September 16, 2008: Booking process was very efficient. Our driver Chandra has been an excellent driver and guide. He is very knowledgeable on local history and speaks very good English too. He has made us feel safe and relaxed during our time with him in Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya Village: Very nice setting with beautiful grounds. The food could have been little better. But on the whole this was a lovely place to stay.

Suisse Hotel: We enjoyed our stay here. The food needs to be improved.

St. Andrew’s: A beautiful place to stay. The rooms and restaurant area were very impressive.

Elephant Reach: Could not fault this hotel and the food was particularly impressive.

Unawatuna Beach Resort: A great location with excellent food and service. We really enjoyed our stay.

Bentota Beach: An excellent venue with lovely spacious grounds and lots of really good food.

Ceylon Continental: Location of the hotel is good. Pool was nice and clean. We were not able to check in as soon as we arrived and the service was not very efficient.

Excursions: Pinnawala – An excellent excursion with good photo opportunities / Dambulla & Sigiriya Rock – Very interesting historical excursions. Might be wise to advice people to wear appropriate footwear for the Sigiriya Rock climbing / Botanical Gardens – Very beautiful. Saw lots of wildlife / Temple of The Tooth – A very interesting excursion.

August 27, 2008: Nicola was very good at replying to e-mails and changes in itinerary. Nihal, our driver, was excellent throughout. Especially thankful for the couple of long days he did for us. He was very good at explaining everything and showing us around.

Chaaya Village: Very relaxing. Enjoyed waking around the lake and other areas. Saw lots of interesting animals too.

Hunas Falls: Amazing location. Enjoyed the walks with the naturalist. Only downside is the long drive up to the hotel.

Yala Village: Amazing location. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Heritance Ahungalle: Food was delicious. Would recommend to anyone.

Blue Oceanic: Hotel good but would not recommend for beach stay.

Excursions: Sigiriya, Dambulla, Elephant ride, Temple of The Tooth, Trekking at Hunas Falls, Yala safari – everything was excellent. Nihal was great at organizing all.

Overall Sri Lanka was even better than we imagined. Hope tourism will pick up in this wonderful country with friendly people. Many thanks to every one involved in organizing a great holiday.

August 26, 2008: Nicola arranged the holiday efficiently. We had fantastic 3 day tour with Ranjith and would recommend him to others.
Sigiriya Village: Great location near to Sigiriya Rock. Rooms were very nice.

Excursions: Temple of The Tooth – Guiding was very good and knowledgeable / Spice Gardens – Really enjoyed this and found it very fascinating / Sigiriya Rock – Brilliant. Guiding was very good and informative.

August 19, 2008: Sisil was a fantastic driver/guide. His knowledge and commentary was excellent and really cemented my enjoyment of the trip. I will definitely recommend his services to my friends and family.

The Beach: Great way to start a trip. Very relaxing and lovely pool.

Cinnamon Lodge: Lovely surroundings. Great base for cultural triangle trips. Excellent staff.

Tea Trail (Summerville): Highlight of the trip. Absolutely stunning location. Staff, food and everything was perfect.

Yala Village: Nice to enjoy a completely different experience. Yala safari was great. All other excursions were excellent.

August 07,2008: Booking was prompt and adjusted according to our itinerary. Herman was the definite highlight of the tour. We would recommend him to friends wishing to use Red Dot.

Galle Face Regency: Offered rooms different from booked due to high occupancy and delayed rooms for 45 minutes. Good room.

Amaya Lake: Very good.

Amaya Hills: Very good location and good food. Poor room & bath. Offered higher category rooms due to complaints but turned down because of hassle of packing.

August 05, 2008:  All went very well and according to plan - in fact even better than planned As always the secret behind these trips is the guide/driver - and Bubsy was second to none. Always very willing to help explain, listen and above all not too OTT! We changed the schedule around a little bit according to his experience, but every part of the journey was made more interesting by his knowledge and comments - stopping here and there whenever he thought we might be interested in something. As for his knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Botanical gardens - amazing!

We discussed the Perehera and how we simply could not fit it in, so he changed plans for when we returned from Nuwara Eliya to Kandy and organised (with some bargaining involved!) some excellent seats.

Cinnamon Lodge: Excellent - could have stayed a couple of nights there. Great pool too - children loved it. Definitely a recommendation.

