Nikara Beach Villas Arugambay

After three weeks travelling around Sri Lanka and staying in a variety of hotels and homestays, this was by far our most disappointing stay.
From arrival, the property appeared poorly managed and unkempt. Staff were sitting around communal areas on their phones, the manager’s desk was in a public area with a bottle of gin on the floor, and the property looked very different from the booking photos, no bean bags on beach with tired and broken loungers and generally neglected surroundings.
We booked partly for the pool, but there were bugs/debris at the bottom and we were told the filter had been broken for some time.
Our chalet also had maintenance issues, including a bathroom window that wouldn’t close, a loose toilet roll holder and unstable shelving. Our initial security concern about the window was dismissed, and action was only taken after we insisted it was fixed or we moved chalet.
Breakfast was particularly poor considering the price.of the stay The English breakfast consisted of a chicken-style hot dog sausage and a spoonful of scrambled egg, and we were told we could have either juice or tea/coffee, not both. The Sri Lankan breakfast required around a 45-minute wait, and on another morning even yoghurt and fruit took approximately 45 minutes. The kitchen, visible through an open window, was very untidy.
On our second night, a large group arrived by bus for a party gathering around the pool, with music continuing until around 1:30am.

Overall, the combination of poor maintenance, disappointing service and apparent lack of effective management made this extremely poor value for money. After experiencing wonderful hospitality throughout Sri Lanka, sadly this was the one stay that really disappointed us. Based on our experience, we could not recommend this property.

Like most of this area it has a slightly worn feeling.
The beach is not swimmable but of 15 minutes walk down the beach.

Unfortunately the property looks nothing like the photos. The place has a severe lack of management and is in need of a refurbishment. The grounds and outdoor area look unkept, reception area is untidy and unwelcoming, the sun loungers are dirty and need replacing. I booked this because it looks like a nice place to chill on the beach, however there are no beanbags as shown in photos and you can not go in the sea there. We booked a sea view room, there was not a sea view, instead we were facing an abandoned building and hard. The staff although friendly, need some training. It’s a group of young boys who sit around on their phones or playing games waiting for someone to arrive. We were sadly disappointed with our stay especially as it is one of the more expensive places in the area.

Eher teuer dafür sehr schön, Kühlschrank wäre noch super, gefallen hat uns alles

Concernant la piscine cela reste très compliqué d’y rester longtemps car il y’a énormément de vent.
Il y’a la mer, mais on ne peut pas se baigner car c’est trop dangereux donc c’est comme si elle n’était pas la.
L’Espagne piscine est à nettoyer les transats sont vraiment en mauvaise état, et pas propre.
Nous aurions aimé que dans les chambre les tapis de bain soient changés tous les jours , vu que c’est une douche sans paroie c’est évident que le sol est mouillé.
Une légère odeur de remontée d’eau était présente caché par des parfums d’intérieur.

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Ausstattung basic

Todo el servicio está en la recepción, a la entrada del recinto. Si estás en la piscina generalmente no hay staff para pedir nada. Creo que deberían tener a alguien siempre ahí ya que es donde están los huéspedes, y así evitar tener que salir de la piscina y cruzar todas las villas para pedir un agua o un zumo. El servicio a veces también puede ser lento.

On Saturday night, there was a party at the pool and unfortunately, the loud music went on too long, until about 1:30 am. Not great for villas close to the pool, including the sea view room.

L’alimentation pourrait être améliorée. Les jus de fruits très bons.

De kamers zijn niet erg schoon, dat zou wel wat beter kunnen. Bijvoorbeeld de ventilators hebben smoezelige zwarte randen en vlekken op het tapijt en ook schimmel op de kitnaden in de badkamer.

The room was not serviced during our 4 day stay. We were supplied water on arrival but then had to pay for it after that. We ate dinner in our room one night and had the plates left there for more than 24 hours until we finally took them back to reception. We didn’t want to leave them outside because of the dogs and monkeys. There is very little space to sit stuff in the room. The staff lack initiative and spend a lot of time sitting around on their phones however they are pleased to do something once you ask. It doesn’t live up to the photos especially the pool area which is older and needs a makeover. There is a ‘pool bar’ but there never seems to be anybody looking after it so if you want to get a drink, you need to go looking for a staff member.