Sri Lanka Travel Forum

Hi My husband fancies staying at The Palms in Beruwala All Inlusive for 10 days. Has anyeone stayed at this hotel. Also what is in Beruwala. We are looking foe a relaxing 10 days. Are there any shops in this area.
When I mentioned that we are thinking of going to Sri Lanka people say that it is not a good place to go and that they haven't recovered from the Sunami. Is this true?
We are hoping to go late Oct or November I think the weather is o.k. then. Any comments will be much appreciated.
Many thanks Suzy

Hi suzy.

Beruwela nice place to relax as you mentioned November is ideal fro visiting south/west part of the country . from the resort both side you get a small town ship aluthgama town 1 km south having all the basic necessary thing then 600-700 m north beruwela small town. Don’t forget to visit beruwela fish auction in the morning , the brief garden of geoffery bawa and the sea turtle farm as kosgoda.

Don’t worry every thing been re –settled after tsunami .

Go fro it……

Wish you nice stay in sri lanka

Thank

Micy

Hiya Suzy,

I aint stayed at The Palms VT’s sister site. Trip advisor has lots of reviews and they seem positive enough*

I’m no expert on Beruwala either; I’ve been there several times but haven’t stayed there for a few years. Bentota always seemed more relaxing to me, you are also within walking distance of the ‘small township’ of Aluthgama, which is arguable one of the least relaxing places on this part of the island but the river acts as a natural barrier between Bentota and Aluthgama, it also separates the Bentota ‘beach boys’ (aka touts) from the Aluthgama ones who always appeared more aggressive to me. I see you’ve been to Egypt so this might not be an issue but for a lot of first time visitors it can be an issue.

If you want to do some shopping I would take a bus inland to Matugama, which is about an hour away. Matugama has all the shops that Aluthgama has but it isn’t a tourist town so you can shop in relative peace whereas in Aluthgama you will find shopping without the ‘aid’ of a tout difficult. With the touts commission on top of the ‘special price’ already charged by the shop keeper you may be asked for three times what you pay in Matugama but it’s more the irritation.

You will still see signs of the Tsunami all along the coast, Beruwala was hit pretty hard (I was here at the time) but the recoveryu has been pretty dramatic and as you travel south towards the President’s home ground the place appears noticeably more developed than it was before.

Regards

Mark
*www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g499084-d777127-Reviews-The_Palms_Hotel-Beruwela.html

Hi Nicobe,
I agree with the two previous writwers about Beruwala.If the Seach boys are a nuisence to you all you have to say is "NO'to everrything and proceed your way.in other words you ignore them.They wont bother you.
Have a nice holiday.
Pacified.

Thanks to Mark and Micy for your replies. Have booked to go to The Palms on 8th Sept. Although I have just read that they are a little tight with the drinks on the All incl. so My husbad won't be having too much rum. Can we bring our own booze into the country or do we buy it when we arrive, if so, where.
Many thanks Suzy x

Hi Mark and Micy, My husband has made me post this message.
In my previous message I was asking about booze, he would like it known that we are not alcholics but he has a back problem and rum is the best pain killer around for him, especially when sleeping in a hard bed and when walking some distances. Many thanks Suzy x

AI includes LOCAL alcohol. Imported alcohol is expensive in Sri Lanka. So your husband will have to settle for local rum or pay for imported.

You can bring 1˝ liter alcohol in to Sri Lanka. You can buy it at the duty-free shop just after immigration on arrival in Colombo.

If your fella can tell good rum from bad he may find the local spirits they give you as part of the AI deal pretty much undrinkable, the Arrack is maybe the least likely to dissolve your stomach but it makes some people bad tempered.

Imported spirits are a silly price in the hotel and you ain’t always sure what you’re getting so do what the poster says above, get your allowance at the airport on the way in (you can’t miss the shop) and keep it in your room.

If you run low there is a ‘wine store’ in the town where you should be able to get a bottle of imported rum at around the same price as at home (maybe more this year) you can get one of the beach boys to fetch it for you.

By the way, you aren’t supposed to be able to get alcohol on “Poya Day” which is a Buddhist festival and bank holiday that takes place every full moon.

You’ll have no problem with a night cap in your room.

Binara Poya Day (which commemorates The Buddha’s visit to heaven) takes place on Sunday 14th September, have a lazy day, wear something white and visit the Temple in the evening.

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