Peacock
Beach Hotel is sited near Hambantota in the deep south of the
island of Sri Lanka. Before the 2004 Tsunami
it was popular amongst British
tourists who enjoyed what was then its long stretch of shallow
beach. Peacock Beach Hotel was badly damaged in the Tsunami,
although its upper floor was unaffected. It has now been
restored with 60 operating rooms. In accordance with our Visit
and Stay at Overnight policy our directors
stayed overnight at Peacock Beach on 29 and
January 2010 staying in Blue Sapphire Suite
and in Deluxe Room 308.
The outstanding selling feature of Peacock
Beach Hotel is the panoramic view from the top floor.
Here the jungle meets and
greets the sea – literally. The jungle setting aside the long
stretch of nearly deserted beach, the views
and natural setting is gives
this hotel character.
Its distinction comes not from the luxury of its accommodation
but its settings and views
Accommodation is in suites (Blue Sapphire Suite or Pink Sapphire
Suite) , Deluxe Rooms which are more basic and Standard Rooms
which are even more basic. All rooms offer splendid sea views
from their balconies, the higher up you are the more magnificent
the view. Jungle foliage is all round the rooms and adds to the
setting and jungle – sea theme.
The Blue
Sapphire Suite offers accommodation in a sitting room and bedroom both with
sea views. The bedroom has a terrace as well as windows facing the beach.
Ensuite is a large bathroom with twin basins. We
recommend our clients stay in one of the 2 large suites. The other rooms,
even the deluxe are basic.
The Peacock beach has a main restaurant with an unusual blue and green
coloured ceiling restaurant, facing the sea so one can step out from table
to beach in a few strides. It is, however, more pleasant to eat on the top
floor area with the magnificent views. This is a hotel
recovering from the Tsunami, service is not absolutely up to scratch but the
friendly staff go out of the way to please.
From the
Peacock beach you can walk all the way along the wide beach stretch to
Hambantota town which was devastated by the Tsunami. All along you see
houses damaged by the Tsunami, although pleasingly everywhere there are
signs of recovery, as evidenced by the reopening of the Peacock Beach Hotel
itself.
Hambantota
itself is going to become a major international port, with a Chinese backed
project to build it into another Singapore. A deep water port is planned at
Hambantota Harbour and construction has already started. This will replace
Colombo as the main port in Sri Lanka. Hambantota lies only 12 kms from the
international sea lanes. The entire area will see a massive economic
revival.
