Ruvisha Beach Hotel

Like others we stayed here as starting point of a tour with Intrepid. The hotel is old and dirty, everywhere you go there’s a different unpleasant smell. The lift is super noisy and dings at every floor, you can hear it all the way from down the corridor, and thanks to some acoustic witchcraft you hear the ding for every floor, no matter where you are. Breakfast is appalling, sad dry sliced fruit probably the same everyday as nobody dares to touch it, some pathetic and failed attempts to a bit of both continental and local delicacies, and bread toasting machine that takes 3 to 5 business day to toast one side of the bread, but that slice of toast was all in all the best thing I ate! Room was disgustingly dirty, counted 4 cockroaches that had to fight off, the floor looks like hasn’t been mopped since 1994 and all surfaces are sticky and dusty. The shower probably the worst I’ve ever seen, dirty glass doors and tiles, mouldy shower head and not a single shelf to put toiletries on. Can’t wait to leave in the morning!

At face value, this hotel seems good. It was booked as part of a tour I had joined, so I had no say in where to stay. All started well, I arrived early in the morning, was given a welcome drink as is often the case in Sri Lanka and my luggage was taken off me to be delivered to my room. Check in time is officially 2pm. I arrived just before 10am so wasn't expecting to be able to get into my room. However, the reception staff told me it was ready and I could head up there straight away. After a long flight I was glad of the chance to freshen up and have a quick nap. I got up to the room and just as I was about to step into the shower, the phone rang. I didn't get to it in time so carried on with my shower. (As a few people have mentioned, it was COLD and not at all pleasant). Finally climbed into bed and was just dozing off when the phone rang again. Nobody there for the second time. I fell asleep and about 20 minutes later, it rang for the third time. This time there was someone on the other end, telling me because I'd checked in early, I needed to pay a $15 fee! There was absolutely no mention of this upon check-in, had I been given the option that would have been a different issue. But to be told after I'd already been in the room almost an hour and decamped all my stuff wasn't on at all. In short, I refused to pay it. But be warned that if you check in early, this could happen to you. I'm not sure if they seriously expected me to pack up my stuff and go back to the same room at 2pm.... Other points ... As mentioned, the shower is cold. Apparently you need to leave it running for about 10 minutes to get anything that resembles warm water from it. What a waste! Questionable cleanliness in the room, lots of dust. It's best not to look! Breakfast was good and served on the rooftop with great views over the beach.

Clean, spacious and comfortable bedrooms, with good air conditioning. Breakfast was ok, nothing special, but it was sufficient. The restaurant was extremely warm, and they only switched on the air conditioning after we asked them several times. Location wise; Ruvisha Beach Hotel was ok for just one night. But if I’d been in Negombo for longer I would definitely have preferred a more central location, and a hotel with a pool that wasn’t right next to the car park and main road. Staff were a bit of a mixed bag - some were super helpful, whilst others just couldn’t be bothered. I wanted to exchange some cash, and the two reception staff looked none too pleased that I’d asked them. After a few minutes they tried to convince me not to exchange as the rate was so low (but it was getting lower by the day, so it made no difference either way) then they told me they couldn’t get hold of whoever had the keys for the cash… Quite frankly, they just didn’t want to do it. If you’re after somewhere clean and comfortable to spend the night after arriving in Sri Lanka, then this hotel is perfectly adequate. But if I ever return to Negombo, I’ll be looking for a hotel that appreciates my custom a little more.