Our Rating System
Our accommodation starts at the 3* level. Unless there is a special reason to do so, we would never include a stay anywhere without a decent level of facilities and a good standard of cleanliness. As EXPERTS in the countries we cover, our ratings are an objective judgement to assist in making the right choices for you.
Luxury:
There are very few hotels in our ‘luxury’ category. Hotels in this category must have absolutely everything anyone could want and really be aiming for the stars. These hotels generally go well above and beyond and they would always be at the very top end of the market. These are for clients looking for that extra special place.
Deluxe:
Deluxe hotels would have a superb level of service, very comfortable and usually spacious bedrooms, excellent food, great design and character. For us, when we visited, these places all had the ‘wow factor’. A deluxe hotel should satisfy the criteria of the most discerning clients.
Superior:
This is our first really ‘upmarket’ category. It might be a beautiful tiny hotel with very limited facilities or a 5* resort hotel with all the trimmings; but any hotel in this category will be a well-run establishment with very comfortable rooms, a strong service ethos and excellent food.
Comfort:
This is what we would describe as our standard category. These will be decent 3/4* hotels providing a really good level of service. We would generally expect them to be providing a little something extra, whether it is character, service or excellent facilities.
Value:
This is our lead in category. There will generally be a no frills approach and while some will be characterful, some will do exactly what it says on the tin – provide a clean, comfortable and good value place to spend the night. These places are normally 3* hotels, but in areas where there is little choice or if it is a very good place, it may be what would generally be described in Asia as a ‘guesthouse’.
Eco/Outsdoors/homestay:
This category covers gorgeous eco lodges in the jungle, comfortable safari camps, very basic homestays and dreamy, but simple, beach cabanas. These places defy conventional categorisation: what is communing with nature to one person may be terrifying bugs to another! Many of these places are very comfortable and the service generally of a very high level – but a guest staying at any place in this categorisation must read the website review carefully and/or talk to us and be sure to have understood what they are letting themselves in for!
VILLA:
The ‘Villa’ in Sri Lanka is a similar concept to the ‘holiday home’ in Europe, with some very key differences. They are always fully staffed in Sri Lanka with cooking and service provided for you. Staff will generally cook meals to your specification and purchase food and drink for you at cost price, making them excellent value. They are generally, but not always, pretty smart and luxurious too and feel in many ways like a small private hotel. Nonetheless, your villa is still effectively a home and therefore you cannot expect the same level of training, English speaking or slickness that you might expect from a hotel at a similar cost. As the owners are not generally holiday professionals we cannot guarantee the quality of a villa matches expectations in a way we can with hotels. That said, the personal local touch means villas are generally much more friendly and interactive than hotels and have much to recommend them. The privacy and space makes them wonderful for families and groups of friends.
