Negombo hotels & places to stay

to throw my hat in the location debate -- i do not think it is a negative. it is only 10-15 minutes from the airport and feels very safe / secluded. soon all the drivers will know the location, but until then, see my travel tip! despite arriving after midnight, a group of employees greeted us with a cold towel and drink and carried our bags to our deluxe room. this room is a suite, and unless you need two queen beds, i'd say go with the premier room which shares the same great balcony view over the lagoon. our bed was decorated with intricate "towel sculptures" and flowers -- begged for a photo! staying one full day, we utilized the breakfast, wifi, and concierge services. staff was extremely friendly and bent over backwards to help us. our driver gave us a great tour of the negombo area and waited while we visited a spa, ate lunch, and shopped. back at the hotel, we asked if the chef could cook us local sri lankan food for dinner. we were not disappointed! they seated us at a private table in the tree house bar, and we enjoyed 6 spicy sri lankan delicacies -- our best meal of the trip! you can ask for it! the resort will soon have its spa open, and it seemed like most of the kinks from the "soft opening" had been worked out. it was nice to have brand new linens, towels, etc. the pool, airy modern design of the property, and grounds were magnificent. one area of improvement could be the weatherstripping on the door to the room, as it was not sufficient to keep bugs / ants out of the room. that said, we had minimal issues and frankly expect the occasional bug or mosquito in a tropical country. overall, we loved this resort and will return here again!

Great hotel to finish our touring around Sri Lanka at. Negombo is a little more expensive than other areas we have traveled to, but good value meals can be had a few minutes walk from the hotel. Eating/drinking at the hotel is expensive, 300SLR for a bottle of water (the same can be bought across the road for 70SLR). But the hotels facilities are great, two (very clean) pools and direct views/access to the beach front. Breakfast is varied and plentiful. The room was clean, but the temperature of the hot water varied between tepid and hot, day depending. Definitely get a sea view room to make the most of the great sun sets!

Jetwing Blue has an open restaurant concept and beautiful pools that take full advantage of the tropical trees and golden sand. You can enjoy the view as you relax by the pool or as you enjoy their delicious food. The hotel has newly renovated rooms. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and our stay was simply magical. The prices are very reasonable and the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets so one can explore the various local and international dishes. We travel a lot and found this hotel and town to be one of our best surprises... Negombo is now in our "preferred" places list. We had been in Sri Lanka on business before and wanted to return for a holiday... We did it and plan to return. Sri Lanka is a jewel of a country with beautiful mountains, dense forests, and lots of wildlife. Now that the civil war is over, the government is taking good care of the national parks and have amazing elephant orphanages where one can observe elephants feeding and playing in the river--some were wounded during the war and have been rehabilitated. These orphanages take care of these handicapped animals. Some foundations offer elephant rides as well. Negombo is only about 14km from the airport. It's a stunning beach with charming fishing boats in bright colors dotting the coastline. The town caters to tourists, so there are dozens of little shops selling arts, crafts and jewelry. Spas are also very popular. One can get around easily by walking, on tuc-tucs or by hiring a car. If you want to give Sri Lanka a try, start with a stay at Negombo beach, and make sure you stay in Jetwing Blue Hotel.

This hotel was the best way to end our trip. My boyfriend and I wanted somewhere to stay that was close to the airport near Colombo, but quiet and away from everything. And this was the perfect fit. The room was clean, with cable television, comfortable beds, small nice and clean bathroom. It was perfect. The hotel's breakfast had plenty of options, but the best thing over all was the service and staff. The were very polite, accomodating and Always willing to help especially the front desk manager Kumudu J. He was such a delight. We wished we could have stayed an extra day in Sri Lanka just to rest up and stay at this hotel. As far as transportation goes, we ended up taking a tuk tuk to the airport. We loved taking tuk tuks everywhere (when in Sri Lanka do as the Sri Lankans do) which took about 35 minutes to get to the airport and it wasn't expensive. We made friends with a tuk tuk driver and he Always gave us local prices. If you were to take a bus to the airport you would first have to take a tuk tuk to the major road and then catch your bus, or just hire a taxi-driver. The hotel is not on a main road it s tucked away from all the hustle and bustle, which was a dream for us. Colombo's city center is also about 20 minutes away by bus. The hotel is on the beach, but if I had to say something negative it would only be that you can't go in the sea. You can sun bath, etc, but the beaches waves were to rough, but thats pretty much how it is everywhere along that side of the coast. But please if you are staying in the Colombo area go there. It's a fantastic hotel!

