Colombo Hotel Reviews

Colombo - don''t drive!! take taxi''s! Must visit - Sigiriya and surrounding cultural triangle. Pinnawela Elephant orphanage. Shopping - some good stores for cheap good export quality clothes - Odel, Arena, House of Fashion Advice- leave early on tours, distance is not great but driving is hectic hence give enough time for the road. Don''t eat from dodgy road side outlets; take plenty of water, drink plenty of king coconut!!! Sri Lankan Papaya and pineapple is the best in the world!!!!

It is easy to go up and down Galle Road by public bus, instead of dealing with the insouciance of the three-wheeler drivers parked outside the hotel, who will overcharge for very short rides and often won''t accept reasonable offers. Just ask a friendly local at the bus stop opposite the hotel on Galle Road, if the bus goes down to wherever your destination is and hop on. A chap holding a bunch of tickets will come up to you and get your fare. Be ready with small change. The fare for a trip to where the Barefoot boutique is costs about Rs.5-8.

take a tuk tuk ride! In the city - Eat Lamprais! Don''t overkill on rice and curry, you will end up with indigestion due to the excessive use of chilli powder. Take gaviscon/digene :-) Don''t change currency at the hotel, rate is very low. Plenty of nice restuarant with great atmosphere to go to. Visit Galleria Paradise Road. Gay scene at Kolu''s! super! Shoppping - Odel, Arena, House of Fashion, Paradise Road

Sri Lanka is just gorgeous. Stunning beaches and clear blue warm water. Galle Fort is interesting for a day or so. We also did a safari in one of the National Parks, which was fantastic. Had a wonderful dinner in the Sun House in Galle. Food at the Amans is also good, though you need order well ahead of being hungry.

Just a short visit to Sri Lanka of 7 nights and although usually an independent traveller preferring to use local transport, we booked a very good holiday with Mr. Lindley who has a Tourist Office right near the Ist Class Booking Office at Colombo Fort Railway Station. For a modest fee two of us had our own use of a mini bus and driver with bed and breakfast at hotels in the Central Highlands. Sri Lanka is very cheap to travel in as is eating out. A good place to visit with friendly people.

From Colombo I took a tour of the highlands of Sri Lanka, before attempting the potentially difficult and emotional visit to the coastline devastated by the tsunami. Despite the obvious devastation, I found a warm welcome everywhere I went and a keen interest in wanting to invite tourists to the whole country. Sri Lanka is open for business, and wants to return to normality, and that means a return to the tourism industry. Travellers, please do not disappoint them.

House of Fashions is a couple blocks away from Havelock Place. It''s an outlet store for some of the garment manufacturers in Sri Lanka. We got brand-name items (Tommy Hilfigir, Nike, etc) for $2-$3 each.

I highly recommend JNW Lanka Tours, run by Mr. Wazeer. They are very reliable, very flexible, and have a good fleet of vans and excellent chauffers. Their package tour rates are competitive and I would choose them over any other tour company in Colombo because of their professionalism. One can also design one''s own itinerary and Mr. Wazeer will fine-tune it for you. Visit their website www.jnwtours.com

Galerie Cafe and Paradise Road definitely impressed me. The former is probably one of the best and certainly the chic-est restaurants in Colombo. The latter is an excellent shop full of stylish Sri Lankan made items and a great place to buy gifts as well as housewares. A good cafe too. Odel''s is a great place to pick up some clothes especially if you''ve just all of yours in a tsunami. There are some western priced items but loads of attractive but very inexpensive buys to supplement your travelling wardrobe. Arena is also worth checking out for some smart well made fakes but also good original pieces too.

Beach Wadiya Seafood Restaurant - 2 Station Avenue Colombo 6. Very good sea food special place at the beach, romantic place. The staff is slow especially when you order the check.

Try the Anglers restaurant down the road from the hotel - great local food at a good price and a really friendly owner.

Interesting and intriguing country, especially if you have a special interest in Sri Lanka (business, Ayurved, ethnology). If not, then you''d better go to Bali or Thailand. They certainly offer you a much more valuable and richer experience for your money. The country just hasn''t yet the infrastructure and the hosting mentality for pleasing mainstream and upper level tourism. Backpackers, young people on low budgets may feel fine in the middle of this country rich in natural diversity but poor in living cultural heritage. When planning to get to Sri Lanka on Srilankan Airlines then be aware that the hype doesn''t live up to the reality, neither in economy nor in business. Seats, space, service, food, friendliness, entertainment, airplane aren''t better than the average of the airline industry.

Travel whenever possible out of Colombo and into the country side to see great natural beauty; travel is time consuming but well worth the effort.within Colombo, a walk along the oceanside Galle Face is beautiful, especially at sunset, when many locals and their families come to enjoy the end of the day.

Avoided all organised tours, took bus to Trincomale & then on up to Nilaveli, stayed and Nilaveli Beach Hotel - fantastic value, super friendly & beautiful location. Train Kandy to/from Colombo highly reccomended. Visit Dambulla Cave Temples & Temple of the Tooth in Kandy - so worthwhile.

The Gallery Cafe (Colombo): Chic hang-out for a stylish Colombo crowd. Stylish and romantic outside dining.

Recommendation..Jerome Gunawardhana our driver and guide. Speaks excellent english and was at our service all the time. He is available for personal tours right around the island. His vehicle is immaculate, he became our friend. We recommend him highly. His rates are the BEST and oh! so honest. He even invited us to his home for a welcome dinner. Contact: Jerome Gunawardhana, Phone: 0112 813102; No. 7 Perera Mawatha, Dutugemunu Street, Kohuwala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.

The Mount Lavinia is an hour out of Colombo and two hours'' drive from the airport, so if you are arriving late at night it can be a gruelling journey.

Whoever said The Gallery Cafe has gone down hill must have gone on one of their ''off'' days. We tucked into some delicious chicken korma and equally tasty Sri Lankan fish head soup. The chocolate martini was a bit on the fiery side but certainly unworthy of a complaint! In terms of shopping, a lot of fuss has been made over Barefoot - we found it to be mainly good for children''s toys and in general, overpriced. But living up to its hype had to be Odel''s - we visited three times in 2 days! Tea at the nostalgic Galle Face Hotel provided a nice end to our trip (a short stopover from Male en route to Hong Kong). Overall, Columbo is a good city if shopping is on your agenda. You don''t need a lot of time (or money) to cover the city''s main attractions - perfect for stopovers.

Colombo isn''t the best city for sightseeing but there are some great shops for souvenirs/clothes/jewellery: Barefoot, Paradise Road & Odel.

We didn''t spend long in Colombo but do visit the 19th century Galle Face Hotel on the seafront. The National Museum is recommended. Getting around the city is easy and cheap by tuk-tuk, but negotiate the price down before you get in. Paradise Road is a smart shop for interesting local nik-naks and souvenirs. But the cafe is overpriced.