Great place, just nearby the beach with decent quality of the rooms. The staff is extremely friendly and helps with everything that anyone can need (extra water, bottles, additional food outside of hours, any other help). The main minus for us would be the prices, especially for the kitesurf lessons. When comparing to some of the other places around prices we realized that it can be organized for much cheaper, and de Silva didn't want to negotiate at all on that. But I nonetheless recommend to stay there and if needed take lessons from other places. The rooms are in decent quality, there are some cockroaches visiting regularly and lizards living in our walls, but overally they are trying their best there 😊

This place is an utter shambles. Horrifically overpriced. We left early. It’s the first ‘premium’ accommodation option I have come across where the hot water cuts out unless there’s bright sunshine - not something, of course, that’s mentioned on their website. The rooms themselves are completely basic. A kettle, but no teabags. No fridge. Unpleasant drain smells coming from the bathroom, which didn’t drain properly. Air conditioning which has one setting - “Arctic Tundra” - which is an issue when you’re provided with barely any bedding. The WiFi is laughably unreliable. The bedside light had the wrong plug so was useless. If all of this makes you want to spend time outside the room, then why not hang out in one of the communal areas? Well, there is a bar, but there’s never anyone manning it, and apparently they don’t have a full licence to operate it (again, not something they mention on the website). There is of course the communal pool table, but in the evenings this is reliably occupied by one of the members of staff who can be found lounging across the sofas on apparently never ending video calls - not exactly a welcoming environment. As for the food, when we arrived we were told that there was basically none left and what they did have would take over an hour to prepare, so we may as well not bother. The breakfasts and dinners are overpriced and under-provisioned. Finally - the reason we’re all here - the activities on offer. There’s no discount on offer if you’re staying at the accommodation and the rates are pretty steep. We did windsurfing and had a really friendly, knowledgeable, and good-natured instructor. However, that’s about as far as it goes. There is no safety boat out on the water - when we got into trouble on a windy day we had to shout to the shore for assistance (which came in the form of said helpful instructor on a paddle board). This is just downright dangerous and irresponsible. I once asked if I could try wing-surfing as opposed to windsurfing, and was told with a nonchalant shrug that there was only one instructor and he was busy out with the kite surfers. All in all, a thoroughly disappointing experience which left us with the feeling of being utterly ripped off (with the exception being the windsurfing instructor Sam, who was great). We did complain to management at the end, so hopefully they take all of this on board.

The Positive Aspects of De Silva Palm & Wind Resort: As is the case everywhere in Sri Lanka, the kindness of the staff is undeniable. (Thank you, Andréa, Mohammed, Nalika, and many others I'm sure I’m forgetting—sorry!) The calm atmosphere is highly appreciated, especially at the Palm Resort. The garden is beautiful, the pool is quiet and rarely crowded, and the breakfast is both charming and tasty. The vibe of the resort is very family-oriented and laidback. After a few hours or days, bonds start to form. There's a lovely, growing community. The lagoon is easily accessible, and the available equipment is good. The Negative Aspects: The food is good, but quite expensive (the buffet in the evening costs about €15 per person... €15 is not cheap in Sri Lanka, trust me). I recommend eating outside the resort from time to time to mix things up. There are some great and charming spots nearby. The kitesurfing lessons are not only pricey, but also lack structure. The follow-up and communication between instructors is poor, which means there isn’t much continuity in the learning experience. And finally, the main issue with this resort: the exorbitant price of the rooms!!! >> TOTALLY OVERPRICED! A brief explanation on this crucial point… After a few days, as people start getting to know each other better, the same topic ("the elephant in the room") keeps coming up in many conversations: the absolutely disproportionate cost of accommodation. At the Palm Resort, a double room costs around €70-80 PER NIGHT + €5 PER PERSON (yes, really...) for air conditioning. The room is outdated, basic, and the bathroom is almost dilapidated (the door didn’t close properly, which is quite annoying when one person needs to use the toilet). To give you an idea of prices, a good and comfortable hotel or guesthouse typically costs around €25-35 per night. Everyone talks about this during their stay. Everyone is shocked when they see their room. NOTHING LIKE THE PHOTOS ON BOOKING. It's a real shame because it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth from the very beginning. It really feels like you’re being ripped off even before you get to enjoy the activities... quite the paradox. That’s my most fair and balanced opinion. Everyone has their own experience.

We had a brilliant trip to De Silva. I was learning to kite and it was the perfect place; warm, sunny, shallow waters, safety boat! My friends who are more advanced were also able to do down wind trips and practice tricks on the lagoon. The food was excellent, staff were incredibly friendly and accommodating, the pool is AMAZING! We had a ball. Highly recommend.

We had a great stay for 2 weeks in this Palmresort. Super friendly and lovely staff. Very very accommodating, I loved the clean swimming pool, we played beach volleyball with some of the crew, badminton, table tennis. We had a couple of parties with the staff as well, Karaoke and a dance off. I would definitely come back here again. Loved the palm trees and the fresh breakfast. Highly recommended if you come to this part of the world. We travelled from Ireland.