Eden Spa & Resort Beruwala - Reviews - Beruwala

Mark and I stayed here for a week for a last-minute Easter holiday in 2005. Mark had been in hospital with severe problems with his elbow for a week and he fancied a holiday to chill out. We flew from Glasgow to Heathrow with BMI, then out to Colombo with Sri Lankan Airlines vie Male in the Maldives. The airline was great - they're partnered with Emirates and the planes are very similar.

The Eden is a three and a half hour drive from Colombo - it's not a massive distance but because the roads in Sri Lanka aren't great everyone drives pretty slowly! We arrived at the hotel around eleven at night and when we checked in the staff asked if we'd like to upgrade our rooms for not a lot of money - about $200US for the week. We went to look at the room we'd booked - just the standard one. It was pretty basic - everything was clean and new (the hotel was very badly affected by the Tsunami of December 2004) but it was just a bit bare for our liking, so we looked at the Superior Rooms, which are on the upper floors. We chose this as for not a lot of cash more, you get a 24 hour butler, fruit, snacks and a much nicer room, with a four poster bed, a huge bath, massive shower, and a glorious dark wood floor.

Because we arrived pretty late we ordered burgers and fries from room service and they were great - tasty and delivered in a good amount of time. The jet lag hit us and we were awake most of the night watching films on TV, which was great - a number of English language channels, including movie channels and BBCNews24.

Breakfast was OK - we were on a half board basis - and provided all the usual stuff, cereal, fresh fruit, juices, and eggs, etc. We usually shared something at lunch time at the pool bar and ate in the main restaurant beside the pool all but our last night. The food there was again OK - buffet style. What was best was Temptations Restaurant, on the second floor. It was a la carte and wonderful - nouvelle cuisine but not in the tiny portions you'd get in trendy restaurants in Europe and the US. Drinks we thought were reasonably priced, although I see from reviews on tripadvisor.com that people think it's expensive now - perhaps prices have gone up.

The pool area was really nice - always lots of sunbeds available, either in the full glare of the sun or under the trees. There was a little trio called the BumbleBee Singers who wandered round singing now and then, which was nice but not intrusive. The staff were efficient and were happy to bring drinks to the loungers.

We didn't really go onto the beach because we're not keen on sand. But there were beach boys hanging around from sun up until sun down trying to sell tours, t-shirts and drinks. I heard some people in the hotel used them for day trips and were perfectly happy with them, but we were quite content to stay in the hotel for the week. The rep visited us too and was a bit perturbed when we didn't take him up on his suggestion of a day trip to the Temple of the Tooth! We went onto the beach once to see what it was like and take a few photos and once you told the beach hawkers you weren't interested in their wares they tended to leave you alone.

The hotel was hit by the December 26th 2004 Tsunami although we learned - miraculously - no-one in the hotel was killed. That's almost unbelievable because it pretty much engulfed the first two floors of the hotel. The main restaurant by the pool was destroyed, and I've since seen videos on YouTube of the wave hitting and the speed is incredible. Less than five months after the tragedy, the hotel was back on it's feet and the only vague trace there'd been such a catastrophic event was a faint smell of damp in the lower couple of floors corridors, but because we weren't staying on them it wasn't an issue. Our butler told us he'd lost his wife and two children in a train crash in the tsunami and he'd gone to find them and found their remains. At least he got that much, and was able to give them a proper burial, which he said he was eternally grateful for. That was the only time the disaster was mentioned.

As I said, we didn't venture out of the hotel other than to go back to Colombo Airport so I can't comment on restaurants or shops nearby. That was good because we didn't spend much cash at all! I don't think there was much in the area of tourist value - you'd had to have gone on a full day or two day trip up country to see the interesting stuff, but for us - wanting a quiet week - it was fine. We slept, ate, sun bathed and ate, then went to sleep which was exactly what we needed!

Overall the Eden was good. We didn’t use the spa, but I hear it was pretty nice. It isn't a five star hotel - maybe four? Possibly three by UK standards, but the superior rooms increased it's standing in our views. We'd maybe return - if we were in the area, it'd be a safe bet, but I think if we were in Sri Lanka again we'd be touring, so Beruwela would be unlikely to be on the itinerary!