For a decade Sri Lanka developed a reputation as a cheap beach holiday destination, mainly from 2 resorts; Negombo near the airport and Hikkaduwa on the south coast; the latter also has a coral reef. Hikkaduwa in our opinion is full of quite horrid guest houses and cheap hotels but in this wilderness 2 or 3 hotels do meet three star tourist standards. One of these is Amaya Reef which we visited on Saturday 21 February 2009. The lobby creates a reassuring first impression.

The standard rooms are appropriately named and quite small but comfortable. The pleasant feature is that they do have secluded balconies on rooms on the upper floors or on the ground floor terraces with good views of the pool and of the ocean beyond.

The attractive feature of the hotel is that it is sited right on the Indian Ocean beach. You can cross over from the ground floor rooms to the beach in 2 minutes. From the semi covered dining area to the beach is just a step away. The chef here is a man of genius and he pays as much attention to presentation as to taste.

To the left and south the beach makes for a pleasant walk down many happy hour type bars and small restaurants to the more attractive stilt fishermen posts. Since the recent military victories, you will see Sri Lankan flags flying everywhere including the oddest of places such as fishermen’s posts in the waters.

Sunsets at Amaya Reef can be beautiful here and a pleasure to watch over cocktails by the pool.