Suisse Hotel: This has definitely seen better days and I think is in need of a bit of restoration - having said that, certainly comfortable and from another bygone age - Raffles before it was tatted up,  the Strand in Rangoon or even of course Galle Face!

Hill Club: A unique experience. Great staff - rooms out of the 50's, reminded me a bit of the old days of club rooms in London. But the atmosphere is quite unique. And how nice to have to dress smartly for dinner - excellent food - proper service - the log fire - etc.

Excursions: Elephant Ride - very enjoyable and very different to riding the in India and Thailand / Sigiriya - So all in all we had a fabulous time - well enjoyed by all.  Train Journey – Exciting… the children were certainly challenged, such a different experience for them. Thanks for recommending that part - something I would definitely recommend to others - including a visit to the signal box to see how everything used to be done - Made in England of course!

August 04, 2008: Dharmawardena was a very helpful and courteous driver and his knowledge of flora, history, culture and wildlife was extensive. He was a valuable asset to our holiday.

Kandalama: Fantastic location and architecture.

Vill Uyana: Very lovely place. Thank you Red Dot Team.

Kulu Safari (Udawalawa): One of the highlights of our holiday. Brilliant campsite location near the river. Wonderful food and service and especially a unique experience.

Rainforest Edge: Lovely food and very good service.

41 Lighthouse Street: A lovely villa in prime location. Another experience not to be missed. A brilliant chill-out place. 

August 04, 2008:  Hasantha [our driver] was a lovely man! He was a real asset to our holiday. He went out of his way to provide precisely what we wanted and took the time to find out about our interests. His vehicle was always kept in pristine condition. He greeted us every day with a big smile and enthusiasm for the day ahead. He was an excellent ambassador for your beautiful country and we were amazed at his breadth of knowledge.

The Beach: This was an excellent way to start the holiday; it was particularly what we needed after our long flight. The breakfast was exceptional, the buffet was good but unfortunately we didn’t try the fine dining restaurant. We also took advantage of a locally offered excursion through the canal system and it was a super and relaxing experience introducing us to some of the local wildlife and ways of life.

Kandalama: A stunning location, an amazing feat of architecture and almost at one with nature. The main restaurant was very good and the fine dining restaurant was excellent.

Earl’s Regency: A beautiful hotel, lovely reception and facilities and excellent spa We were in the executive suite and we thought it was absolutely wonderful. Throughout the holiday you always managed to get us adjoining rooms and this was really appreciated especially in this hotel as we shared a private roof garden with stunning views. The fine dining restaurant was an exceptional culinary adventure on a par with the best French Michelin restaurants. One night was simply NOT enough in this beautiful hotel and city.
Tea Trails (Castlereagh): Just amazing! Everything was perfection.

Galle Fort:  A beautiful hotel. We loved the swimming pool and courtyard. Great food too.

Temple Tree:  A wonderful room! It was the best room we had in Sri Lanka. To really emphasize the point I would like to say that we have travelled a lot and all the hotels we stayed in Sri Lanka with the exception of Yala were better than any of the hotels we have stayed in any where in the world. A beautiful hotel, swimming pool and garden and beach location. But the food was a real disappointment and the service extremely slow when serving food.

July 31, 2008: We have just returned from the holiday of a lifetime in Sri Lanka. Although my wife and I have been 3 times before, this was the first time for our son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren – and the first time we have used Red Dot Tours. Everyone had a fabulous time, the highlight of which was seeing a huge male leopard lying on a branch in a tree in Yala National Park consuming a large Sambah deer he had just caught and dragged up the tree. As a result, he wasn’t going to move so we had a very rare close up viewing and photo opportunity!

I cannot praise Red Dot Tours enough and have already recommended you to all our friends and will make a suitably laudatory report on the ‘tripadvisor.com’ site. Although we organised our own return flights with Emirates, Kaushini of Red Dot Tours did the entire organisation for our time in Sri Lanka, albeit to our own specification: hotels and excursions. She was absolutely fantastic and a joy to deal with. Nothing was too much trouble and, as a result, our whole trip ran like clockwork – everything was perfect. A huge thanks to her for her professionalism, charm and efficiency – quite the best travel ‘consultant’ I have ever dealt with, and I have dealt with many top tour operators over the years!

