Riu Sri Lanka

Overall, it was a good stay with my family, and we booked four rooms in total. However, unfortunately, this time our experience was very disappointing. During my previous visit, my son became sick, and I also mentioned this in my review at the time. This time, on the second day of our stay, both my friend and I experienced severe diarrhea and stomach pain. I was so unwell that I could not eat or drink for the entire day. I approached the reception and asked to speak with someone in charge. The lady at reception told me that she was in charge. I explained that I was very sick, was constantly needing to use the toilet, and was experiencing significant pain. Instead of asking how she could help or offering any assistance, the first thing she told me was, “We have almost 600 guests, so it has nothing to do with the food from the hotel.” I found this response extremely disappointing and lacking in hospitality. I was not asking her to immediately accept responsibility for the illness; I was simply a sick guest asking for help and some basic concern. Good hospitality is not only about having nice rooms and good facilities. It is also about how you treat guests when something goes wrong. At the very least, I expected someone to ask about my condition, offer assistance, or show some genuine concern. Overall, the stay with my family was good, but the way my illness was handled by the reception left a very negative impression and is something the hotel management should seriously look into.

Lovely staff, well looked after. They made personal touch for our anniversary celebration and helped with any query. Food was good, disappointing one of their restaurants was shut for all of our trip. Location is a little far out (2hrs drive from Colombo, 40 mins from Galle) which made doing activities out of the hotel a little challenging. Other than that, a very pleasant stay!

We had an absolutely amazing experience at Hotel Riu Sri Lanka, Ahungalla during our one-day stay. Everything was excellent — from the warm hospitality and friendly service to the beautiful surroundings, comfortable facilities, delicious food, and overall atmosphere. Even though our stay was short, we were able to fully enjoy the resort experience and came away with wonderful memories. The entire experience was relaxing, enjoyable, and very well organized. The staff deserve special appreciation for making guests feel welcome and well looked after. A truly memorable stay in Ahungalla, and definitely a place we would love to visit again. Highly recommended!

The hotel is very clean. Room was great, bed very comfortable, good air con. Food excellent. We were particularly impressed with the range of curries on offer and they were delicious. There was plenty of western food if that was your preference, pasta, pizza, burgers, hot dogs. The drinks were not great. Wine was ok, beer weak and fizzy, cocktails were not great and made with local spirits. Gin and tonic undrinkable. This is one area they could do with improving. The speciality restaurant were excellent. The steak at the Sauté very tender. The sashimi, sushi and dim sum at the Kaori spot on. Pools are beautiful and the weather was good. The staff could not do more for you and are so keen to please. As a couple in our 50’s this hotel was great for us as we just wanted to lie on a lounger with a drink and a book. If you are looking for something lively this is not for you, head to RIU’s in Mexico instead. Not sure there is much for kids here either. At the weekend the hotel is rammed with locals. Unfortunately they accept large groups of male who seem to spend the day drinking in the pool and the music gets turned up full blast. This starts Friday lunchtime and ends Sunday morning. We made sure we did trips on a Saturday and booked the speciality restaurants Friday and Saturday nights. The beach is stunning but the sea too rough for swimming. When you come out the hotel on to the beach you will get hassled by people trying to sell you tours and you have to be firm with them. We did use them for a trip to Galle, it was £50 in a car, they took us at 10am and collected us at 3pm. Driver was excellent. Down the beach on the left is a lovely bar right on the beach called Jungle Beach, went there quite a few times. Outside the front of the hotel there are Tuk tuk drivers. We used them to take us to a turtle hatchery, tsunami museum, Hikkaduwa and a massage. Ask them the price before you set off. It was 6000 SL rupees (£12) to go to Hikkadua and back. They are keen to wait for you whilst you do attractions/lunch. We found there priced far cheaper than the operators on the beach and at no point felt hassled or ripped off by them. We found Sri Lanka fascinating and less developed than many other place such as Thailand. We would love to return.

We had a wonderful family stay at RIU Ahungalla. The resort, food, facilities, and hospitality were excellent. A special thank you to Mr. Thejan at Reception for his warm welcome, professionalism, and helpfulness throughout our stay. and to Ms. Neshitha from RIU Land – Kids Club for being so caring and wonderful with our daughter. What made our stay even more special was the beautiful birthday surprise arranged for our daughter. A very special appreciation to the restaurant staff for arranging a beautiful birthday surprise for our daughter. They came together with a lovely cake, singing “Happy Birthday” to her. It was such a heartwarming and unforgettable moment for our family. ❤️ Thank you to the entire RIU team for creating such beautiful memories. We truly appreciate the wonderful hospitality and will definitely return! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