Budget Hotels & Hostels
Apartments
Guesthouses and B&Bs
The Blue Water
Blue Water is an appropriate name because at this large and luxurious resort you virtually need a good ship and captain to navigate the immense and lush pool. Equally lush are the gardens, while the rooms follow the current fad for Asian minimalism...
Hilton Colombo Residence
The city's most luxurious full-service apartment complex, the Hilton offers 175 fully furnished apartments in a 34-storey tower. Amenities include parking for guests, a tennis court, pool, squash court, gym and private restaurant and bar...
Nilaveli Beach
Newly rebuilt after the tsunami and offering superb value, the Nilaveli Beach Hotel is easily the best place to stay in the whole Trincomalee region...
Jetwing Vil Uyana
For the jet-setter, Jetwing’s luxurious safari resort is hard to beat...
Sigiriya Village
This is one of the prettiest hotels in Sigiriya, thanks to its spectacular views of Sigiriya rock that reflect off the shimmering swimming pool; non-guests can use the pool for Rs 200...
Hilton Colombo
Among business travellers this place is known as the city’s most efficient and most comfortable business hotel...
Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo
Set inside an old mansion, this ultrachic hotel amazes with its minimalist design, elegant contours and sharp colours. It is the brainchild of Shanth Fernando, the same designer who created Gallery Cafe...
Jetwing Beach
With its imposing gateways, echoey corridors and vaguely Pharaonic murals, this place feels like a temple – a temple to minimalist luxury that is...
Jetwing Lighthouse
Designed by Geoffrey Bawa, this 63-room resort occupies a prime position on the seafront, 2km from town on the Colombo side. It beautifully blends Dutch colonial style with modern design...
Cinnamon Lodge
The 150 spacious rooms come in vaguely Portuguese colonial-style duplexes, and set in 11 hectares of lush landscaping. A nature trail leads to a tree-house platform for viewing birds and monkeys. It has a Thai restaurant and fitness centre.
Taj Samudra
This is a vast edifice with elegant public areas and a well-tended 12-acre garden...
Amaya Lake
This place used to be called Culture Club but has changed its name to Amaya Lake. Boy George references aside, this is a lovely and inviting place to spend a night or two. The huge, breezy complex has 106 stylish villas set in beautiful gardens...
Cinnamon Grand Colombo
This five-star hotel has a central location on Galle Rd and every available amenity. There’s a fitness centre, a big outdoor swimming pool, several restaurants and a spacious lobby with a piano bar and confectionary...
Royal Lotus Hotel
The modern Royal Lotus sits high on a hillside, and every room has views of Giritale Tank below. Rooms are large and comfortable and the public areas are breezy and open, as befits the warm, dry climate. Breakfast is an additional Rs 100...
Hotel Sigiriya
Twitchers flock to this place, lured by its resident naturalist who leads bird-watching trips. The hotel has 76 rooms, and there are great views of Sigiriya rock from the dining room and large pool area (Rs 250 for non-guests)...
Galadari Hotel
This hotel is very popular with travellers from India, Malaysia and the Middle East. Although the decor is a bit tacky, the 446 rooms are comfortable and offer good views across the city...
Elephant Reach
Elephant Reach is a new top-end establishment on the edge of the village, and feels a lot like the kind of luxury lodge you’d expect to find on a Kenyan safari...
Peacock Beach Hotel
A kilometre east of town on a pristine patch of beach, Peacock Beach Hotel isn’t quite as impressive as its pompous and showy namesake...
Deer Park Hotel
Deer Park has 77 tastefully designed cottages in single units, duplexes and four-unit blocks. All cottages have lovely garden sitting areas, while the most expensive have views of Giritale Tank...
Palm Garden Village
Accommodation at Anuradhapura’s top hotel, 6km west of town, is in very spacious rooms in well-designed duplex units or separate villas...
Mount Lavinia Hotel
Built in 1806 as the residence of the British governor, this magnificently marbled hotel overlooks the sea. About a third of the hotel – the part referred to as the ‘governor’s wing’ – has colonial architecture; the remainder is modern...
Grand Oriental Hotel
Opposite the harbour, this was Colombo’s finest hotel 100 years ago, a place to see and be seen. Most rooms have been stripped of original features and renovated like a Spanish motel; the suites are pleasant but the standard rooms are boxy...