Sheer horror! Incompetent staff and termites falling on us."
It started right from the moment we arrived. All the gates to the hotel grounds were closed. We had to ring, knock, and honk for minutes until the doorman finally opened the door. But then he refused to let us in. It took a long time to explain to him that we had a reservation and that we were finally allowed to pass through. His English skills are definitely not sufficient for a hotel with international guests in Sri Lanka's capital.
At the reception, it was again very stressful and took several minutes to convey that we wanted to check in, even though that is actually the main job of the staff.
After checking in, we had to leave the hotel briefly. Upon returning, it took another few minutes of knocking, ringing, shouting, and honking until the doorman opened the door for us. This was doubly annoying, since we had said we would only be gone for a few minutes. A few hours later, an employee approached us and asked when and how we would like to pay for our room. Since the accommodation had been paid for months in advance, this was again very unprofessional behavior. Explaining this to him was, of course, just as difficult as any previous interaction with the staff.
When we later returned to the restaurant for dinner, the room was almost empty. Only two tables were occupied. Despite the reservation, there was no staff in sight. After waiting several minutes, we had to contact the reception desk to be seated and order. Accordingly, everything took a very long time. The same situation repeated itself at breakfast.
The worst part of our stay, however, was our room.
As we lay in bed, we first heard scratching noises behind us. A few minutes later, numerous termites, or woodworms, burst through the back wall of the bed and fell onto us. Absolutely disgusting! The photo I uploaded shows the back wall and the insects. Unfortunately, the insects also fell into one of our power adapters, which we then had to dispose of on the spot to avoid bringing the parasites home with us. There were also ants on the bed, but they were really irrelevant at the time.
It was a very disgusting and unpleasant situation, especially since we were very tired and it was already very late. The receptionist immediately helped us change to another room. Fortunately, there was still one available. Of course, it was still exhausting to pack everything up and move so late at night. The replacement room was only slightly better, though. When we entered the room, we immediately smelled mold. The stains on the walls and ceiling (see photos) seem to be the cause.
There were also a lot of flies and mosquitoes in the room. The air conditioning was leaking, and drops of moisture were falling on the floor and the curtain (see photo).
In this unpleasant situation, it was impossible to relax or sleep. We were accordingly exhausted the next morning.
The only good thing about this stay was that we were finally able to leave the hotel the next day. It was truly utter horror.
Upon checkout, we naturally complained massively. As expected, it took a very long time to explain to the staff what we meant.
Unfortunately, the hotel manager wasn't there and couldn't attend. We demanded at least a partial refund of the room rate as compensation. After a phone call between the receptionist and the hotel manager, we decided to email the manager about the situation to request compensation. We did just that. It's been two months now. After repeated follow-ups, we even received a promise of compensation and a payment date. However, that date has passed, and our inquiries have been ignored ever since.
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