I must also heap praise on the freelance driver you provided. Chrysantha Gunasekera was outstanding in every respect. Most impressive was the way he left nothing to chance, right down to phoning our friends in Wye Estate in Bandarawela to make doubly sure of the exact route to their house. He left nothing to chance and so everything ran, again, like clockwork. We were always in the right place at the right time. He was courteous, professional, drove with care to ensure our comfort at all times, always met us with a beaming smile, was very knowledgeable and had excellent English. His vehicle was extremely comfortable and always beautifully cleaned and prepared for us each day – quite something with 3 untidy grandchildren amongst his passengers! He was also most helpful at all our stops ensuring we had a trouble-free holiday. We felt he became ‘one of the family’ though he always subtly and tactfully knew just when to be to one side. Like Kaushini, he is a gem. I recommend you continue to use him whenever you can.

Lastly, I would like to thank your Managing Director for giving us a very clear, unbiased appraisal of the security situation before we left. He was quite right in everything he said and, despite the Foreign & Commonwealth advice not to go to Yala, we were able to make a reasoned and considered decision to ignore their advice and go. Thank goodness we did, because we saw every animal, except the sloth bear, with the leopard in the tree being the absolute highlight.

Thank you for ensuring we had such a fabulous, faultless holiday.

July 12, 2008: Our driver… we cannot praise ‘Erwin’ enough. Our two weeks holiday was planed as a very special holiday and Erwin has made this possible for us. We will recommend Erwin to our family and friends.

Cinnamon Lodge: Wonderful in every aspect. Our room and service were excellent. We would definitely visit again.

Tea Trails (Norwood): Absolutely fantastic!!. The service and ambiance here were truly wonderful. Again we would definitely visit again.

The Fortress: Again, Wonderful in every aspect!!.                 

July 07, 2008: Suren was Very helpful and flexible. Chandrasekera was very knowledgeable, helpful and a good empathy both with us and the country. We were very lucky to have such a good experienced driver.

Sea Shells: Loved this hotel and the surroundings (houses / beach / fishing boats).

Hotel Sigiriya: Loved the pool and the location. Rooms were very dark and noisy, sheets were too small – felt it was not generous.

Chaaya Citadel:  Lovely position and good rooms. Enjoyed our stay.

Kalu’s Hideaway: A really lovely spot and a great place to stay. Lovely surprise to find a beautiful pool. Good service.  We should have booked on half board as the meal prises was non-negotiable.

Blue Magpie: Good location. But felt no one was in-charge. Would recommend to book on half board as there is no other alternative.

Flower Garden: Great spot, staff was really friendly and we felt very comfortable. Fun place to be.

Bentota Beach: Much too big and not really a beach hotel despite it’s location. Too impersonal. Excellent room.            

June 25, 2008: "Chandra" made our trip a real pleasure.

Kandy House: Amazing place with lovely staff.

Tea Factory: Road to the location is a bit of a mess.

Kalu’s Hideaway: Not up to standard. Very disappointing!!

Excursions: All of them were excellent and well organized.

June 21, 2008: We felt that we were personally looked after from the point at which we initially enquired to the point at which we left home. This is Red Dot’s strength [Kosala], as we have never been to Sri Lanka before and we were informed and reassured throughout. ‘Erwin’ our driver really made for a wonderful holiday. I would recommend him without hesitation.

Kahanda Kanda: The quality of the accommodation and the personal service were first class. George went out of his way to make our stay really enjoyable. I would (and perhaps will!) return here if we come back to Sri Lanka.

Rainforest Edge: A great place to stay for visiting the Rainforest, as it is very local. The experience was pleasant, but the accommodation is a bit ‘gloomy’ and it felt somewhat out-of-season, which of course it was!!

Kelbourne Cottage: A very pleasant place to stay with fantastic views. The service was good and the food was cooked to our taste. Could do with new mattresses on the beds.

Palm Paradise Cabanas: A really beautiful setting with a comfortable cabana. The food was good and we could always choose the menu. Fantastic value for money.

Hideaway: The new swimming pool is a nice addition to the complex. The food was indifferent and the choice of TV in the room over hot-water was a mistake. Poor service in the morning and very poor breakfast too.

