THE GRAND ENTRANCE AND HANDSOME LOBBY

suggest that this hotel is one of the finest in Negombo. The smart, spacious rooms confirm the impression, but it is the extraordinary level of service that really sets the hotel apart.

The Royal Oceanic Hotel and its sister hotel next door, the Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel, share the same management commitment to personalised attention, combined with imaginative special events and entertainment. Examples of this are the Upcountry Night, the Farmers' Night and the Street Food Festival, which are all instructive of the local way of life as well as thoroughly entertaining.

Almost everyone is on half-board here and the food is so good (particularly on the 'specials' nights), guests may want to keep in shape by taking up some of the sporting facilities. These include tennis, squash and a gym, as well as watersports, beach volleyball and beach football.

Despite the multiple facilities, the Royal Oceanic Hotel, like most of the hotels on the coast, is really all about rest and relaxation. Happily, the beach at this point is wide and clean, in front of the hotel's extensive grounds with its swimming pool and many sun-loungers. The beach bar is particularly appealing, constructed in a rustic style, where many an hour is whiled away sipping cool beer while watching the red sails of the prawn fishing boats sail to and fro.

For a deeper kind of relaxation, guests should visit one of the two ayurveda centers - one within the Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel and the other a small traditional house a few hundred metres away. Both facilities are totally authentic and managed by trained professionals. Enjoy a simple relaxing oil massage or sign up for a curative course from three days to three months.

With facilities like these and staff that are second to none, it is hard to imagine dissatisfied customers, so it's no surprise to find that the rate of return holiday-makers is among the highest in the country.