Browns Beach Hotel

Negombo, Sri Lanka

I made my hotel reservations in advance through my office colleague’s travel operator friend and was able to get a U$10 discount off the rack rate, it does pay to have good contacts. I remembered a friend before who maliciously commented to another friend that, “you should try to stay in a hotel paying the full fee and not just have freebies before you compare blah blah blah”……well, sorry to say, but I’m glad I am working in the hotel industry and has a lot of contacts who can provide us with discounts and yeah, sometimes “freebies”. Lol

It was already late (around 9pm) when I arrived at the hotel and I immediately asked whether I can have a “free” late check-out, and they said yes we can let you stay in until 6pm! Aww, they are so nice! At least I only have a few hours to while away till my departure to the airport at 9pm the following day.

My room was on the first floor so when I came out from the lift I was ecstatic to see a table laden with English novels! The cheapie in me couldn’t resist taking 2 novels (the ones I bought at Vijitha Yapa costs at least 650LKR each!) out. I think these are novels left by guests here and don’t want to lug it around when they are travelling around Sri Lanka.

Beware! There are no bath tubs in the Standard Rooms! I really expected that they would have one as the price is a bit high, at US$85 per night it is almost comparable to Colombo hotels already. But what really depressed me was the state the bath towels were in…..judge for yourself….

The bedroom is quite nice with a little traditional touches like this elephant décor near the bed headboard.

All the rooms have sea-facing verandas also which gives you panoramic views like these in the early mornings.

The breakfast buffet is okay and offers quite a variety of traditional breakfast dishes although for those who are not keen on sampling can go for the typical scrambled eggs/omelets with sausages and beans. The restaurant is near the reception and one can choose which area to sit in, there is an area which has a commanding view of the beach hence it’s also where everyone wants to sit!

Since the beach is not that good for non-swimmers like me, I just contented myself with short laps in the hotel swimming pool and later on snatching a few suntan moments while reading the book I swiped from the lobby. By ten o’clock when everyone had finished their breakfast, my “alone” moment at the pool was now shared by a lot of guests.

After lunch at a nearby seafood restaurant and a trip to the town center, I came back to the hotel for a short nap before checking out. The bell attendant was very helpful and proceeded to take my luggage to the store room. Since I still have at least a couple of hours to kill I decided to visit the Ayurveda Centre and try a massage.

Ayurveda means Ayur – Life and Veda – Science, so it means It is the Science of Life. Whenever I’m in Sri Lanka, I always want to have at least one ayurveda treatment in every trip.

The facilities at the Ayurveda Centre is a bit rustic. I don’t know whether this is the way they designed it to be but it definitely is not your posh idea of a spa. I was left with less than an hour till closing time so I opted instead to have a Herbal Facial (LKR 2000) for 45 minutes. A bit expensive....I remembered our trip to Kandy where we had an Ayurveda Package for only 2400LKR and it came already with a Herbal Sauna, Steam Bath, and a traditional massage.

The male therapist I had was good. His hands were so soft on my skin. I think he has better hands than me! Hahahhaha

After my treatment, I went to the bar for a couple of beers before capping my stay in Negombo and going back again to sunny Maldives.

Cheers! Till my next trip to Sri Lanka again….