Stardust Beach Hotel - Arugam Bay

The Stardust lies on Arugam Bay on the South East coast of Sri Lanka, idyllically situated by the water.

A large lagoon is to one side, where wild elephants congregate for an evening 'shower'. On the other, the gardens in front of the restaurant open directly on to the broad sweep of Arugam Bay and the Indian Ocean - many miles of pristine tropical beaches deserted but for the clusters of fishermen's boats dotted here and there, and little thatched villages huddled just above the waterline, where small children jump up and down and scream with excitement at the sight of a visitor.

The Stardust was created by a Danish couple Merete Scheller and Per Goodman, who, assisted by friendly and competent local staff, have taken the best that this lush and stunningly beautiful tropical island has to offer, added the civilised comforts of Denmark - an excellent restaurant, fine wines, innovative and delightful accommodation - to create a holiday destination you would only expect to find in a dream. Today the Stardust is run by Merete Scheller.

Apart from running a hotel with a high standard of service for our guests, their aims are: to create employment for people in the area, which has an unemployment rate of 70%, to train their employees in the hotel disciplines & teach them to collaborate with each other, to introduce high building standards with simple materials, to induce greater awareness of hygiene and preservation of the environment in respect of ecologically sound removal of refuse & sewage discharge.

Apart from a beautiful ambience and cleanliness, many small details add to the comfort of each room: Quality mattresses, a mosquito net or repellent (you choose), and of course soap, tissues, a supply of ice cold (or hot) drinking water, and a cup of tea or coffee when you wake up in the morning.

Beach Cabanas, "Rainbow Village" - Double cabanas with private terrace, sea view, attached bathroom or family cabanas with 4 beds.

Luxury Rooms - Double rooms in the new building with private terrace, sea view & attached bathroom. This fine new building was designed by owner Merete Scheller and completed recently by local craftsmen. It provides nice and spacious double rooms with integral bathroom and private terrace or balcony and sea view.

Rooms & cabanas inclusions:

• Mini bar.
• Fans.
• Mosquito nets & repellents.
• Attached bathrooms.
• Private terraces or balconies.
• Sea view from all rooms & cabanas.
• All ground floor rooms & cabanas have direct access to a big private beach garden.
• Supply of ice cold (or hot) filtered drinking water.
• No air-conditioning in any rooms for environmental reasons. The rooms are well ventilated with fresh sea breeze & fans.

Surfing

Main Point: located in Arugam Bay itself. In walking or tuk tuk ride distance from the hotel. Is a right-hand reef break and therefore produces the biggest waves and is most consistent. You can get rides of 400 to 500 meters if you are lucky. It is not a high performance wave but you can get a tube on some days.

Baby Point: Kind of an un-fitting name because it can be a real fun wave. Inside the bay, they get a seasonal sand bar which produces perfect waves for beginners a people who like to cruise. The length & quality of this point depends on the movement of the sand. Normally, the sand gets good in the start of June, but that depends on the arrival of the first bigger swells of the season as they shift the sand.

Right in front of the hotel, they also have some average beach break waves. They hardly ever get perfect but they are fun for bodysurfing. Also right in front of the Stardust, about 150 meters out in the bay, there is a rock in the water which produces the only left-hander in the area (Madam`s Slap). If the swell is big enough, it hits the rock and a pretty gnarly left hand slap jumps up. They had some pros there last year and they pulled into some stand up barrels.

All the other point breaks there are sand-bottom right-handers. At some places, there are rocks on the beach but it is never dangerous.

Other breaks:

• Okanda - picks up the swell; second best after the main point.
• Pottuvil Point - probably the longest wave with up to 600 - 700 m rides if everything connects.
• Crocodile Rock - a beautiful beach with great conditions for beginners and intermediates.
• Lighthouse.
• Komari.
• Whisky Point.
• Elephant Rock.
• Peanut Farm.

The nice thing about the area that most beaches are really deserted and it is likely to find a wave for yourself. Although the main break gets quiet crowded in July and August, you can have good fun if you go to the smaller waves mentioned above.

The points are all accessible by tuk tuk rides of 15-50 minutes and they have some trusted driver they call for our guests. Some lie close to beautiful Hindu temples and it is likely to see wild elephants on your way to a surf.

Disclaimer - This surf trip is an independent surf operator and is not part of or in partnership with The Perfect Wave Travel Co. The Perfect Wave acts as an agent only. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport, accommodation and other service providers, such as airlines, land based accommodation and boat charter operators. The Perfect Waves' obligation is to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and travel service providers. The Perfect Wave has no responsibility for these services nor do we make or give any warranty of representation regarding their standards. All bookings are made subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these service providers.

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