The River House

Eating

The delightful staff make sure you eat exactly when and where you fancy. From the cup of tea delivered to your room as a wake-up call to the choice of venue for meals (open-plan dining area, lounge, poolside or your own room), it's a wonderfully friendly and indulgent service.

There's a good choice of breakfast options, amusingly labelled as "Not so healthy" (eggs, bacon, mushrooms, beans), "Healthy" (homemade muesli, yoghurt, syrup, fresh fruit) and "Healthiest" (fruit platter). All include tea or coffee, a choice of fresh juice, toast and jams. You can also have a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast – requested, as is usual, the night before – of curry and 'hoppers' (pancakes or noodles).

Lunch is a very reasonably priced selection of fantastic salads, sandwiches and pasta (great if you've been eating Sri Lankan fare for a while), which taste even better by the pool.

At night, the dining area is transformed by low lighting and chilled music. Pure white by day, the sofas turn black, as if by magic, at night, as do the smart outfits of the staff. Dinner here is an experience to savour: a collection of Thai, Indian and Sri Lankan dishes such as prawn and lychee curry, crab noodles or ginger chicken. You can also try the traditional Sri Lankan curry dinner, which consists of about nine dishes – it was the best we'd had in Sri Lanka and provided plenty for two people.