Horathapola Estate: Fabulous place. The perfect end to our holiday!!.

Qatar Airways: A very smooth and efficient flight with good quality of service and comfortable seating. Doha needs to gets it’s act together on cleanliness (The airport that is!).

June 10, 2008: ‘’Gune’’ is an asset to your organization. He made my tour extremely interesting and enjoyable. Felt he was my friend rather than just my driver. He took great care of me, extensive knowledge about Sri Lanka answering every question I had. Great adviser and fun to be with.

Browns Beach: Compared to other accommodation standards this could not compete. But was adequate for one night stay.

Thilanka Resorts & Spa: Very impressive. Friendly staff, good food and lovely pool. ‘Good facial at spa’.

Lavender House: Amazing place. Wish I had more nights here. Everything was exquisite. Lovely staff, wonderful food, stunning rooms and facilities.

Yala Village: Great location. Although didn’t have much time to really appreciate it as I arrived late in the night and left after safari.

The Fortress: Very friendly smiling staff.

Yala Safari: Jeep driver made a huge effort for me to see a leopard which I did. Amazing that he could spot things and the way he did.

June 07, 2008: Herman was very reliable and good professional. He is extremely courteous and patient. He has made our stay very pleasant.

Mount Lavinia Hotel: Great place. Wonderful staff.

Vill Uyana: Heavenly!!!

Hunas Falls: However the road to the hotel was in awful condition, definitely worth the view!!.

St. Andrew’s Hotel: Excellent.

Aditya: Our favourite place for relaxation even it was a bit pricy.

Casa Colombo: We felt pampered. The staff accommodated our every need during our stay.

Qutar Airways: Good service, though too long waiting time in Doha. We were upgraded to Business Class in the Doha to Colombo flight.

May 04,2008: Nicola recommended a good itinerary for our interest and limited time in Sri Lanka. Our driver Wijekoon took good care of us and security.

April 17, 2008: Sunil was a very good driver. We were very satisfied with him and will like to use him again if we visit Sri Lanka.

April 06, 2008: Senarath is a courteous and safe driver and an expert in bird watching as a bird watching guide. He showed us many birds we would not have seen and identified on our own. He took us walking early in the morning and evenings to give the best possible chance of seeing as many birds as possible. The efforts he made were beyond our expectations and we would highly recommend him to other travellers interested in bird watching.

April 06, 2008: The whole holiday we organized from booking to end has been very stress-free and everyone involved has gone out of their way to make sure it was what we wanted. Our driver Wijekoon (Wije) even suggested an amendment to our itinerary as he thought we were missing out not going to Kandy – And he was right ! The amendment executed flawlessly and efficiently. He was an outstanding driver and I can’t imagine you could get a better. He was very well informed, organized, punctual, courteous, flexible and above all friendly and safe. Every thing has exceeded our expectations and has made this ‘’A Honeymoon to Remember’’.

Heritance Kandalama: A stunning hotel. I have never stayed in anywhere like this. The service, food, Room and wildlife around the hotel all made our stay at the hotel unique and unforgettable.

Earls’ Regency: Nice hotel. Very pleasant stay with nice touches.

Tea Factory: Good room and unique hotel. A few things didn’t work in the room, but they were fixed on request. My only comment is the rooms are quite noisy but the view makes up or anything.

Yala Village: A very unusual and friendly place to stay. Excellently placed for the amazing safaris at the Yala National Park.

Cinnamon Grand: A good Colombo based hotel. Very pleasant.

April 04, 2008: We had an absolutely fabulous holiday in Sri Lanka, Kosala! Thank you for all your help in organising it, and your patience with our endless questions, and changes to the itinerary.  We are so pleased we made the trip despite our worries about security.  We felt completely safe when we were there.  Herman was a very professional and careful driver and guide.  All the places we stayed at were memorable in different ways and we have some very special memories of all the lovely people we met.

We shall definitely recommend Red Dot to our friends, and hope to use your services again when we return to Sri Lanka in the not too distant future!

April 01, 2008: ‘’Sunil’’ is an amazing person who acted as a family member and guided us for the entire tour. ‘I want him next time too’.

March 31, 2008: Ananda made our holiday in many ways. His courtesy, good humour and wide knowledge impressed highly. Enjoyed everything we did and appreciated Ananda’s flexibility. He will remain a part of our honeymoon memories.