We stayed here on our last night in Sri Lanka and wished we had stayed a further night. I was a little put off by Negombo after reading many reviews, however I thought it to be a pleasant town. Agreed, it doesn't have the same charm us other beach areas in Sri Lanka. However, I would always opt to stay here on my final nights in Sri Lanka, given its close proximity to the airport and the crazy flight times! I would also definitely opt to stay at Jetwing Beach again. It was a beautiful hotel, from the grand check in, beautiful pools, great big rooms, exceptional service, great sunlounger area (the beach in Negombo is fine!! not at all as dirty as some reviewers state, we still swam) expansive and wide beach area exclusive to hotel and one of the best spas we visited on our entire trip. The whole experience was excellent, down to the lovely packed breakfast they provided us for our very early morning flight. It was delicious and very generous! We went for dinner next door at Jetwing Blue as my boyfriend wanted a buffet feast for his last night and that was a delicious dinner. The Jetwing chain of hotels know how to get it right!

I have stayed at Lagoon many times and will continue to do so. It is the best hotel in Negombo with only downside perhaps to some travellers is that it is quite isolated about 15 minutes out of town on the Lagoon side however beach is just across the road but probably can't swim here too rough. Still, two amazing pools on this property...one over looking beach and one in the complex near Lagoon side. 100 metre pool makes it one of the biggest in the country. I love the rooms and you can get a Deluxe Room for some really good specials every now and then. Deluxe room is huge with the biggest bathroom ever!! Staff are friendly, food is delicious and at a good price too. Wifi can be a bit slow but ok if using data can stream. All in all, a great place to stay.

We stayed @ Grandeza Hotel for one night and it was one of the best hotel experience in Sri Lanka. The whole crew was friendly and had a warm welcome. We went 1 hr before the usual check in time,but we were provided with the room quickly. The room was quite large and clean as well. And the view of lagoon from the room was marvellous. The food at Sea food restaurant was excellent and worth all the money. Mouth watering sea foods were available at affordable prices. And the food at Crave is also really nice, fresh and tasty. I would recommend this without any hesitation. Cheers!

Highly enjoyable stay thank you to the excellent accommodation, kind and helpful staff, clean pool and garden terrace, pool terrace breakfast, roof terrace dinning, access to the beach, privacy, safety, central location in Negombo beach. It is probably one of the best hotels in Negombo and the price is not so much higher than the nearby three stars hotels as the quality is superior. It offers a luxury living, everything is to a high standard and functioning: suits with Indian ocean panoramic wall size windows and balconies, modern design and furniture, new bed, sofa, air condition, power shower, toiletries, lightning, shades, kitchen equipment, satellite TV with free programmes, safe. Quiet beach side hotel yet just a few steps away from the main street with shops, restaurants and pubs. A memorable experience of luxury living.

Heritance is by far the best hotel in Negombo (in our opinion) The property allows easy access to the beach and has an awesome pool overlooking the beach. Negombo does not have much to do or see except the beautiful beach. It's a good thing therefore that we booked our stay at the Heritance coz it's right there. The staff were helpful and food was good. The mini bar was complimentary. All this made our stay at the Heritance amazing.

We chose Negombo as its only 15 kns from the airport and we were in Sri Lanka for a short 4 day break. we reached the hotel at 10 pm and the sound of the indian ocean and the size of the rooms and bathrooms got us in really excited. our rooms were in on the ground floor with direct access to the beach. this hotel has a narrow beach which makes it more accessible as compared to the other hotels in negombo. the staff always greets you with a smile and helps you with all your needs. the hotel has tours to nearby tourist spots like kandy, colombo etc. we took a day trip to kandy. the seafood restaurant is amazing. the seer fish and jumbo prawns are highly recommended. sarath at the restaurant was extremely helpful and went the extra mile to cater to all our needs. we were so in love with this restaurant that each night this was our dinner spot! its amazing to eat great food at the beach with the water crashing right besides you. jetwing sea does not have a water shed but jetwing blue (a sister hotel) offers diving, snorkeling, surfing. kayaking etc.i took 2 surf lessons with buddi who was extremely helpful and patient.the hotel has free wifi in the lobby and a great view as well. loved this place. it was peaceful and quiet. perfect for R&R and quality family time. the only downside was that there are no taxis in the city so you always have to book one from the hotel which is slightly more expensive. we got to the hotel from the airport in roughly $12 but for the ride back the hotel charged us $25.

for a quiet relaxing ayurvedic break its not the best location as its right on the negombo beach road which is very busy and a new hotel is being built close by. the construction work could be heard during our first days stay, but fortunately it was quiet on our second full day and third morning. the busy road affects only those rooms adjacent to the road and i think we were offered the noisiest one, which they changed straight away. however we had the 3 day ayurvedic treatment squeezed into 2.5 days and this included yoga and a sitar music therapy which was excellent. on the whole we had a lovely stay and for the time we had available it was perfect. it is ideal for a short break. the negombo beach area itself however is not particularly pleasant if you are looking for an off the beaten track resort/hotel for a longer period than 2 or 3 days.

