Taru Villas Villu - Wilpattu

We were told (after we arrived) that the hotel had taken 3 years to build and had only been open for 7 months - however for $1000 per night you would expect MUCH more and hence we were very disappointed with ……… * Very Sketchy wifi - I couldn’t work or connect with family/friends much of the time * Hot water runs out after 15 minutes so you are left with shampoo in your hair unable to wash out unless you do so in cold water (I was not happy at all) * Whilst the naturist tries really very hard and he is absolutely lovely, the Safaris are quite mediocre - and if you have ever been on a safari in Africa - do not even bother here. * No Gym * No TV * No Spa treatments * Not even any board or card games available so when it rains and boy does it rain - even in the so called “dry season” you are left with NOTHING to do - you cannot sunbathe, cannot watch tv, cannot work, cannot have any spa treatments so you are left watching the rain and twiddling your thumbs. * Not even a yoga mat Whilst the staff are beyond incredible and really cannot do enough for you - Mark Anthony (Hotel Manager available 24/7) and his team are beyond wonderful - it leaves a sour taste when you have paid so much money and so many things need massive improvements The food is exceptional - a lovely new menu every day and you can eat whenever you like Rooms are beautiful (quite dark), beds very comfortable. Pillows and Linen lovely however there are no sun beds on your private patio so you HAVE to go to the pool if you want to sunbathe !! We wanted privacy but had no option but to leave the room to sunbathe. The hotel however is beautiful - both the grounds and the rooms but for that amount of money there needs to be MUCH MUCH more and personally I think that EVERYTHING that is lacking should have been in place well before opening their doors to paying guests or getting travel agents to sell !! This is an experienced brand so there really is no excuse ! Would I come back - Sadly I don’t think so !

This is a new Taru resort and the rooms, overall resort and amenities such as kayaks and bikes are great. The landscaping is definitely not pristine with an attention to detail definitely missing but as fauna develops hopefully it will become easier on the eye. My main complaint is the level of service for the price paid. The service is inconsistent, staff are poorly trained on hygiene and simple things such as food service and although extremely kind and willing they fail to reach any resemblance of service equated to a Small Leading Hotel of the world. I hope this can be rectified with better training and attention to detail as this could be a really great resort experience if better run!