Club Palm Bay Hotel

We have arrived back from club palm bay booking a holiday for 10 nights. Pleasent holiday with great facilities. The food was excellent and not disapointed with each meal.
Staff are very attentive to guests staying at the hotel. The time of year we went was quiet.
Not a lot to do at night. Entertainment could be improved on.
The rain got us down as we had a long trudge from our room to dining room. No complaints really and we would book to go back.

17 readers found this review helpful

this hotel was excellent and the staff made you feel special they were very polite and friendly the food was also excellent with plenty of choice.we used anthony the tuk tuk man & fernando for all our trips we found them very honest & helpful. we want to go back a.s.a.p we are in our fiftys & we felt very safe. everyone is so friendley & so happy.

37 readers found this review helpful

This was our first visit to Sri Lanka and must say we thoroughly enjoyed our experience and will certainly be returning in the not too distant future.
The Club Palm Bay Resort is surrounded by a large lagoon, which attracted all different kinds of birds and other kinds of wild life including water “Monitor Lizards”. All of the staff are extremely friendly, polite and very attentive at the resort. Nothing is too much trouble for them and although fully professional they have a brilliant sense of humour and loved to play small practical jokes on guests once they got to know them. The cleanliness throughout the hotel and the large airy bedrooms is of a very high standard as well as the well kept gardens. Bed linen is changed daily and towels would be changed when you left them on the bathroom floor (daily if required). All rooms have extremely good air-conditioning, fan, multi-channel TV, fridge, safe, hair dryer along with tea and coffee making facilities. The large L shaped swimming pool is cleaned daily by the pool staff who will also provide you with mattresses and towels for the sun lounger’s.
The food at the resort is of very good quality and plentiful, with all tastes catered for.
Breakfast: These are superb with a choice of porridge, cornflakes, fruit, fruit juice and eggs in whatever way you want them cooked (omelettes of all descriptions cooked to order in front of you). Also delicious bacon, baked beans and grilled tomatoes each morning. As the hotel also caters for local guests (especially at weekends), there is also usually a selection of local curry dishes available at breakfast.
Lunch and Dinner: The soups are really delicious with a selection of bread and a large choice of salads. An assortment of fish, beef, pork and chicken dishes along with a Pasta, featured as main course along with numerous curry and rice dishes to choose from each day, something to satisfy all tastes. There was also a large range of sweets to choose from, which I should add, were to die for.
All-inclusive guests are also entitled to morning coffee and cakes along with afternoon tea consisting of sandwiches and cakes, which are served daily in the main bar area. Some form of entertainment is provided most evenings in either the bar or restaurant area.
Main Bar: Open from 10:00am until 12:00pm daily and serves a selection of soft drinks (including water) and local alcoholic drinks, with the exception of the monthly Poya Days (full moon) when alcoholic drinks are not served until after 6:00pm
The beach is just across the road from the hotel entrance, with hotel staff on hand to provide sun beds and beach towels. Swimming in the sea is not really recommended due to the strong undercurrents, but excellent for sunbathing.
Although we undertook quite a number of tours around the island, I would definitely recommend a trip to the Elephant orphanage.

6 readers found this review helpful

Beautiful hotel, pity about such poor service. I stayed at the Club Palm Bay for two weeks in June, left with mixed feelings but overall it was an enjoyable holiday. The hotel's gardens are beautiful and the pool is fantastic. My room was a nice surprise - single travellers usually end up in a smaller room, but I had a large double with loads of cupboard space. The room was kept very clean but every day I had to ring to ask for towels (which were, like the decor, overdue for a replacement). The food was plentiful, although a bit repetitive, and there was always a selection of wonderful fresh fruit. What let the place down was the abysmal service. Typical example was when my room phone rang at 6am with a wakeup call I hadn't booked. When I said I hadn't asked for a call the reply was "Why Not?" (still trying to work that one out). Staff were always angling for tips, especially the pool boys, and I felt that single travellers didn't get looked after as well as couples and groups (not such high tippers, perhaps?) I did try booking an excursion from the agent in the village, who was highly recommended by others on this website, but he isn't too interested in single travellers, and his prices were higher than Mercury; he only offers reduced prices for a full mini-bus. The hotel is quite isolated and the beach, as reported elsewhere, isn't nice and you can't swim from it. I did take a two-day inland trip and had a fantastic time with a great guide. Would I go back? For such a cheap holiday it would be easy to overlook the pitfalls and just chill out in those lovely gardens, so I might be back again.

6 readers found this review helpful

we found the hotel to be excellent in every way from the tiny details such as the new loo rolls being folded to the wonderful flower arrangement on our clean bed linen every day. The staff are really friendly and helpful in every way. The food was varried and very good, all in all the best holiday ever.
We went on a few tours with Fernando who was excellent, very helpful and friendly and I strongly recomend him, he can be found outside the hotel gates and is much cheaper to use.

6 readers found this review helpful

Being a couple in our early 20's, although this hotel was quiet (to what we were usually used to!) we had a fabulous time and met some lovely people!! Our rooms were cleaned once/twice a day, the food was constantly of a high standard. The service was brilliant and everyone always had a smile on their face! The sea was too rough to swim in but we enjoyed the big pool at the hotel. We did an excursion with Fernando (the beach boy- outside the hotel) He was fantastic and took us to see all the places we wanted to go. We went on an elephant ride, visitied an elephant orphanage, spice garden, tea plantation, tea factory, dambulla caves, temple of tooth, sigyiri rock.. and all for £80ish each (including overnight accomidation and food). He also took us to a batic shop and paid for our dinner at a local cafe (which was an experience!). The following week Fernando invited us around to his house where we met his beautiful family, his wife even cooked us a lovely meal (king prawns and rice!). Fernando is a very trustworthy and genuine man and I would recommend him to anyone who wanted to go on any trips outside the hotel. We also caught a tuk-tuk into Chilaw market and another day at Negambo market throughout the holiday. I loved Chilaw market because not many tourists go there and everyone was soo friendly and warm. They loved having their pictures taken so I could play them back to them. Id definately go back to Sri Lanka and to this hotel. I wanted to say hi and thank-you to all the friends we made on our holiday (u know who you are!) We had a fantastic time and don't worry, your still invited to the (future) engagment party!!