The Beach: Lovely start for the honeymoon. Beautiful design. Attentive service.

Vill Uyana: Absolutely wonderful. Welcome cake was a lovely touch showing that they understood it was our honeymoon. Friendly, courteous service. Amazing food. Our favourite place.

Kandy House: Disappointing – low point of the holiday. Promised a super deluxe room – a gallery suite, which we did not get and given a dark room with no bathtub, separated from the main house. Food was poor.

Tea Trails (Summerville): Wonderful!!. Most peaceful part of the holiday. The service was second to none, attentive but discreet. Food was phenomenal and plentiful. Stunning location. Loved it.

Amanwella: Stunning location again. A little too luxurious for our taste, but dearly a sumptuous beach resort.

Park Street:  Stylish.. Lovely pool.

March 23, 2008: [Nicola] Thank you for organising everything. I would like to say that Sunil did a wonderful job. He is a tremendous driver and very knowledgeable about Sri Lanka. I know few other people who are heading to Sri Lanka later in the year and have advised them to contact you and request for "Sunil".

March 22, 2008: Just a short note to say thanks for everything that you [Charlie] and Red Dot tours did to make our stay in Sri Lanka the best two weeks of my life. Everything went like clockwork; your staffs do you proud. Our guys on the bus were tireless, courteous and always smiling. Nissanka was fabulous, making the longer journeys go quickly with his repartee. His advice was excellent and his organization was very efficient. We were very sad to hear that his mother was taken into hospital and we wish him all the best. He was a great credit to your organization. Upali likewise was excellent, taking a touring side over from the man with whom we had already bonded must have been hard. Nissanka is a hard act to follow. He did it well and was quickly at ease with all the tour. His organization and delivery were again faultless.

March 22,2008: We would like to comment Mr. Sathyaseelan (Seelan) as possibly the best tourist guide in Sri Lanka. We were touring for two weeks and thanks to Seelan we had an unforgettable experience. We are surprised and impressed with his vast knowledge in different fields such as history, ecotourism, flora and fauna. Every day was not only a new experience as a tourist but also a complete learning journey through time and places. He consistently goes above and beyond his job description. Thanks to Seelan, we will definitely come back to Sri Lanka and recommend it as a top tourist destination for our family and friends.

March 22, 2008: Ayanthi was incredibly helpful from first enquiry through to booking confirmation. Tour and all the activities and excursions were made interesting and informative by ‘’Jayasooriya’s’’ infinite knowledge and enthusiasm.

Blue Oceanic: Didn’t like the bath room. It was dark; shower was poor, looked dirty.

Kandalama: Lovely hotel. Service was over bearing with waiters fussing at table all through meal times.

Dunuvila Cottage: We really enjoyed our stay. But had a fairly uncomfortable night sleep. Bed was very small; there were insects all inside the bed. It was very hot with no fan or no way to circulate the air.

Kandy House: I would like to mention how fantastic the service was at the hotel. The staff did not interfere at all. They did not seem like they were waiting for a tip every time they did something [E.g.: bags arrived in the room before we did. Beds were turned down while we were out of the room. All these made our stay so much more pleasant.

Aditya: Wonderful place for end of holiday. Fantastic room. We really needed it after a nightmare transfer from Sinharaja (7hours). Service not so discreet as at Kandy House or Rainforest Edge.

Dutch House: Owners were very welcoming. Went out their way to ensure we enjoyed our stay. Providing extras such as afternoon tea and cakes, gifts when we left, use of their personal internet facility. We tried to swim in the pool, but it was really cold. ‘’Rodney and Eric said they plan to get a heat pump installed this summer’’.

Rainforest Edge: Room were perhaps better than described. Like Kandy House the staffs were discreet, yet attentive. Gorgeous pool!!.

Elephant Orphanage: Seems like carers were more interested in making money from tourists than looking after elephants. Elephants looked sad.

Minneriya Safari: Thoroughly enjoyed. Guide + driver + vehicle were excellent.

Wasgamuwa Safari: Saw lots of elephants. Jeep guide spoke little English and vehicle was uncomfortable.

Udawalawe Safari: Guide, driver and vehicle was much better. It rained for most of the safaris.

