Jalsa Beach Hotel & Spa

Consistently clean and maintained, with friendly and attentive staff. Spacious, comfortable rooms with great beach location and tranquil surroundings. Efficient service and easy access to local transportation.

We're only 4 days in of our 14 night stay but the poor reviews really aren't a true reflection of what were experiencing. Before we arrived ( from the uk) I emailed Vanessa & asked of she could help us with a room with a large balcony & as its our anniversary, could she put a card in the room to surprise my husband. She surpassed herself. Our room is facing a beautiful ice blue lagoon with palm trees & white sands. She had organised for a bottle of fizz in our room, a plate of fruit & a celebration cake at dinner. After a very long flight & no sleep we took advantage of a few cocktails by the sea late afternoon ( depending who makes them, they can be very strong so pace yourself) . Nothing too fancy but they do use branded mixers not roller cola so rum & coke is a winner. The food is adequate and done little and often to prevent waste , there are vegetables & fruit available at each sitting but if your a vegetarian it might not be varied enough. The food buffet area looks a bit rustic but remember this is 3* not 5* The grounds are very clean, the beach is combed every morning and there are plenty of staff members around ( who are friendly and helpful) keeping on top of table clearing & service. Our room is very spacious and the bed is super king size. There are toiletries, fresh towels, water and tea & coffee provided ( if you like English tea & coffee bring some with you). There is some music by the pool , usually 80s power ballads ( i love the 80s so winning) but it is the same play list daily. The food is served at set times and not available 247. All meals are served at the restaurant other than small snacky bits by the pool late afternoon. The wild life here is beautiful, you can hear tropical birds that are extremely tame ( ate out of my hand) & there's other exotic animals that youll spot if you look. Yes there are stray dogs , they seem to live at the back of the hotel in the stables but non look starving, and like most dogs when they haven't been taught otherwise, will sit close by with the hope of food donations ( signs everywhere saying please don't feed the dogs). There has been no ill treatment of dogs, the hotel workers do encourage them to leave but nothing unacceptable or unfair. The dogs dont come too close but they are visible. Theres a bus that stops outside for trips to the market ( worth the trip to see & hear locals buying fresh produce) , we found a taxi outside who took & picked us up for less than £5. Theres a big " super u" there too so if your craving shopping, fast food or you need supplies, thats the place to go. We've booked the 5 island speedboat tour for tomorrow, there are facebook groups that are perfect for helping plan your adventures. Yes there are free pedalos & canoes to use by the boat hut, but the tide must be high to be allowed ( we've not seen high tide yet). In summary, would we come back here? Absolutely yes! We've paid for 3* because we would rather see more of the world & different cultu