Leijay Garden Retreat — Hotel in Galle

This is yet another hotel which is difficult to find, even for the local tuk-tuk drivers! It's hidden away in a maze of winding lanes, to the north of the town, and even the map on the hotel leaflet didn't help. Several phone calls were made by the driver we had one day, but he eventually threw his hands in the air and passed us to another!||||The word “resort” could lead you to believe that there is more here than there actually is; the information on Hotels.com states there are 12 pools – there is only one, but it is lovely. One reviewer has stated it is ankle deep at the shallow end – this is absolute nonsense and means she is either the 50ft woman or didn't actually venture into it. I'm 5'3” and the shallow end came up to my waist, and in the deep end it came up to my chin. I could not see a children's pool, and the one pool does not have a children's area separate from the main area. The lawn chairs and umbrellas have seen better days - quite some time ago, I would think.||||There was no evidence of a spa, and there is no daily housekeeping – we asked for clean towels after three days.||||Breakfast consists of the ubiquitous omelette, toast, juice and tea or coffee. I must admit to having doubts about the freshness of the milk which is possibly reconstituted powdered milk, and may well be re-heated every day. Try to avoid if possible. There is a basic dinner menu but the prices are reasonable, the servings very generous and tasty.||||The rooms are spacious but quite dark. Although there are mozzy nets over the beds, I would suggest putting screening over the windows; there had been a half-hearted attempt in our room but it had been applied inn such a way as to prevent access to the opening mechanism. A previous guest had remedied this by ripping the screening – which defeats the purpose! A ceiling fan and air con helped cool the rooms but they often felt dank and clammy. The bathroom, being an inner room, quickly began to get smelly and fuggy. There is a kettle, but no cups, however a simple request at reception was all we needed.||||There is a huge verandah outside the rooms which is a lovely sitting area – chairs and tables, ceiling fans are all there, and it's a lovely peaceful place from which to enjoy the garden. We spotted lizards, chipmunks, and many beautiful birds, and although we heard monkeys we didn't ever see them.||||Guests are provided with free transport within the local area; Galle town, or local shopping and ATM, and one day we were driven to Unawatuna at a reasonable cost of 500LKR. The staff are lovely, very friendly and helpful. Having learned that our daughter was celebrating her birthday a great fuss was made by the staff, who switched the lights off the came onto the verandah with a beautiful birthday cake, candles and balloons! It was a lovely surprise which we were only too happy to share with them; they were a little shy, but joined in the fun – so Thank You, you made the evening very special.||||With one or two little improvements to the dark rooms this could be a really...

Forget about the name Leijay Resort - resort was definitely used quite loosely here. It ain't a resort at all. The pool was ankle deep in the shallow end and probably waist deep in the deepest end - if that. ||The room was dark and dingy, mosquito nets had holes in them and showers basically dribbled and had zero water pressure whatsoever. ||Breakfast was literally some fruit and pieces of bread laid out on the table that you could toast. Sachet coffee and tea bags were the beverages available.||The "resort" is quite a fair way from Galle Fort and quite isolated so we were lucky to have a driver with us to take us to and from places. It would've been a long walk to town otherwise.||Two nights were more than enough here, definitely could not have stayed any longer. We booked this place based on seeing great reviews on booking sites and on TripAdvisor, but now don't know whether or not to trust reviews anymore!||Honestly wouldn't recommend this...

Forget about the name Leijay Resort - resort was definitely used quite loosely here. It ain't a resort at all. The pool was ankle deep in the shallow end and probably waist deep in the deepest end - if that.

The room was dark and dingy, mosquito nets had holes in them and showers basically dribbled and had zero water pressure whatsoever.

Breakfast was literally some fruit and pieces of bread laid out on the table that you could toast. Sachet coffee and tea bags were the beverages available.

The "resort" is quite a fair way from Galle Fort and quite isolated so we were lucky to have a driver with us to take us to and from places. It would've been a long walk to town otherwise.

Two nights were more than enough here, definitely could not have stayed any longer. We booked this place based on seeing great reviews on booking sites and on TripAdvisor, but now don't know whether or not to trust reviews anymore!

Honestly wouldn't recommend this...