I'd forgotten Negombo existed as a place to visit. Maybe it's because it's so close. It takes around an hour to drive there from Colombo and it's just fifteen minutes from the airport. It's like going to Moratuwa for a vacation. Sometimes, Moratuwa can take longer to get to.
But exist it does and, even better, Negombo has a nice, relatively cheap collection of places for eating, drinking and staying. We stayed at the Villa Araliya in Negombo because we wanted something nice but relatively low priced.
The hotel is located on the land side which means you have a bit of an amble to go to the beach. But given Negombo's average beaches, you might find yourself spending more time in the hotel pool than anything.
There are two types of rooms, all airconditioned. The standard ones - we were quoted USD 55 bed and breakfast - have a huge four poster bed and a pretty big, brand new bathroom.
The apartment rooms - quoted USD 80 bed and breakfast - are two story duplexes: the living room / kitchen / bathroom are on the ground floor and the bedroom / bathroom are on the first floor. These have cable TVs which, as we don't have an antenna or cable at home, we watched religiously godayata magic wage (40 channels! Tom and Jerry 24 hours a day! Is Eva Longoria pregnant!? I wonder what this movie is that I've been watching for an hour and a half...)
The rooms were well appointed but odd shortcuts had been taken: the mattresses were foam and the bed linen and towels were pretty low quality. That said, we slept like logs, so it didn't make too much of a difference.
Villa Araliya is a fully vegetarian hotel which meant we ate out most of the time: if we weren't meant to eat animals, they wouldn't be made out of meat.
But their breakfast was really nice with fresh bread, eggs, juice, fruit, butter, jam, etc. And, sudu kema diravan nethi nisa, we also asked for a pol sambol and they delivered, without complaint, a pretty good one with lots of onions and green chillis. They also made us a pretty good but tiny pizza margherita, LKR 735 nett.
Villa Araliya is owned by a Sri Lankan Dutch couple - the entire hotel/restaurant industry in Negombo it seems is run by half Sri Lankan couples - and it is tastefully decorated - even the water tower is pretty - and meticulously maintained. We'd recommend it to anyone who wants more privacy, individuality and flexibility than the average chain without sacrificing their comforts.
Hotel Name: Villa Araliya
Address: 154/10 Porutota Rd Negombo Sri Lanka
Directions: Turn left at the 3rd traffic light in Negombo, continue to the end of this road, turn right, go 500m or so past Jetwing Beach and Villa Araliya is on a byroad on the right along with Paradise Holiday Resort.
Phone: +94 31 227 7650.
Rates (bed and breakfast): Standard USD 55. Apartment USD 80.
More Photos: Visit Villa Araliya Hotel Negombo Sri Lanka on Picasaweb
(Click here for more posts about hotels in Sri Lanka)
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