Dambagahamada Vacations from $2,154

A fantastic stay at The Fortress Resort & Spa. The rooms were lovely — definitely book a sea view room if you can. One thing to note: if you leave the balcony doors open, expect the humidity to creep into the room pretty quickly. Small trade-off for that ocean view though. The service throughout our stay was excellent, and breakfast was genuinely one of the highlights of the day. There’s a huge variety available, with most hot items ordered à la carte. Pro tip: specify if you want multiple pancakes, sausages, etc., otherwise you may receive just one portion item at a time! We didn’t really use the hotel for lunch or dinner, mostly because we enjoyed exploring the coastline and supporting smaller local restaurants instead. The hotel menu looked very good, but pricing is naturally much higher than local spots nearby. The same applies to the spa. The beachfront pool was amazing — peaceful, relaxing, and very quiet during our stay, likely due to the current misconceptions about travelling to Sri Lanka. Honestly, we experienced absolutely no issues whatsoever. Tourist areas feel safe, organised, and well protected. Sri Lanka deserves visitors right now, so get yourself here — it’s totally worth it. The beach beside the hotel is beautiful to walk along, although the currents can be quite strong for swimming. There are safer swimming spots nearby if you travel a little. One of our favourite little surprises was regularly spotting sea turtles swimming in a calm patch near the hot

Nice resort, with beautiful views. Clean and very friendly staff, good food. Rooms are spacious

Beautiful location surrounded by stunning nature, with amazing rooms and a breakfast of a very high standard. However, the grounds and overall maintenance do not reflect the level expected from a Relais & Châteaux or Michelin Key property. There were dry leaves and weeds throughout the territory, and several trees appeared infested or dying. For such a large estate, there should clearly be more gardeners and stronger attention to maintenance and cleanliness. The lunch and dinner offerings were also disappointing considering the prices charged. At this level, the quality should match the cost. In particular, dishes prepared with raw tuna were served with the fish appearing brown rather than bright red or pink. As a cook myself, I know this indicates oxidation and a lack of freshness. I was also surprised that the concierge sent me an unsolicited bill via WhatsApp the night before checkout while I was still relaxing and my departure was only the following morning. At high-end properties, the guest experience is usually handled in a far more seamless and discreet manner. I have stayed at several Relais & Châteaux hotels before, and unfortunately this was among the weakest experiences in terms of service and guest handling. I would recommend taking inspiration from the Constance hotel group, particularly Prince Maurice, which understands luxury hospitality and guest relations at a much higher standard.