Ivy Lane Galle Fort — Hotel in Galle

Good location and very nice rooms - we were disappointed with the service here.

We had booked 2 rooms for the 4 of us (2 couples) through Booking.com. When checking in we found that we'd booked 2 rooms - 1 single and the other with a single and a double. The woman checking us in gave us attitude and carried on with her own conversation while we were trying to work out the booking and payment. Thankfully they were able to organise another room. When we booked, the photos showed the rooms all had a double and single each. If this isnt the case the photos need to be updated on booking.com as it's misleading.

Warning there is no parking and suspect most hotels within the fort would be the same. We had hired tuktuks and parked out the front but the streets are very narrow! We were holding our breath anytime someone drove passed. We ended up parking in a carpark for 300 rupees, after a local came and told us the cops would be called for parking outside the hotel.

We asked the same employee who checked us in about getting some laundry done but she said there's no laundry here and waved her arm up the road to indicate there's laundry that way - every other place we've stayed has taken our laundry for us - luckily the laundry is only a 3min walk up the road.

The rooms were lovely and very comfortable. Very thin walls though! Anytime someone opened a door it sounded like they're opening the door to your room. We also had no towels for showering. When I asked for towels it took three people to translate what I was asking for and they still only gave me one towel. We had 5 bath mats, so potentially they thought they were giving us extra towels.. Our friends aircon in room 2 was terrible - on the lowest setting it was still the same temperature in as it was outside - approx. 27 degrees Celsius.

Breakfast was ok - terrible tea and coffee - do yourself favour and head to one of the many cafes around.

One male staff member helped book an airport shuttle for us, and organised an extra late check out, so we weren't hanging around the airport for hours (our flight was at midnight). This was after we asked the original lady and she shrugged at us and said she didn't think they could. The late checkout cost us an extra 15000 rupees which they wanted us to pay cash - we thought this was a bit steep but ended up paying it but not in cash - seemed a bit suss asking for it in cash. We didn't get good vibes from the staff here and the fort just wasn't worth the stop - expensive and we got heckled by taxis, tuktuk drivers and people trying to sell you things on the street. We even had a waiter crack it with us because we just wanted to stop in for drinks and not dinner - mind you we bought some expensive drinks! I'd miss Galle and this hotel...

It's really sad manager of property does not know how to talk with a customer. Literally he shouted at me and my wife. I made a reservation for a triple room & double room. Me and my family arrived at the property and went in to check the rooms. We were quite disappointed the way it was setup like Normal room with attic. It was NOT evident in the pictures as third bed is placed upstairs inside the room like an attic. You might hit your head if you stand up. It is cute setup and would have been great for youngsters or a family with kids. However my parents elderly it's tough for them climb up inside the room. Also double room is in a separate location, not adjacent to the triple room. Since our family wanted stay together in adjacent rooms, we decided that this is not suitable for us.

So I cancelled the reservation and started to look for any other hotels available near by. I also informed the front office staff, we can't take the room. Politely asked them to cancel it. Front office staff informed me, they can't refund, need to talk with the manager. Since we need to find another place we said we would call the manager shiwanka and come back again in few minutes to discuss.

When we called to speak with the manager, he accused me that I never visited the place and cancelling without coming. I tried to explain what happened. But he wasn't in the mood to listen was shouting at me and my wife. Really sad. Not refunding the advance payment is one thing, how to handle a situation is entirely other thing. Especially those who in the hospitality industry, should know how to talk with a customer. Refund is something we could have discussed and come to an fair agreement as we cancelled after looking at the property. If they get another booking for the same rooms, they could have refunded us (front office staff informed me all rooms occupied, I specifically asked give us 2 rooms next to each other I can pay more if needed). Or they could have politely told it's their refund policy that they can't refund anything. Lost my money & had terrible experience! I do not recommend this place.

Disappointing experience!...

My parents and I stayed in a three person room where the setup is one big bed in the main room and a single bed in a loft area up some stairs. The hotel is in a great location with easy access to sights around the fort area. It was clean, breakfast was great, and service was pleasant.

I personally wouldn't recommend this hotel for a few reasons:

1. There was construction from our very first day. My parents were tired after a long trip and were desperate for a nap but there was some construction happening on the roof so it was impossible to even relax in the room. This carried on for our whole three day-stay with no mention or apology from staff. There was one night where it went on until after 9pm! And another instance where we had to wait for the workers to remove construction equipment from the stairs so we could actually go downstairs. Again, not a word of apology or recognition of how insane it is that we were staying in a construction site. Truly bizarre.

2. While the hotel has a lot of potential, I was surprised at how budget it felt for the amount of money we paid. Little things like the room not being ready on check-in, or being given a small roll of toilet paper when the room is cleaned and constantly having to ask for more.

3. The extra bed in the loft is suitable for a child and maybe a smaller adult but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else. It is also a lot warmer with less air-circulation up there and we couldn't get it much cooler no matter what we did. I raised it with one of the staff but their English is not great and we gave up and just dealt with it. Maybe an extra fan up...