Arika Villa

Exceptional Staff Service: The staff were repeatedly praised for their friendliness, attentiveness, and hospitality, often going above and beyond to accommodate guests' requests, including early morning arrivals, personalized meals, and special arrangements.

We had such a lovely stay at Hotel Arika. The staff were so accommodating and flexible. The dining and pool area is beautiful. The trees and river next to hotel mean you can always watch the nature that inhabits the area from the comfort of your table. Our room was spacious, modern and with good air conditioning. From the balcony, again, you could watch the monkeys and birds. The food is really first class, offering a good selection but obviously the Sri Lankan curry selection was particularly good. Also, for those cautious travellers, you can rest assured that the hotel takes great care in providing plenty of safe bottled water. This was a very peaceful experience and would highly recommend for anyone seeking this too.

We booked this hotel having read the reviews and website. Before I continue I want to say that we are frequent travellers and mainly stay where possible in 4/5* hotels. Unfortunately apart from the service from the Manager, Nishandra for the first 2 out of 4 days of our stay, and that of a young 18 yr old waiter, Rasanjana, they were 5*. The manager had to leave and left the chef in charge. This is when the staff, apart from Rasanjana seemed to not pay any attention to us. We were the only guests at this time. There is no phone in the room so you have to go hunting to find anyone to assist. The front reception is not always manned, on one occasion when we asked where the girl was we were told she's sleeping and the chef come assistant manager was also not available. The rooms are big and spacious and they will cook different things for you but that's the only positive. Our tap in the bathroom was falling away from the sink. The attention to detail was also not there. The state of the whole hotel is in need of a desperate uplift as it was dirty. The photos and description are misleading. I am sure if the manager had not had to leave for a few days, all the staff would have been 5* in his presence. This review is harsh but honest. It is only for those frequent travellers who are used to a 4/5* service.