hotels.com does not provide a Sri Lanka-based contact number, so calls have to be made internationally at the guest’s expense. Overall, the experience fell far below expectations.

The hotel had been abandoned. We managed to check-in but there have been no staff onsite since. A local has told us that the Indian company that owns the hotel has not paid the local staff wages and they have been forced to leave. The hotel is filthy, there is literally no staff anywhere to be seen.