Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa

Coming to Marriott truly gives you that vacation feeling. Everything from the hotel's amenities and service to the surrounding environment makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. First, the service: since there were no triple rooms or family rooms available when booking, we only reserved a twin room. However, the hotel proactively converted the sofa into a sofa bed for us, solving our child's sleeping arrangement. Second, the hotel's ground floor offers many free entertainment facilities like foosball, table tennis, and billiards. The pool isn't huge, but there are frequent live performances, enhancing the relaxed atmosphere. Moreover, the hotel boasts a superb location right in the heart of Mirissa Bay. From our room's balcony, we had an endless view of the Indian Ocean and rolling waves, which was incredibly beautiful. It's worth mentioning that surfing is a must-try at Marriott; I heard the waves here are perfect for beginners. Looking around, the entire coastline is dotted with surfers, but because the coast is so vast, it never feels crowded, which is incomparable to surfing spots in China (like Houhai). The beach is also very fine, with no broken shells or corals, which is also great for surfing (friends who have surfed in Houhai will understand). However, a word of caution to Chinese tourists: if you're heading to the beach from the hotel and encounter coaches renting surfboards, you *must* haggle aggressively down from their initial quote, then negotiate slowly. The actual cost can vary significantly depending on peak or off-peak season, so I won't go into specifics here. All in all, you won't regret choosing Marriott when in Mirissa, and surfing is definitely an experience not to be missed.

The hotel service was excellent, and the location was superb, perfect for tourism. However, the price was extremely high. Right outside, there's a fantastic spot for surfing. The restaurant, though, was quite mediocre and didn't match the quality expected for this price point; it definitely needs improvement.

My mom and sister both agreed that this Marriott was the best hotel of our trip. In terms of price and facilities, it was indeed the most expensive hotel we stayed at. Located in Mirissa during the peak season of February, the room rate was nearly 3000 yuan, which is quite steep considering the average salary in this country is just over 2000 yuan. For this price, I've stayed at Marriotts in Phuket and Sanya Haitang Bay that cost around 1000 yuan and were just as good, if not better. That's why I'm deducting one star.

The hotel has a convenient location, clean rooms, a large swimming pool, and is close to the beach. There are also plenty of shops nearby to explore. The rooms are a bit on the small side, so for larger groups, it might be better to book multiple rooms. Be sure to get to the hotel breakfast early, as it gets incredibly crowded!