The Ramada Resort in Kalutara, located on the South Coast
of Sri Lanka only 40 kms south of the Commercial Capital; Colombo is, as the
name suggests
part of the Ramada International Group. The hotel is
managed by Aitken Spence Hotels a large
local hotel group, active here as well as India and the Maldives. In
accordance with our “Visit and Stay before recommending” policy of our
UK Head Office, Special Offer Holidays Com directors visited Ramada
Resort on Saturday 28 November 2009 to inspect it, without informing
management in advance of our arrival.
The "unique
selling point" of the hotel is, without doubt, its tranquil setting on a wide
un-crowded stretch of South Coast beach. Unfortunately, the
rather
tastelessly designed main block building does not blend in into such a
setting -
although functionally it does incorporate plenty of balconies,
verandas
and sun terraces where the winter escapee from Europe can soak
up the tropical sun whilst enjoying beach views pleasing to the eye from the elevated terraces.
Still, that all important first impression the hotel
imparted on us as guests is one of disappointment, of a "city cement jungle" block of apartment flats transplanted
by an error on part of the architect onto the beach rather than the city
centre for which the design would have been better suited. Read on......
INSPECTED: LANKA DISCOVERY AT RAMADA ON
28 NOV 2009
UGLY CITY BLOCK ARCHITECTURE ON BEAUTIFUL
BEACH STRETCH BELOW
The sizeable swimming pool stretches nearly the length
of the hotel. All hotel guests could enter the pool together without
any sense of crowding. The spacious, elevated sun drenched balconies
overlooking both pool and the beach offer panoramic views
of the beach but the tasteless huge green stars on the pool floor,
symbolizing the sun, cheapen the pleasant vista otherwise
created. “Islands” within the pool area with deck chairs, where
guests can savour the sun as well as pool bars within the water
add a touch of finesse to the pool. There is also a sizeable gym packed
with fitness equipment.
From the pool a few strides, across the large pleasant
landscaped tropical garden, lead to a wide beach. This is
bounded on both sides by fishing boats and villages which give this
stretch character. Even at the end of November the beach
was not at all crowded. The beach has some shingle but is otherwise
very suitable for swimming and taking in glorious sunsets
from the water.
Ramada offers a choice of accommodation. The less
spacious but superior rooms laid out in cabanas offer the advantage of
location right onto the beach. The alternative is larger standard rooms
back in the main hotel block. Our party stayed in
Rooms 304 and 306 on the top floor of the main block. Coming out of
the lift on the top floor, one is confronted by the rather
unusual spectacle in a beach holiday hotel of the kind of carpeted
corridor expected in a city hotel; a horrible dark brown.
The rooms in the main block are spacious with delightful sea views from
the balconies. The combination of glazed cement
tiles with teak flooring creates a pleasant aspect to the room. A TV
displays international channels. There are tea and coffee
making facilities. Wide, deep cupboards and drawers provide ample
storage room for foreign guests coming on a 2 week
beach holiday. The safe in the cupboard is an added bonus. Furnishing
is, however, basic so the rooms can be said to provide
basic comforts without imparting any sense of luxury.
Maintenance at the hotel leaves
much to be desired. On our balcony, the cement had come off a
section of the wall revealing an iron rod. (See
picture at bottom) There were cracks between the bath tub and
the wall tiling in our bathroom. The elements on the kettle in our room
were corroded but
ortunately we had brought along our own travel kettle. The sensors
on the lift failed to work which could result in a frail person getting
caught between the
closing lift doors. The hotel’s exterior could do with a good paint over
– the paint is peeling in many areas (see images) - and preferably
avoiding the awful
New York city cab yellow that further spoils the exterior look of the
building and reinforces the “city hotel” image. My key card failed to
function 3 times,
requiring after lunch and dinner visits down from the top floor to the
reception for recharging. What calories had been accumulated in self
indulgence in
the delicious deserts at the Waves Restaurant, were burnt going down to
the reception to get the key card reprogrammed, so every cloud does have
a
silver lining.
Breakfast, Lunch and dinner are served, buffet style,
at the “Waves Restaurant” although this has only limited areas
offering seating with views of
the ocean. The chef, however, should be congratulated on his buffets,
both lunch and dinner buffets came up to and exceeded expectations.
Imagination
was displayed throughout in the menu and presentation of the dishes.
Breakfast with the service station offering freshly fried eggs was a
pleasure. There
is also a pleasant a la carte restaurant. Cuisine is four star plus. If
only the chef and the building architect and interior designer could
have swapped roles!
I cannot pretend that the Ramada is my favourite Sri Lankan hotel, it
isn’t. Other Aitken Spence hotels such as Heritance Ahungalla, which
I have
visited half a dozen times, give such a positive first impression on
arrival that even a visitor for only a few minutes will leave with
treasured memories. You
can visit the old Triton a dozen times and eagerly look forward to each
new visit. In contrast, with the Ramada, the first impression is that of
having misread
map directions and arrived by mistake at an apartment block near the
beach. Of the 30+ Sri Lanka hotels I have stayed at, this is one I had
few regrets in
leaving, although even my check-out was delayed by 30 minutes because my
card company had published a hotel promotion on the bank website
(the most convenient and hassle free point redemption system in town.
they called it with the further promise; You can redeem points
instantly for goods and services
at any of our partner outlets ) that neither central hotel
reservations of the partner outlet nor the front desk at the hotel
seemed to know about!.
Nevertheless, providing its maintenance deficiencies
are rectified by an aggressive maintenance strategy, the Ramada will
remain a functionally adequate (even if outwardly rather ugly) 3 star
plus holiday beach hotel on an infinitely much more beautiful stretch of
the south coast. To bring
out its potential and capitalise on its prime beach stretch setting, the
hotel requires a manager with vision and determination to drive forward
the changes to
building layout whilst maximising the advantage of sun drenched
balconies and introducing a more tasteful interior décor.
On bringing some of these observations to the
attention of the hotel management, we understand that a major
refurbishment is indeed planned. Driving
it will be the former manager of Aitken Spence Ahungalla. As Triton to
me is not only one of the great luxury beach hotels of Sri Lanka but
also of Asia, with
new management there is still the prospect of a sunnier future for
the Ramada in Kalutara, even if this is to be sometime into the future.
Despite contacts with both hotel management
and Head Office, these maintenance issues
remain unresolved. At this time, we are
issuing the Book with Caution alert
notice for this hotel.
Images Above: Rather ugly City Centre block design,
poor
maintenance but stunning beach location amidst landscaped gardens.
Lovely Sea views from terraces
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