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Overall we had a wonderful stay at Karpaha Sands as part of our honeymoon in August. The hotel was beautiful. We stayed in one of the ocean front suites and it was such a gorgeous room, with wonderful amenities and décor. We had our own sun loungers to use on the beach which was a lovely touch and the butler service was fantastic, it was very special to have breakfast brought to us in the morning to have on the veranda close to the ocean. The massage treatments were brilliant, and the swimming pool was lovely. The beach and ocean were beautiful. Unfortunately there were two areas that we felt needed improvement which is why we haven't given a five star rating. First, there a quite a few dogs that live/roam on the beach and on one day some of them got into a fight which was quite distressing to see, especially as one of the dogs became injured and was bleeding. There was also a cat in the restaurant area that was limping. It was unclear whether the hotel owns the animals or if they were wild, but either way it could be doing more to make sure the animals have good welfare, including medical treatments. Second, the quality of the meals was inconsistent. On several occasions the dishes we ordered were missing key elements without any acknowledgment or explanation from the staff, which was disappointing given the cost, e.g. I ordered the wok fried rice with tofu, but it didn't have any tofu in it. What was very frustrating though was that we had informed the hotel at several points (before our stay, when we arrived via a form which asked for dietaries) that I was vegan, but no one seemed to care/remember. At dinner for example I was repeatedly brought an amuse-bouche which I couldn't eat, and when I asked if it was vegan they would take it away- no alternative was offered. In the afternoon the staff would bring cookies to the room which was a lovely touch, but again they weren't vegan. For such a high-quality hotel, the staff should know if guests have dietary requirements. The Sri Lankan food in the restaurant was very good but some of the other dishes lacked flavour.

We stayed at Anantaya from 22nd - 23rd Dec as a part of our honeymoon tour in Passikudah. It’s an insta worthy place, specially the pool area. Pool was amazing.. we really enjoyed the large pool and our ocean and pool view room was just perfect. We loved the bedding.. it was so cozy.. we enjoyed a cup of tea in the evening at the. balcony with that amazing view. Room service and housekeeping staff were very helpful to us during the stay with all of our requests. The front office team was very welcoming and friendly. Everyone was adhering to the health and safety standards. The food was alright but some improvements wouldn’t hurt. It would have been better if the breakfast buffet had a better choice.. However, upon request the chef made us a delicious omelet for breakfast and we enjoyed a lot.. special thank you to the Chef! Since we were on half board we wanted to have lunch on the 23rd Dec from the hotel itself. When we went to check that with the restaurant staff, there were two staff members and one was on the mobile (probably the restaurant manager based on the conversation he was having on the phone) and the other was assisting him with the call. So we waited a little assuming someone would attend to us. Since it was taking longer than we thought, we tried signalling them that we wanted to speak to one of them but even after seeing us they ignored. We gave up on the idea of having lunch at the hotel and proceeded to checkout. When we were leaving that person who was on the phone came to speak with us but by that time we’ve decided elsewhere for lunch. Apart from this minute incident, overall our experience with Anantaya Passikudah was good!