Sinharaja Rainforest: Excellent guide. Saw lot of interesting wild life.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress: Great views.

Polonnaruwa : Good to visit the museum first.

Udawattekele: Not much to see.

Ella: walked up to waterfall. Was hard work but rewarding.

Tea Plantation: Brief tour. All necessary information given about tea making process.

Temple of The Tooth: we felt out of place being the only tourists in the way of genuine Buddhist.

March 21, 2008: We are really grateful for your input in to this holiday. The recommendations you gave were all good really good. Herman was fantastic , we felt in very safe hands throughout.

Galapita: Delicious food, but not enough variety. We arrived after dark and no was there who spoke English to welcome us. Luckily we had Herman to interpret. Apart from one guy, no body helped us to carry our suitcases to the house which we felt very log.

Leopard Safaris: Excellent recommendation. Nothing too much trouble.

March 19, 2008: Senarath is an excellent ambassador for his beautiful country. Always courteous, discreet and helpful. He has helped to make my stay a wonderful experience.

March 16,2008:  Ayanthi handled all very efficiently and in a very pleasant manner. Erwin was delight to be with, helpful, courteous and very flexible. He became our friend and we will miss him greatly. We will carry fond memories of our time spend with him.

March 15, 2008: Red Dot has been superb throughout – from booking process to end of the trip. We very highly recommend the company. ‘Wije’ is a first class driver and guide. Couldn’t be faulted on anything. He as reliable, knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. He helped us to understand the culture and went out of his way to ensure that we had a superb holiday.

The Beach: We had a problem in our room (Infestation of ants). This was dealt with efficiently and quickly.

Heritance Kandalama: Piped music was killing and annoying. It spoiled the atmosphere. Apart from the music, a fantastic hotel. One of our favourites.

Helga’s Folly: Utterly unique experience. Wouldn’t have missed it. However, wonderful public areas are let down by the bed room accommodation. Bed room was rather small and inadequate (Eg: very low water pressure, showering difficult, water never more than warm at best). All hotel public areas were fascinating and Helga was charming. All staff were excellent and helpful.

Tea Factory: Interesting experience. Very good walks in the tea plantations. "Shame, hotel didn’t have a pool".

Yala Village: This was simple, functional accommodation and was presently satisfactory for the purpose.

Aditya: We really loved the hotel. Every thing about it was perfect. The rooms had to be seen to be believed. Absolutely fantastic. Wouldn’t have missed this hotel for anything. Thank you so much for recommending it.

March 13, 2008: Our introduction to the cultures of beautiful Sri Lanka was made more interesting and rewarding by our driver ‘’Punchi’’. We would recommend Punchi as a best driver and guide and will be requesting him on our next trip to Sri Lanka. He is an ambassador for Sri Lanka. ‘Thank you Punchi for the great service and experiences’.

Heritance Kandalama: Fantastic birdlife. Loved the bats too.

Kandy House: Fabulous residence & beautiful pool.

Tea Trails (Castlereagh): Food and service exquisite. Scenery is stunning. Wonderful bird spotting too.

March 08, 2008: A really beautiful, very friendly island. When meeting a wild elephant or two on a small road, make sure your guide is ‘’Seelan’’. Seelan is an excellent host (A very lovely man, wonderful host, excellent guide). He has gone out of his way to make our holiday and it has been perfect. Nothing has been too much trouble for him. He has vast knowledge and great passion for his country and fantastic ambassador for his lovely island. Ayanthi worked very hard to find us the right holiday. Her working knowledge, patience and care is highly appreciated.

Ice Bear: Very individual and quaint. Well worth a visit.

Grand Ella: The views were incredible. Every member of staff was so helpful and very friendly.

Palm Paradise: Beautiful surroundings. Excellent food. Good staff.                       

March 07, 2008: Although everything was very satisfactory, I would have appreciated a few more details on room quality. But these are minor details in what was a very well organised trip. Very pleased with Samantha.  Polite, knowledgeable and accommodative. Well worth retaining him as regular Red Dot tour driver/guide.

Kandalama: Second visit, so knew what to except. Disappointed that despite paying extra for luxury room. View of lake was minimal. Definitely recommend early morning lake safari for 2 hours trip that was idyllic.