I absolutely loved this hotel. I had one issue with my room. I paid extra movie for sea view and got a room where the only thing you saw was trees. I asked to be moved and they accommodated me quickly and put me in a beautiful room with a stunning view. The restaurant was cheap and food was delicious. It’s walking distance from other restaurants and the staff was very friendly. The beach is right behind the hotel and is wonderful to spend the day at. Watch for scammers on the beach trying to sell ‘boat rides’. The only con to the hotel was the beds. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t comfortable and pretty hard. Other than that, it was one of the best stays I had in Sri Lanka!

I only stayed here for one night for easy access to the airport in Negombo the next day. It was my last hotel, following an 18 day tour of Sri Lanka. Ranweli is a nice beach front hotel on a private small island where you need to take a short boat-shuttle (30 seconds to cross)..from the mainland to the island. The boat ride is a charming way to arrive at the hotel. Staff at reception speak English very well and are kind and welcoming. There is a lovely pool with many sun beds for relaxing. A bar is close to the pool. WiFi is only available in the lobby or by the pool bar and reception is fast. Personally, I found the meals standard and rate them 3 star according to North American standards in my opinion. I only ate two meals here (dinner and breakfast) and the food was fine. The hotel offers "all-inclusive" packages for long staying guests and meals are local Sri Lankan and western food. I would certainly stay here again, yet for a longer period of time, just to rest and do "nothing" in the sun. Lovely lovely ocean view for sunsets on a private hotel beach. The staff is very professional.

We stayed for 2 nights here, it is well worth the money, the staff are helpfull and friendly:) The room was very nice, and the food was very good!:) You for sure get value for the money you Pay. If i should mention one thing that is a tiny bit negative, it is that the bathroom could be a Little bit more clean, but it was nice and it didnt make a difference for how we enjoyed our stay there overall:) Thank you so much!Thank you Sri Lanka:)Best regards Sara and Eddin from Sweden

Negombo beach is not the best Sri Lanka has to offer, but we enjoyed the big waves and turbulent sea during the SW monsoon. Location close to the airport makes it a perfect choice to stay on arrival and before departure. We hired a car a Colombo Kathunayake Airport but had a hard time finding Lewis Place, where the hotel is located, as there are hardly any sign boards and asking locals is difficult as English is poor. No problem on the way back to the airport as friendly hotel staff gave directions.

Arrived after two long flights needing a good nights rest before setting off around Sri Lanka. Very welcoming lady on reception, lovely fresh juice on arrival, bedroom was large with seating area as well as the double bed, air con a blessing in the 30degree heat. You can use the pool at the next door hotel until 6pm and you can walk through there to the beach. Sunset in Negombo followed by beers on the roof terrace, so relaxing! Breakfast the next morning was served on the terrace in the sunshine. Wonderful start to my trip, wish I could have stayed longer!

A very pleasant home away from home In May 2018 I stayed for two weeks at the Cove Beach Villa in Negombo, Sri Lanka. I was in Sri Lanka to deliver training near the airport. While the hotel only has three (3) rooms, it was very comfortable and ideal for a business traveller. Direct access to the beach was perfect. The morning breakfast was very tasty and customized to my needs, being vegetarian. The staff was very attentive to my needs. Close by restaurants and convenience stores were ideals. I would strongly recommend the hotel for those looking for a simple a quiet experience.

We checked all the other hotels in the area for ambiance ,food ,room,pool service and after the first visit and going around the island came back here as the friendly value for money with good selection of all types of food and a nice pool and pool area, the management gave us a late check out and looked after us because we came back the second time thanks so much would recommend this hotel above all the others in ANY price range Robert and Debbie Ps we took local buses to negombo and Colombo right outside hotel 15c to Negombo centre and all along the hotel restaurant strip

The staff is very friendly but not intrusive. Location is great with regard to the airport but a little bit away from the negombo center. However the beach is nearby as well as a few restaurants. The pool is clean and big enough to relax after or before your journey. We enjoyed our tasteful dinner at the hotel which has a nice rooftop terrace. All in all great boutique hotel in a quiet alley in Negombo. Ideal place to start or end your journey in Sri Lanka.

