Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
8.0
Service:
9.0
Cleanliness:
8.0
Food:
9.0
Amenities:
5.0
We returned from Sri Lanka on 28.09. 2009
Hotel "Seashells" ("Sea Shells Beach"), Negombo, West Coast - a solid 3-ku and in some ways even with a "+". A big plus is that it is close to the airport (if anything), close to Colombo and quite convenient to go on excursions to other interesting cities. The tsunami was not affected. It simply wasn't there. The rooms are clean, all with ocean views. Some things look a little old, but it's just constant humidity, I think other hotels suffer from this as well. 30 meters to the ocean. Of all the nearby hotels, Sea Shells has the gentlest entrance to the ocean. The beach is fine sand, clean. A little further from the hotel there are two fishing villages, near them the coast is dirty, but, however, no one forces you to go there. The waves are quite gentle, but it is better not to swim far, as it pulls you deep into the depths. Pool of medium size, maximum depth 2.5 m, clean.
Sunbeds and mattresses near the ocean (with "fungi") and by the pool are free and it was full of free ones, no one occupies them in the morning. The smile and attentiveness of the staff comes to helpfulness and deserves 5 stars. They feed excellent. For breakfast - a large selection, but somewhat monotonous. But dinner is a buffet, but more often the choice of dishes on the menu is varied, well served. There is national cuisine, but try carefully: we love spicy, and that seemed very spicy. Bedding, towels are changed every day, sweeping, etc. - everything is as usual. Beach towels are in the room, always changed and free of charge. The room has a small kettle with water, tea, coffee, sugar, a balcony with two chairs. The bathroom has a shower cabin. There was no TV, but personally we didn't need it. Moreover, not everyone manages to catch Russian channels in Sri Lanka, and watching local ones is a little pleasure.
Refrigerator, air conditioning - on request, set free of charge. But take your time with air conditioning: we opened a small window to the balcony at night (mosquitoes did not bother) and the wind from the ocean blew the room better than any fan. Although there is a ceiling fan and all this is more than enough. At the reception - a safe, umbrellas (there are short rains) - free of charge. Internet at the reception in translation into our rubles is only 20 rubles. /hour. , but the speed is insanely slow, it is better to use the Internet in street Internet cafes. The exchange rate of $ for rupees is quite a bit lower than at the airport. I recommend buying a card of a local mobile operator at the entrance immediately at the airport. We had Mobitel: translated into rubles, one minute of conversation with Moscow cost only 20 rubles. (! ). For 500 rupees, you can negotiate with relatives. The hotel is a little away from any street bars, but quieter. Yes, there are no entertainment, discos, etc.
There isn't much to do with kids either. It is not quite the season yet and the hotel was mostly visited by English pensioners, but the locals say that there are many Russians in the hotel during the winter months. Often, locals come to celebrate a wedding (it happens very quietly and calmly), you can watch the bride in very beautiful clothes. From the animals - palm squirrels already fed by various tourists run onto the balcony. Feeding them or not is up to you, but they are not a concern. Well, the crows are dragging food left on the balcony. In general, the impression of the hotel was very good.
A separate story about the beach shops located near the hotel (to the left and right of the hotel on the beach). There was an opportunity to compare prices and assortment: as a result, we returned to the owners of these shops. Their quality is the same, the prices are lower than in the nearest cities. Plus discounts and numerous invitations for tea.
In such a shop, a very decent quality tuxedo (! ) was sewn to my husband in 4 (!! ) days in total and excellent fabric and for only $ 200 (this is a jacket, trousers, shirt) and they also gave tea as a gift! The same seamstress sews leather outerwear and the quality of the leather is excellent, but we didn't have enough time. If anyone is interested: the name is Silva Tailoring, if you leave the hotel on the beach, then to the right, a hundred steps away, is her house. Everyone knows her name there. Her tel. : 077-6555405
For those who want to bring good fabrics: very cheap (for us) and a good choice (what they don't have - they will get it and bring it) - Irish Tyloris. Her shop and house are in the same direction, 10 steps further than Silva's. In addition, Irish's husband has a good car with air conditioning and will take you on any excursion, city, shopping - wherever you want. They communicate well in English and try to learn Russian. Tel. Irish: 077-9617406
On the left, next to the new entrance of the hotel under construction, there is a shop of various antiquities and clothing. The owner's wife, on an official basis, sells jewelry and precious stones from factories: she has a very large selection and will bring whatever you want to order and prices are lower than in other shops on the street.
Whoever has problems with English, I highly recommend: if you leave the hotel on the street to the right, go to the Topaz Hotel (on the same street, somewhere 800-900m. ), Then there will be a Golden Fork restaurant opposite the hotel. Its owner is Russian Sasha. Firstly, it has a lot of seafood, delicious food, a little cheaper than other restaurants. Secondly, he, if anything, will orient the new arrivals what, where and how much. Thirdly, he has an acquaintance - a wonderful local guy Randika, who also in a good car, for a small amount, takes you around the country wherever you want. We were happy to travel with him.
I am writing about drivers because the guides from the tour operator absolutely do not show any initiative in showing the country to tourists (we saw our representative once during the entire vacation), and if they do, then their prices are exactly three times (in dollars! ) More expensive than local guides. Moreover, local guides will even help you bargain somewhere. It's short. Have a good rest! If you need more detailed information, some nuances, as well as how to relax even cheaper and longer, write to us. I will answer based on my recent experience.