Galle Face: Fortunate enough to be upgraded to a large balcony room with Jacuzzis. Unfortunately one Jacuzzi didn’t work but room was still pretty impressive. Afternoon tea is must as it is very good value for money and colonial atmosphere.

Heritance Ahungalle: Lovely location on beach but hassle factor is too high. Unable to reach waves without being accosted, even at 8am. Food was disappointing but Saturday evening BBQ was very good of a much higher standard.

March 04, 2008: Highly impressed with Ayanthi and her efficiency and willingness to help. "Number of companies didn’t even bother to call me back, But Red Dot took my request seriously and proposed a trip that met all my requirements". E-mail process worked perfectly. I also appreciate the excellent driving by Boniface.

Horathapola Estate: A wonderful start to my trip. Wonderful hospitality, delicious food and a beautiful and tranquil setting. Recommend it as a perfect retreat for 2-3days to start/end a trip. Only wish I had more nights booked. The perfect introduction to Sri Lanka!!. A very helpful and attentive owner – which was appreciated.

Ulpotha: Amazing place, run by incredible people. A stunning setting. The best food I had in my entire trip. Two weeks there and I felt totally rejuvenated by the yoga, ayurveda, food, water, lake and general vibe. Can’t say enough good things about the place and will recommend it to all my stressed out friends – even those who have never done yoga. A very special place!!.

Thilanka Dambulla: An ok place to sleep – but not that impressed. Staffs were very helpful. Very noisy (Even though I was the only guest). Construction work around the pool and paddy fields wasn’t a relaxing setting. The rooms smelt very strongly of mouth balls. Didn’t enjoy the time here.

Kandy House: Lovely place. Gorgeous room. Enjoyed my stay. Had a problem with a leaking toilet, but staff fixed it. Otherwise an enjoyable stay although would have preferred if they told me that Yoga would cost me Rs. 3000 before adding it to my bill and suspect I was charged for drinks which didn’t have. No real complaints though.

The Lavender House: Fabulous place!! Lovely room. Helpful staff. Swimming pool in a stunning setting. Very quiet – the best sleep I had in the entire trip. Felt a little bit uncomfortable as the only guest though.. Thoroughly recommend. Taking their ‘labradds’ or an early morning walk through the tea plantations was brilliant and a memorable part of my trip.

Rainforest Edge: Coming from Ulpotha, I really disliked this place – think goodness I was there only for 01 night. Very fake. Mosquitoes in the room and no mosquito nets – very unhappy about it!!. Couldn’t open door to get air in – as concerned about the mosquitoes. Netting behind the room makes it seem very enclosed. I prefer my eco lodge not to hear the sound of traffic and motorbikes going past. Can’t recommend this place unless you like the ‘flintstones’. A bit tacky sally.

Aditya: Stunning.. Gorgeous!!. A fantastic room (Indra). So pleased to stay here. Staffs were wonderful and not overly attentive like it happened to be at some of the other places I stayed. Felt a bit unsafe on the beach on my own – but pool was lovely – so didn’t mind too much. Food was a bit pricy – but only by Sri Lankan standards. Would definitely consider returning here and will recommend it to my friends.

Sri Lankan Airlines: Very impressed. I’d travel with them over British Airways any day.. Polite, courteous and efficient staff.

"Overall had a wonderful stay in Sri Lanka." Red Dot put together a package that perfectly met my requirements. The service I have encountered has been fantastic. Tourists sites have been empty (much better for photos) and I know that only by visiting as a tourists can support the country. At no time I felt unsafe. I firmly believe there is a great risk of terrorism in London than in Sri Lanka. Such a pity the Sri Lanka Tourist Board cannot get this message across. But good news for the tourists who do make it here.

March 03, 2008: Ayanthi was very good at suggesting places we hadn’t thought of. Sunil was a wonderful, a lovely courteous man. He respected our privacy where appropriate. He passed on his knowledge of all about Sri Lanka. It was a joy to travel with him.

Villa Thalangama: Location makes the property. The lake was wonderful as was the pool. It was the ideal first sop.

Ellerton: Nice relaxing place. Again nice pool.

Dutch House: Rodney and Eric were just wonderful and made our stay an absolute pleasure. Nothing was too much trouble for them or their staff.

