Anantamaa Hotel

This is a badly managed hotel, in a very poor location near a beach which is dirty and unsafe. Not recommended . For sea bathing much better to head north to Nilaveli beach or South to Pasikudah. This hotel is not on the beach, but one block in - you have to go down a small path to get to the beach. And the beach there is dirty, and the sea is rough and murky. Nilaveli beach a few miles away is much cleaner and safer. The food at the hotel is poor. But worse is that the management allow outsiders to have parties. One afternoon a crowd of about 30 men came with arrack and drank until they were drunk . By 6 pm they were all in the pool with their clothes on. And the noise. So we couldn’t swim at all. Unacceptable.

OK, the positives. Friendly staff, though several on the Reception appeared to be standing around with little to do. We had an issue with our AirCon not working, which was a bit of an inconvenience as we had to swop rooms, but the maintenance team did sort it out overtnight. The garden is landscaped around several mature trees and the large pool, which has plenty of loungers, showers and a bar. The shower in our room was excellent - good power and heat. Beds hard, but very comfortable. We stayed 4 nights and the room was cleaned daily. Rooms have seating outside. Good access to the beach via a private path and several places to have a drink or some food are close by. The nearest, YOUR CHOICE, plays loud music all day so not exactly relaxing if you are using the Anantamaa beach loungers, but at night you can sit nearer the surf on the beach, which softens the noise. The next place down the beach (towards Trincomalee), THE 18th HOLE, had a fun, younger vibe with different stalls offering everything from sushi to burgers, pizza to tacos. Sushi was excellent. A little further down the beach was WAVES restaurant, which did some great fish/seafood, but choice of fish was limited. Negatives: The hotel just looks a little tired and really needs updating. A little more attention to some details and some investment would go a long way. Our room was basic - some fitted wardrobes, but only a handful of hangers. No bedside lamp and little decoration on the walls. Felt a bit soulless, but it was clean. Breakfast was typical fare, but really basic and not particularly appetising. Dry pastries and dreadful coffee. 4 days and the same options every day. It was no big surprise to see that the restaurant was almost empty every night we were there - guests were obviously choosing to dine elsewhere. The fish ponds surrounding the pool area are green and smelt stagnant - they were so murky, you can only just see the fish swimming in them. Some oxygen and a regular clean is necessary. The pool area is great, but the bar staff play music for much of the day, the choice of which seems more for their benefit than the guests. Looking at the guests around the pool (almost entirely elderly and families with young kids) something a little more chilled would have been preferable. The loud beat and tinny sound from the music stopped us relaxing by the pool - otherwise it could have been a tranquil place to relax. We were moved to a different room as our AirCon was not working. The replacement room was substandard - the bathroom door was so warped it would not close and the wardrobe door was missing. The shower had weak flow. We asked to be moved back to our original room once the AirCon was fixed, . There was also a wedding or party one night we were there, which took place in a function room above guest suites, so we had to endure loud base until 11.30pm. No warning of this, nor any apology when we complained to Reception. There is a designated beach area for t