Hotel "Seashells" ("Sea Shells Beach"), Negombo, West Coast - a solid 3-ku and in some ways even with a "+". A big plus is that it is close to the airport (if anything), close to Colombo and quite convenient to go on excursions to other interesting cities. The tsunami was not affected. It simply wasn't there. The rooms are clean, all with ocean views. Some things look a little old, but it's just constant humidity, I think other hotels suffer from this as well. 30 meters to the ocean. Of all the nearby hotels, Sea Shells has the gentlest entrance to the ocean. The beach is fine sand, clean. A little further from the hotel there are two fishing villages, near them the coast is dirty, but, however, no one forces you to go there. The waves are quite gentle, but it is better not to swim far, as it pulls you deep into the depths. Pool of medium size, maximum depth 2.5 m, clean.
Sunbeds and mattresses near the ocean (with "fungi") and by the pool are free and it was full of free ones, no one occupies them in the morning. The smile and attentiveness of the staff comes to helpfulness and deserves 5 stars. They feed excellent. For breakfast - a large selection, but somewhat monotonous. But dinner is a buffet, but more often the choice of dishes on the menu is varied, well served. There is national cuisine, but try carefully: we love spicy, and that seemed very spicy. Bedding, towels are changed every day, sweeping, etc. - everything is as usual. Beach towels are in the room, always changed and free of charge. The room has a small kettle with water, tea, coffee, sugar, a balcony with two chairs. The bathroom has a shower cabin. There was no TV, but personally we didn't need it. Moreover, not everyone manages to catch Russian channels in Sri Lanka, and watching local ones is a little pleasure.
Refrigerator, air conditioning - on request, set free of charge. But take your time with air conditioning: we opened a small window to the balcony at night (mosquitoes did not bother) and the wind from the ocean blew the room better than any fan. Although there is a ceiling fan and all this is more than enough. At the reception - a safe, umbrellas (there are short rains) - free of charge. Internet at the reception in translation into our rubles is only 20 rubles. /hour. , but the speed is insanely slow, it is better to use the Internet in street Internet cafes. The exchange rate of $ for rupees is quite a bit lower than at the airport. I recommend buying a card of a local mobile operator at the entrance immediately at the airport. We had Mobitel: translated into rubles, one minute of conversation with Moscow cost only 20 rubles. (! ). For 500 rupees, you can negotiate with relatives. The hotel is a little away from any street bars, but quieter. Yes, there are no entertainment, discos, etc.
There isn't much to do with kids either. It is not quite the season yet and the hotel was mostly visited by English pensioners, but the locals say that there are many Russians in the hotel during the winter months. Often, locals come to celebrate a wedding (it happens very quietly and calmly), you can watch the bride in very beautiful clothes. From the animals - palm squirrels already fed by various tourists run onto the balcony. Feeding them or not is up to you, but they are not a concern. Well, the crows are dragging food left on the balcony. In general, the impression of the hotel was very good.
A separate story about the beach shops located near the hotel (to the left and right of the hotel on the beach). There was an opportunity to compare prices and assortment: as a result, we returned to the owners of these shops. Their quality is the same, the prices are lower than in the nearest cities. Plus discounts and numerous invitations for tea.
In such a shop, a very decent quality tuxedo (! ) was sewn to my husband in 4 (!! ) days in total and excellent fabric and for only $ 200 (this is a jacket, trousers, shirt) and they also gave tea as a gift! The same seamstress sews leather outerwear and the quality of the leather is excellent, but we didn't have enough time. If anyone is interested: the name is Silva Tailoring, if you leave the hotel on the beach, then to the right, a hundred steps away, is her house. Everyone knows her name there. Her tel. : 077-6555405
For those who want to bring good fabrics: very cheap (for us) and a good choice (what they don't have - they will get it and bring it) - Irish Tyloris. Her shop and house are in the same direction, 10 steps further than Silva's. In addition, Irish's husband has a good car with air conditioning and will take you on any excursion, city, shopping - wherever you want. They communicate well in English and try to learn Russian. Tel. Irish: 077-9617406
On the left, next to the new entrance of the hotel under construction, there is a shop of various antiquities and clothing. The owner's wife, on an official basis, sells jewelry and precious stones from factories: she has a very large selection and will bring whatever you want to order and prices are lower than in other shops on the street.
Whoever has problems with English, I highly recommend: if you leave the hotel on the street to the right, go to the Topaz Hotel (on the same street, somewhere 800-900m. ), Then there will be a Golden Fork restaurant opposite the hotel. Its owner is Russian Sasha. Firstly, it has a lot of seafood, delicious food, a little cheaper than other restaurants. Secondly, he, if anything, will orient the new arrivals what, where and how much. Thirdly, he has an acquaintance - a wonderful local guy Randika, who also in a good car, for a small amount, takes you around the country wherever you want. We were happy to travel with him.
I am writing about drivers because the guides from the tour operator absolutely do not show any initiative in showing the country to tourists (we saw our representative once during the entire vacation), and if they do, then their prices are exactly three times (in dollars! ) More expensive than local guides. Moreover, local guides will even help you bargain somewhere. It's short. Have a good rest! If you need more detailed information, some nuances, as well as how to relax even cheaper and longer, write to us. I will answer based on my recent experience.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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