Saw out the remaining 2 x nights of our holiday here and had been to Negombo before so was a little savvy on location. On arrival you are given a juice drink at reception, so far so good, however on arrival in room the furnishings are extremely tired in need of replacing as opposed to being quaint, the shower room particularly poor with low water pressure. Also went for swim in pool which was smothered in mosquitos in corners so pool not cleaned as regular as most pools. The pluses are the location is near to some other great restaurants, the beach is metres away, and the restaurant looked good but again much more more expensive than other restaurants with the same or better standards. Disappointed overall but then maybe we got spoilt in most of other places we visited which where an ecclectic range from home stays to small and medium hotels. Would go back if no other option but rather try elsewhere for low value for money.

We stayed here for our last night in Sri Lanka after a three week holiday. The first night of our holiday we also stayed in Negombo, but then in a guest-house. This was a better option! You pay less than the average guest-house (Negombo is expensive compared to other places in Sri Lanka), but the room, bed, shower, and service is so much better! Of course you don't get that nice homey feeling that you can find in a good guest-house, but we weren't looking for that. We just wanted a comfortable night before catching our plane. The staff is very kind (some of them are trained in the 5 star Jetwing Beach hotel, which is a partner hotel). We got a free upgrade of our room to a beach view and absolutely loved it. We could recommend this no-nonsense hotel to everybody arriving or leaving from Colombo international airport (20 minutes from Negombo). But don't let them arrange a airport transport for you. For less than half the money you can arrange it yourself just outside the door on the street.

I chose this hotel because I flew into Sri Lanka at midnight and needed 2 peaceful nights and a restful day before heading down to Colombo for work. It was perfect for this. Small hotel with banquet/wedding halls nearby - but the weddings are not intrusive. Garden setting. Friendly staff. Very clean hotel. Large rooms with good size balcony. Adequate sized swimming pool. Restaurant food was good - but if you want a Sri Lankan curry you need to order ahead. Note, this hotel is not near the beaches of Negombo nor close to the town shopping centre.

We stayed two nights at Miura Dutch hotel during a 7 day trip to sri lanka. The staff was amazing (Sarang was a one man army!). They offer one-way airport transfer. We left 4:30ish to catch a 7:30 flight and the owner/manager drove us himself (very convenient). Mr Nirmal was extremely helpful in letting us use his office resources so we could modify one of our future reservations online. We would highly recommend this place! Yasha B

Unbelievably delicious Sri Lankan breakfast, best food we had in 3 week trip; Really polished, stylish, modern room, excellent bed, wonderful interior design, bathroom top notch; nice balcony, but limited view; staff are really warm, welcoming, helpful. We were disappointed with some other hotels around Sri Lanka, but this place was really perfect. About 15 min free taxi to airport. Really fun nightlife and dining spots five minute walk away. It was a perfect last night before flying out, and we wished we’d stayed here our first night in the country, and could have skipped Colombo.

This charming hotel has the best beachfront and street position in Negombo and is only a short tuktuk or taxi ride from the airport. Ideal for a short stay on arrival or before departure. There are good bars and restaurants within a short walking distance. The view out to sea is unobstructed and this whole magnificent length of beach is pretty clean and uncluttered. We have used the Topaz twice and would do so again without doubt on a return visit to Sri Lanka.. It is not the Hilton but very acceptable and the staff are exceptional.

During my trip to Sri Lanka I stayed at 9 different hotels across the country with most of them being 4 star hotels. Out of these Villa Kapuru was by far my favourite. The warmth and hospitality of the guys working here go beyond what other places offer. Dennis who is one of the 3 guys that run the hotel, goes out of his way to not only make you feel welcome, but makes you feel like you're at home. Some of the things that went above and beyond my expectations: 1. Dennis was waiting for me outside the villa compound at midnight because my flight arrived late and the taxi driver couldn't find the place 2. Dennis took me on a walking tour around the area near the hotel and Negombo beach, letting me know all the good places to eat and hang out 3. They helped me do my laundry free of charge 4. Even after I'd checked out of the hotel they helped me book a pedicure at a spa 5. After I moved to another hotel which was part of my tour package (a hotel I wasn't happy with), they said I was welcome back to use their pool if I felt more comfortable there In terms of the room itself, it was a spacious room with a big comfortable bed and very clean. Breakfast was freshly prepared for each person (so not a buffet breakfast where the food has been sitting there since 6am). The villa also takes in stray kittens and dogs that are so adorable and laze about around the property. The pool is a decent size and is a great way to relax on a hot day. In terms of the location, it is conveniently located a couple of streets back from the beach which is only a short stroll away. The location means its very close to the main beach strip in Negombo, however far enough to be quiet and peaceful. I would highly recommend Villa Kapuru to all travellers, especially those visiting Sri Lanka for the first time. There's no better way to get an introduction to the warmth and hospitality of Sri Lanka while having the comforts of home than at Villa Kapuru.