Hotels near PREMA SAI mandoor, Batticaloa

Overall we had a wonderful stay at Karpaha Sands as part of our honeymoon in August. The hotel was beautiful. We stayed in one of the ocean front suites and it was such a gorgeous room, with wonderful amenities and décor. We had our own sun loungers to use on the beach which was a lovely touch and the butler service was fantastic, it was very special to have breakfast brought to us in the morning to have on the veranda close to the ocean. The massage treatments were brilliant, and the swimming pool was lovely. The beach and ocean were beautiful. Unfortunately there were two areas that we felt needed improvement which is why we haven't given a five star rating. First, there a quite a few dogs that live/roam on the beach and on one day some of them got into a fight which was quite distressing to see, especially as one of the dogs became injured and was bleeding. There was also a cat in the restaurant area that was limping. It was unclear whether the hotel owns the animals or if they were wild, but either way it could be doing more to make sure the animals have good welfare, including medical treatments. Second, the quality of the meals was inconsistent. On several occasions the dishes we ordered were missing key elements without any acknowledgment or explanation from the staff, which was disappointing given the cost, e.g. I ordered the wok fried rice with tofu, but it didn't have any tofu in it. What was very frustrating though was that we had informed the hotel at several points (before our stay, when we arrived via a form which asked for dietaries) that I was vegan, but no one seemed to care/remember. At dinner for example I was repeatedly brought an amuse-bouche which I couldn't eat, and when I asked if it was vegan they would take it away- no alternative was offered. In the afternoon the staff would bring cookies to the room which was a lovely touch, but again they weren't vegan. For such a high-quality hotel, the staff should know if guests have dietary requirements. The Sri Lankan food in the restaurant was very good but some of the other dishes lacked flavour.