Polina Beach (Hansa Surf) Didn't like it.

Written: 2 october 2018
Travel time: 23 september — 1 october 2018
Your rating of this hotel:
4.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 4.0
Service: 7.0
Cleanliness: 5.0
Food: 8.0
Amenities: 4.0
Review of the hotel, which is located near the ocean. There are 2 of them in Hikkaduwa with the name Polina.
It seems that the laudatory reviews are written to order. Here's a real review for you.
We were here. Impressions are different. Really different! There are pluses and minuses. Let's try to describe everything, and draw your own conclusions.
Minuses:
Specifically, this hotel is 2 * and not a single gram more. A hotel for NOT demanding people. The main rule - relax and do not worry. If you dwell on the shortcomings, then you will not be able to rest at all.
The prices in the restaurant are the same on the menu, the bill will be brought for a different amount, the change will be brought for the third, and they will say the fourth. Conclusion: don't sweat it.

Ants in the rooms. Cleaning is so-so, for 3- and then only when you ask. They can forget if you only tell the woman who cleans about it. You have to remind the authorities. During the week of our stay, they cleaned 1 time when we really asked. Conclusion - don't sweat it.
When it rained, water poured from the ceiling in many rooms. People ran out of their rooms in horror in the middle of the night. We were lucky it didn't pour on the bed. Neighbors right on the bed. Nobody moved them.
The rooms themselves are the same. At first we were scared, it was dumb. And then they remembered - they relaxed and did not bathe. And it became normal. Everything is so weak and dilapidated. The toilet in some of them is absolutely terrible, like in a hostel forgotten by God without repair. But we were not going to sit in the room. And it became the norm. Compared to Egypt or Turkey, it is of course weak, sad.
Water is often not available. Turned off every day. That electricity is not. It was cut down 5 days out of 8. At the same time, everything is ok in neighboring hotels. We don't steam.
We had a DeLuxe room on the tour. Relax. No deluxe here and does not smell. No ocean view in DeLuxe, too, does not smell. Our room was practically windowless. One small and ever-closed window led to the inner staircase, where everyone always walks. And a micro window in the toilet. Everything. And we think we had another cool chic room! I'm afraid to imagine what a standard room looks like. If such dumb deluxe.
We asked for a room with an ocean view. We were told to pay $10 extra. Ok, this is normal practice. We were transferred to a larger, but even worse, room with a really scary toilet, like in a hostel. And only then they counted +10 dollars for each day. Isn't it crazy? Okay, we agreed. But then mosquitoes began to fly in this room from all the ventilation slots! The air conditioner is not working. And then the light went out. We freaked out and went back to the first room.
In general, it takes a very long time to get to the hotel from the airport. About 4.5-5 hours minimum. This is if you arrived in the daytime, then there will be traffic jams everywhere. Plus, bring along the way all the vacationers to other hotels. Take food with you on the road.

Of the soap accessories, only 1 small bar of soap is given for two. And that's it. They will give you new soap when they clean it up, and then you have to remind them to give you soap. Otherwise they will forget. There is no shampoo. Take normal (large) soap with you, and be sure to shampoo.
Mosquitoes. Be sure to take a couple of fumigators, a supply of plates, and a spray on clothes with you. There are not so many mosquitoes, but they are there.
Also, the usual tee to the outlet, and a normal adapter to their outlets, will not interfere. They have a similar like ours, but 3 fingers. Until you put the third one in, the first 2 will not open.
There are no refrigerators, TV, kettles in the rooms. We hardly begged for a kettle. They didn’t want to give it, because the sockets spark a lot, the previous vacationers almost burned the room because of this.
The shower in our room was strange (when it worked). On one wall was a faucet with a shower of ordinary cool water. When the sun comes out, it warms up to hot from the sun. And on the opposite wall was a faucet pouring exceptionally hot boiling water. It turns out on a sunny day you could wash yourself with cold water. But in cloudy weather or at night - you need to show the wonders of acrobatics. Turn on a cold shower on one wall. And on a completely different wall, turn on another shower with boiling water. And wash with two souls at the same time. Water was not always available.
Internet is weak. For messages of norms. But Skype does not work. Works only when there is electricity. And it is not always there. And catches only in the lobby. In the rooms does not catch.
Pros:
The cuisine is delicious. Any dish will be prepared in its own way, but very tasty. Lots of seafood. Everything is fresh. Don't expect standard food here. Standard things are cooked in their own delicious way.
Portions are huge.
The ocean is pleasant and warm. In any corner of the hotel (if this place can be called that) you can hear its noise. The beach is good too. Palm trees on the beach. View as in advertising Bounty - romance.
We once saw a gecko in our room. Ran along the wall and ceiling. Chipmunks-squirrels on palm trees. On the street, if you try, you can meet a varran.

We bought fruits from merchants, very tasty. On the main street, fruits are 2 times more expensive than in distant shops for locals. Terribly expensive and not traded. All tourists and so they take without problems. We took fruits in the mountainous areas when we went on an excursion. It came out 3 times cheaper! For 1000 rupees, packages were barely dragged into the room. And on the main street, a modest bag cost 4.000 rupees.
The guide is very good and friendly Russian speaking. Everything will be prompted and explained. But this does not apply to the hotel.
And the bus we traveled on was good, with air conditioning. Thanks to the guide. In this heat and humidity without air conditioning it would be a nightmare. Exotic Travel do their job very well. Thank them.
The people in Sri Lanka are very nice. All educated. A lot of people know English, some, especially merchants, speak broken Russian. And everyone is trying very hard to help you. In general, there are fewer educated people on the beach, and they are trying to sell you something for crazy money. This is not the case inland. And people are smarter. The hotel staff is very pleasant and polite.
And the most important thing. Weather. As the locals explained to us, the season changes here in the fall, and it's time for a storm. Every year this is a different time, but on average, from the end of August to mid-October, the time falls: from 1 to 4 weeks of continuous storm. This may be different in different years. 1 week, or up to a whole month. We just got caught in a storm. In 2018, the storm began on September 26. And the next 5 days it was stormy. We don't know, we left. The waves are big even when calm. Well, be patient. And during a storm, swimming is generally not possible. Dangerously. At a nearby base, people went swimming in a storm, and the guy was dragged away by a wave, and died.
The weather here is very changeable. Sun and rain can change. But a storm is a storm. The hotel does not have a swimming pool, so we hardly swam. We only sunbathed when the weather allowed.
We advise you to take more excursions. You can go to the turtle farm by tuk-tuk. It's very close, 5 minutes. By bus to Galle, see the ruins of the fortress.
Very good trip to Kandy. We arrived with a bunch of fruits, medicinal ointments, and real mountain tea. Thanks again Exotic Travel.

Of course all people are different. Tourists rested with us, who did not see anything further than a glass in the hotel. It all ended in the dead of night under the yelling of mats, running around the hotel, and the battle of dishes. Of course, they didn't care much. No hotel, no housekeeping, no electricity, no water. The hotel staff did not respond to this. Just watched with a sweet smile.
And there were also normal vacationers. They went on excursions more and did not bathe.
There is no reception at the hotel at all. There is no place to even print tickets.
We were also "lucky" - the local travel agency, where they took the tour, let us down. They sent us plane tickets back a few hours before departure from the hotel. After we put everything and everyone on our ears to solve this problem. By the way, the guide from Exotic Travel immediately responded to help. Did everything possible. And the Ukrainian side did not react at all. For which they are a fat minus.
Will we come back here again? In Sri Lanka, yes. This hotel is a solid no. The feeling that they lived not in Sri Lanka, but in Berdyansk with Aunt Moti.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original