Where I Stayed in Bentota, Sri Lanka: Vivanta by Taj Bentota

That was what welcomed us as soon as we arrived at Vivanta by Taj Bentota. The coastal town of Bentota is about 1 hour and 30 minutes away from the capital city of Sri Lanka, Colombo. Popular for its beach and world-class hotels, Bentota is one of the major tourist destinations of this island nation. Whenever I create a holiday package to Sri Lanka, I would always include a stay in this city and more particularly, a stay in Vivanta by Taj Bentota. I’ve sent a lot of my clients in this property and I’ve never received any complaints or negative feedback from them. Funny how I have sold rooms in this property numerous times but have never set foot on it until this famtrip. I guess that’s how convincing I was to my clients. :p

The management of Vivanta by Taj Bentota met us for a pre-dinner drink on our first night at their main pool. Soon after, Sri Lankan traditional dancers performed for us to my delight. They were all wonderful and you’d see that the dancers were all professionally trained. A Sri Lankan feast followed, it was a great start for our stay in Vivanta by Taj Bentota, a much-needed break and relaxation time after the back-to-back ocular inspection of hotels around Sri Lanka.

I normally recommend Vivanta by Taj Bentota to families traveling with kids to Sri Lanka. I realized after my short stay that this property can also cater to couples/honeymooners. All their modern rooms are all well-appointed with balcony facing the sea. They have an in-house bar with live band which we frequented while we were there.

The service of the staff is impeccable, a warm smile greets you wherever, whenever and whatever the circumstance may be. The hotel has a huge expanse of beach right after its lush garden. However, I found the sea too rough for a not-so-good swimmer like I am. I’m not very sure if it’s the wrong season for the beach while we were there or if it is the same all year-round in this area.

Having had a great dinner on our first night, I was expecting a lot from their dinner buffet on our second night – I was a little bit disappointed though as the food on their buffet table was focusing too much on Sri Lankan cuisine. Not that I’m complaining about that fact because I’m very adventurous when it comes to food and I’d like to try out the local cuisine as much as possible. However, most of what was served for dinner was too spicy for my taste, I wasn’t able to eat much of it except the salad. They do have specialty restaurants though so I’d probably suggest to anyone staying in Vivanta by Taj to not book a half board package so you won’t be stuck for dinner in their main restaurant alone.

Another important thing is, wifi is not free in this property which I found quite weird as ALL of the hotels that we’ve stayed in all over Sri Lanka had free wifi. I would later find out that the Taj hotel in Colombo will also charge a fee for their wifi, I guess it’s a Taj thing.

I’d definitely recommend a stay in Vivanta by Taj Bentota if you ever find yourself in Sri Lanka. A great value for money without having to compromise the luxury and comfort of a 5 star property.

Vivanta by Taj Bentota
Website: Vivanta by Taj Bentota

Note: My stay in Vivanta by Taj Bentota was a part of our famtrip to Sri Lanka. However as always, all opinion and photos are my own.

Should you wish to book a package to Sri Lanka, you may contact Emirates Holidays at 8005252 or thru email holidayworld[at]emirates[dot]com. I am not promoting Emirates Holidays per se, but I do know that they have really good deals (cheaper than online booking engines) for Sri Lanka properties.

[booking_pluginbox id=”10498″]