Kandy, as many of you know might already know is Sri Lanka’s last royal capital city. Before it fell to the hands of the colonists. Over the years, a number of hotels in Kandy sprang to life to offer visitors a chance to experience its rich history.
Udawatte Kele
Although I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, Udawatte Kele Sanctuary is a little forest located right above the Sri Dalada Maligawa and the Royal Palace. The forest sanctuary used to be a safe haven for the Kandyan royals. Once inside, you can barely hear the hustle and bustle of the city below.
Where to stay?
As mentioned before, there are so many places to choose from. We stayed at Mountbatten Bungalow – a property of Theme Resorts.
We booked the little chalets to celebrate a special occasion and we were in love with the place! The entire chalet was wooden, with a cute balcony area to relax in and a lovely bathtub to soak in. The entire room was spacious and comfortable. The minibar was fully stocked. Bedroom amenities were a definite 10/10. We never wanted to leave!
The infinity pool was impeccably cold, but I mustered up the courage to jump right in.
Food
Unfortunately, dinner was below our expectations. As per our previous experiences, we realised that remote bungalows make a killer spread of Sri Lankan food. So we ordered the Asian rice (which sort of resembled Nasi Goreng). It was a sad disappointment, the rice and flavours were bland. For the first time, I couldn’t eat all of it. The 2 appetizers before that might have aided in that though. Soup and a cold cuttlefish starter were mediocre.
Breakfast was surprisingly much better. The bread was toasted well, and they served a platter of jams- one of which was homemade. The tea was way too strong for our liking. My partner ordered Sri Lankan food, while I chose the usual omelette and sausages with bacon. They were out of bacon and served me with two small sausages and a scraggy omelette for the mains. For the Sri Lankan breakfast, they served string hoppers and roti along with chicken curry, coconut sambol and a yellow gravy. The chicken curry and coconut sambol were packed with flavours and tasted great!
Service
Again, we were half expecting the service we received at the Scottish Planter’s bungalow – their sister property in Nuwara Eliya. The staff were friendly enough, but didn’t have common courtesies. When answering the phone or checking out, we didn’t get the usual exchange of pleasantries. They did get us a cute cake (the taste of which was questionable) to celebrate the special occasion – so +1 for that. However, we did ask twice whether we could have breakfast or dinner by the pool, with the breathtaking view of the mountains. For dinner, they informed us of some insects that might disturb us, but would surely set us a place for breakfast there if there was no rain. Alas, no rain and no breakfast on the terrace with the mountain view! Instead the breakfast tables were set right outside the main bungalow – 3 tables – all close to each other.
Fin
- Service – 5/10
- Food – 6/10
- Room & amenities – 9.5/10
- Facilities – 6/10
Yours truly,
Imperfect Traveller