February 17, 2008: Herman was very professional at all times and good company with excellent local knowledge. We will definitely visit Sri Lanka and encourage others to visit your beautiful country and see what Sri Lanka has to offer.

February 16, 2008: We have only dealt with Ayanthi and we wish to say how professional and courteous she has been. We have nothing but praise for Jayasooriya. He is an intelligent person with vast amount of local knowledge. He has made us feel comfortable and safe the whole tour. He is an excellent driver.

February 15, 2008: ‘’Samantha’’ was an excellent driver who contributed enormously to the enjoyment of our holiday. He was always very reliable, helpful and flexible who was willing to make the extra effort. The whole family appreciated his efforts and we would definitely request his services again on a future visit to Sri Lanka. Apart from it we had a very good flight both ways by Sri Lankan airlines.

February 13, 2008: Seelan is an excellent guide. Very flexible and willing to accommodate our wishes. A very pleasant and courteous man. We could not have wished for a better guide.

February 06, 2008: Premarathne was our second driver. He was very knowledgeable about sights we visited and the information he provided was very good. He was a polite and helpful driver/guide.  We very much enjoyed our time being driven by him.

Tea Trails (Norwood): The very best hotel I have ever stayed in. The food was amazing and the service was unbelievable. The location was breathtaking. It is good value for money. I would just come to Sri Lanka to say in this hotel again.

Villa Rosa: The owner was extremely gracious and the service was good. But it is disappointing that the hotel standard was not up to our expectations. It needs a good clean!!.

February 02, 2008: Charlie provided excellent information about Sri Lanka and helped us to structure a first class holiday. He provided unusual hotels that are not in the guidebooks. Sena was punctual and drove extremely well and we always felt safe, which is a feat on Sri Lankan roads. He has a terrific knowledge about birds, plants, trees and etc. Overall Sena is a kind and a helpful guide. He is always cheerful and we are very pleased to have him.

The Beach: Room was not comfortable and bathroom was dark. Black coral food was excellent. Staffs were very attentive.

Vill Uyana: Location stunning, Delicious food & superb staff!!. We were in a Marsh room with pool which was excellent.

Tea Trails (Tientsin Bungalow): Not much to fault in this magical setting. A chance to live the colonial life. We went walking in the hills with experience guides, had and excellent massage and ate truly good food. We strongly recommend Red Dot to promote this bungalow strongly.

January 29, 2008: Dirk was quick and reassures us on our questions. Ananda was a great help and a brilliant tour guide and took us to see the real Sri Lanka that few others have seen. He was always available and went out of his way to research new routes in his time and we felt very privileged to have had him as our driver. We would also advice anyone booking Red Dot in the future to request his services.

Blue Oceanic: One night sop over from the airport which fulfilled its purpose after a 12 hour flight.

Tea Trails (Tientsin Bungalow): This surpassed everything we had before. It may have been heightened by the fact we were the only couple in the residence. It was a wonderful experience.

Centuria: But located in more of a rural environment difficult to judge. But overall we were more than satisfied.

Taprobane: Ten steps from the room ‘’we are in the ocean’’. Although pretty Spartan it is clean and comfortable. Staff do everything they can to help and is a great location for a final chill out as a pert of our holiday.

Yala Village: The evening game drive was spoiled by the number of jeeps. The early morning one (we opted for an extra one) was great. Can I suggest that you publish estimated driving times in your itineraries. We would have been less ambitious in our itineraries with children.

Red Dot Note:
Please see http://reddottours.com/InternalTransport/DrivingTimes.php

Red Dot should really value Gune [driver] as an employer/consultant who really gives your company the high reputation it has. Have learned so much about rhe culture, history, socio-economic structure, food and drink and religions. Gune is kind, friendly, honest, smiley, funny and has very good interpersonal skills, knowing when we needed time alone and never in `our space.’ This is important, especially for honeymooners. We would not have had the same rewarding experience without him.

Aditya: Fantastic hotel, service and food excellent. A great place to relax.

Yala Village: Shower was cold at 7.30am.

Castlereagh: The bungalow and staff were amazing. Every need taken care off and we wish we could have stayed longer. The best hotel we have ever stayed in.

Kandalama: Wonderful setting, great pool and food for a buffet-style was very good. The only large hotel we stayed in and better than expected.