I had stayed in Club Palm Garden in March 2010 and..... I met my husband there :-)

Had 1 week here for honeymoon in August 2010 and although the people were nice (some didnt speak much english) the hotel was very basic and needed updating. The food was always cooked nice and was some selection, the pool area was nice but the pool side itself was cracked and dirty in places. The hotel itself is guarded by police 24/7 with a perimeter fence around it. The rooms were never spotlessly clean.

Direct access to the beach at the back of the hotel but as soon as you leave the perimeter, local people on the beach hound you to buy stuff, they are not allowed onto the hotel grounds which is good but you cannot have a peaceful walk on the beach without being pestered - this was a real downer for us.

We had a lovely meal in the treehouse as it was out honeymoon with personal waiter service and a 6 course meal but it was an extra cost.

The bathroom was a real disappointment, toilet and shower was stained and accumulated stains by what seemed over several months; you cant leave balcony door open as mozzies would come in. We didn't leave the complex for the whole week as without the protection of the police on the perimeter, we were scared to go out as the traffic on the roads was an utter nightmare during the day; drivers over there do not care at all and the traffic is very dangerous to be in amongst.

We had 4 days of solid rain which couldn't have been helped but there several leaks in the hotel one of which was in the snooker room which ruined the table. This room was also not very clean.

When we left we was told that the hotel was going to be completely refurbished in 2011 so it may be very different now but when we went, we did not recommend it.

we actualy stayed here 2009 and I must admit that I arrived here ill with root canal on my tooth so for the 1st week just wanted to relax and take my antibiotics well lets get to the nitty gritty the food it was good just not for us too much curry breakfast lunch and dinner but if you asked the chef he would help you out they are not used to western tastes but try there best yes the rooms smelt damp especialy the rigtht side of the building rooms looking at the beach but this was a couple of years ago we advised our son not to come here as he was due to stay here a couple of weeks after us also we asked if we could change hotels as we were not happy with things here the pool tiles the smell of the damp the food etc but when we did the other hotel was not very good either we then changed again and found a nice hotel but we also then realise we should have stayed where we was
Lets look at this again there was a sunami it devasted the country we all felt pity for here we saw the devastation that was brought to here how long does it last though when did we forget that the wanter reached up to the 2nd floor the hotel next door when we went was still full of mud the people were still hurting and tried to get the hotels open again as soon as possible to bring money to the people so they could work for a days pay and start to rebuild this country by there own hands not just by charity the prices were low as everyone says we only paid for one week get one week free the best price for a long haul destination and all inclusive. so if we have to have a bit of a damp smell and we have to put up with paint pealing and it is in need of updating yes it is a buetifull country the people are fantastic they make you part of their family often introducing you to them you release the baby turtles that they are protesting and realeasing and they show you an unforgetable esperience with the elephants but know lets knock them down again or should we not look under the paint to what is underneath a lovely country and a great nation.

I can only describe this hotel as horrific, almost (only almost, mind) comically so.

We had booked a private tour of sri lanka and our tour organiser decided to 'upgrade' us to this hotel on our last night.

After a long drive there, it took half an hour to check in, because reception were inefficient, rude, and our room was not ready in spite of us arriving 3 hours after check-in opened.

When we got to our room it was dirty, full of stains, and had spectacular damp up the walls. The hotel assistant told us this was 'the painting style' of the hotel, and not damp, in spite of the fact that the wall was actually wet to touch, with sections coming away. Some of the lights didn't work, the air conditioning looked, quite frankly, toxic and so we chose not to use it, and the bed sheets did not look new, and were peeled back with anticipation of bugs.

The real joys started when we ventured out of the room (with our compulsory 'hotel guest' wristbands on) to discover that the hotel is entirely full of sunbathing germans, and old people. In fact to our amazement, the hotel garden (which is huge) was so full that we couldn't get a sun lounger at first. You have to request towels, and check them in and out on a timed-sheet, which makes you feel as though the hotel suspect you are going to steal them.

The pool was dirty, and the beach just beyond the complex was also dirty, and over-run with touts in a way that many other touristy parts of sri lanka simply are not. We found it impossible to watch the sunset without being asked to buy things every couple of minutes.

The hotel food also leaves something to be desired, and is buffet style, which means that you have to form an orderly queue, of say 40 people long, in order to get to the luke-warm, often unidentifiable food, which you then eat in a darkly-lit room with the other 300 people staying there.

Essentially, this is the hotel for you if you want to go to Sri Lanka and not experience any of what the country is really like, if you like your hotel to be dirty, stained, and a bit like Butlins for Germans (I am half german, i really have nothing against the germans at all - it was just astonishing how many hundreds and hundreds of them were there) and if you want terrible service.

In many ways, i have genuinely never stayed somewhere so awful.