Hotel Pricing

Standards vary a lot for any price you pay, but I have been visiting SL for 10 years and always found decent accommodation for around $10 a night or less if I wanted to. Unfortunately both LP and Rough Guide are in need of new editions so their prices are not reliable, but I will be looking to pay between $12 and $15 a night (double rooms) next month. If you want to spend more you can and at these prices do not expect pools and so on - just a simple but usually clean room in a guest house. For $60 I would be expecting something very nice with breakfast and a pool and whatever. My friends stayed in Coral Garden Hotel in Hikkaduwa last weekend, very nice posh hotel with all the trimmings, and paid under $60. That is much posher than places I stay in quite happily.

Prices are higher in Colombo and in main resort areas, but you can still find places in Hikkaduwa for $12. Inland you can often get cheaper rates. Kandy has a number of decent places at the cheaper end as well as some expensive places up in the hills.

Two years ago I got a room in the Galle Face Hotel for $50 - after some discussion. Not sure if those rates are negotiable at the present though. Always try to negotiate prices - tourists are scarce so there are deals to be had.

Hi,
I'm here to agree with wadiwadiman again.
I usually pay about 1500 rupees for a double room including breakfasts...Away from the tourist trail there are still places for about 500 to 600 rupees. For example I stayed in a private home where they let out a couple of rooms, in Badulla, cost there 400 for the room and 100 each for breakfast. Evening meal, a fantastic rice and curry 200 each.
I do sometimes go up to between 2000 to 2500 but thats because I want that pool that wadiwadiman mentioned.
Rod.

Thanks for the quick responses guys. I don't mind paying 1500 rupees a night. Normally I wouldn't mind paying a little more, but I am coming in from Korea where the currency has lost 50% of its value over the last 2 months. I am also going by myself, so I don't really care what quality I get as long as it is clean. I also don't mind splurging some nights, and the nights I do splurge, I'll be using my Canadian credit card. I'll be there from January 8th to the 28th. I know this is pretty peak season, but just how busy do hotels get?

Hello again,
January is probably the busiest month but I don't think you'll have anything to worry about in getting a room.
For a few years now, the only place I've seen booked right up has been Kandy and that only in Perahera time, in August.
Usually, I just walk in , check out the room and then barter the price but occasionally I do pre-book. But, when I prebook it's only one or two nights in advance. Then, If I know that I'll be somewhere on a particuler night and I know where I want to stay, I'll get the guest house owner of the place I'm staying in, to phone ahead for me and book a room.
So far, they've all been happy to do this as it gets them " brownie " points with the next guest house and they're allways hoping that the owner of that one will return the favour by pointing guests in their direction.
I know what you mean about the currency rate dropping. The rupee is well artifically high at the moment so my British currency isn't going anywhere near as far as it did earlier this year. So far, almost 25 % less rupees for my pound.

The places that have been quoting you $60 a night are probably just trying it on. I gave one guy the address of a place that I stayed at a few times in Hikkaduwa. Over the net, they asked him for 6500 rupees. He rejected it and on arrival walked in and negotiated at the desk. He got the room for 2200.
Rod.

Hi there, I am in Hikkaduwa at the moment and it is very, very quiet. Having said that there are still some guest house/hotel owners who won't negotiate on price; much to their loss. I'm sure you will find something that suits your budget and needs.