Only a great experience or a terrible experience could get me to go online and leave a review, and this was not a great experience. For those of you who do not wish to read my rant, let me tell you this - only visit this place if you don't mind the subpar service and terrible staff attitude (this place is run like a YMCA hostel. "Hill Pride City Hostel" would be a more appropriate name).
I was going to put this behind me and forget about my less-than-perfect experience because, to be honest, this is a great property! But Madhusha's (the Manager's) attitude at my checkout was the last straw, the cherry on top, so here I am wasting 15 minutes of my time.
Good food, good property, good rooms, and reasonable prices BUT the staff attitude, their rules and regulations, and their unwillingness to be customer-friendly and flexible, are so off-putting and negate all that is good about this property.
Day 1 - On the first day, I discovered that the gates close at 9:30 pm while I was attending a function in Nuwara Eliya. Interestingly, I had not been informed of this regulation during check-in, upon departure after check-in, or even when settling the advance payment. As I mentioned before, the operational style seemed similar to that of a YMCA hostel.
Day 2 - It took a solid hour and a follow-up call to the front desk just to get them to send up a water bottle in the morning. Then, around 1:00 p.m, I decided to order some lunch. I called about five times, but no one picked up. Finally, when I got through at 1:15 pm, they told me that the kitchen had already closed, and I was out of luck for lunch.
I tried again to order more water bottles because the one they sent in the morning was just 500ml. They said ok, but then, radio silence for a whole hour. After a follow-up call to check on the water situation, Madhusha casually mentions that they decided not to send any more water because they sent one bottle in the morning, and apparently, I'd be charged extra. Hey, I'm happy to pay, but how about giving me a heads-up instead of silently deciding not to send water? Communication goes a long way!
Day 3 - Check-Out Experience: They say check-out is at 11:00 am, but I showed up at 11:30 am. Madhusha then tells me there's an extra fee because I'm 30 minutes late. It's not about the small LKR 500 charge (apparently, it's LKR 1000 per hour if you're late). It's more about the idea of punishing guests for being a little late, especially after not-so-great service.
I asked Madhusha if she was the owner, and she first said yes. But when I didn't buy it and asked again, she admitted she was the manager. When I wanted the owner's contact info to give some feedback, she said no. Madhusha, congrats! You just earned your establishment a shiny negative review.
You've missed out on a customer who frequently visits Nuwara Eliya, along with all the potential positive recommendations I could have shared. Hope the 500 Rupees was worth it.