1 reader found this review helpful

Being a couple in our early 20's, although this hotel was quiet (to what we were usually used to!) we had a fabulous time and met some lovely people!! Our rooms were cleaned once/twice a day, the food was constantly of a high standard. The service was brilliant and everyone always had a smile on their face! The sea was too rough to swim in but we enjoyed the big pool at the hotel. We did an excursion with Fernando (the beach boy- outside the hotel) He was fantastic and took us to see all the places we wanted to go. We went on an elephant ride, visitied an elephant orphanage, spice garden, tea plantation, tea factory, dambulla caves, temple of tooth, sigyiri rock.. and all for £80ish each (including overnight accomidation and food). He also took us to a batic shop and paid for our dinner at a local cafe (which was an experience!). The following week Fernando invited us around to his house where we met his beautiful family, his wife even cooked us a lovely meal (king prawns and rice!). Fernando is a very trustworthy and genuine man and I would recommend him to anyone who wanted to go on any trips outside the hotel. We also caught a tuk-tuk into Chilaw market and another day at Negambo market throughout the holiday. I loved Chilaw market because not many tourists go there and everyone was soo friendly and warm. They loved having their pictures taken so I could play them back to them. Id definately go back to Sri Lanka and to this hotel. I wanted to say hi and thank-you to all the friends we made on our holiday (u know who you are!) We had a fantastic time and don't worry, your still invited to the (future) engagment party!!

4 readers found this review helpful

We live are a Scottish couple working in Sri Lanka for the past 3 years. Have been to many hotels throughout the country and believe us when we say it was the worst service we have ever had!
On arrival there was no one to greet us at the door or take our luggage.
Long walk along corridor to a vast but bare reception hall.
Staff at reception did not know we were coming, did not know booking procedures.
Eventually got taken to our room which was a pleasant surprise...nice, clean, comfortable and a lovely view of the lagoon only feet away from our private terrace.
The room was lacking in mini bar/coffee & tea facilities and safe deposit box which considering it was quite isolated from these facilities it should have been there.
We settled down at the pool and at lunch time decided to order a snack but realized we hadn't seen anyone serving on the poolside. Eventually had to ask and were told snack menu finishes as 12noon!! Only the buffet was available! After asking a few different people and being told the same story we went to reception...they didn't know either and had to phone a few numbers before finally telling us to go to the main bar.
There we found a very small but adequate snack menu!!!
We ordered 2 snacks and after waiting 1 hr we finally received but 1 snack, 1 drink and 2 glasses. The drink bottle still had the top on, waiter had no opener so after waiting an age my husband opened it on the wall spilling 1/2 of it in the process. After another 1/2 hr the other snack came but chips were cold so had to be sent back.....another wait!!
Later on we dared to order another drink and a coffee, they could bring the drink but the coffee I had to get myself!!!
That was on our first day of 3!!
Buffet dinner and breakfast the next day were very good!
At breakfast though a child of about 3 yrs old was left unattended in the pool while their parents ate breakfast as is quite common in Sri Lanka. The child lost his footing and fortunately lots saw it and he was saved!!!
Asked about playing golf, their reaction..."you want to play?"..."now?"!! Eventually found man to open up and give us the equipment. He showed us the tees but realised 1/2 way that he told us to start at the last tee!!
On our last day there our room was not cleaned at all and discovered later that they had us leaving that day even though we booked 3 nights and it wasn't until we returned to our room at 4pm that we discovered our room not cleaned....when did they think we were going to leave?
We went during their Vesak Poya festival which is a very important one for the country and not a sign anywhere about it...and when they brought their home made lanterns which were very impressive as they usually are out for display still there was no sign at all for the tourists to know what it was all about. The different sections of the hotel made their own as is the custom and have a competition. In our view the kitchen staff's lantern was tops.
All in all the hotel is lovely, the situation is nice but very isolated so unless you go on a tour there is nothing for it but to stay in the hotel. The beach is not nice, not clean and the sea dangerous to swim in.
The snack food was lovely when we did eventually get it and the buffet dinners and breakfasts were good too.
Sorry about the staff though, they are untrained, not happy, not helpful and totally unconcerned about their customers needs.

4 readers found this review helpful

We went to this hotel for honeymoon and everything was perfect, and poeple so nice.
Great room with nice view to the lagoon and the swimming-pool is simply the best I ever have seen.
The only negative point : air-conditionning was rather loud and didn't cool enough when weather turned hot.
Nevertheless doesn't matter, we will try to return soon.
To recommand to everyone but not children because there is few distraction for them.

6 readers found this review helpful

Very relaxed holiday, friendly and helpful staff, plenty of food and drink. Entertainment every evening. Samantha Tours, outside the Hotel gates provide very reliable travel to any of the tourist spots, I hired a car and driver from Samantha tours for a day and travelled to colombo, I was well looked after, bearing in mind that I was on my own, the drivers are very polite. Can highly recomend Club Palm Bay, idyllic surroundings.