Negombo is just an hour's drive from Colombo, but if you really want to embrace everything that this charismatic beach town has to offer, it's better to stay in and take your time. There's a ton of stuff down here that you can explore, observe and discover (including this cute dogga who's chilling on the beach).
If there's one thing that's stronger than the restaurant scene at Negombo, it's their accommodation facilities. Negombo's streets are flocked with hotels, lodgings, homestays, BnBs, hostels and holiday homes that are suitable for every wallet.
During our weekend here, we spent a night at Christima Residence – a well kept homestay bungalow located down Cemetery Road – about 10 minute drive from Negombo bus station.
Accommodation
Launched in 2014, Christima Residence is maintained by a local family, and includes four 2-bedroom apartments, with two types of rooms; Standard Double, and Deluxe Double. Each apartment contains two rooms – so based on your preference, you can even reserve a whole apartment to yourself.
The room prices range from 5k – 8k depending on the deals you get on booking.com, or agoda.com, while the apartments cost 12k and upwards.
We stayed in one of their deluxe double rooms, which is around Rs. 5500, thanks to the sweet deal we got from agoda.com. It was air conditioned, and had two adjoining, comfortable beds, a dressing table, and a wardrobe – pretty simple, but very homey.
Our balcony provided a pool view, and it sets up an ideal location to watch the shimmering stars of the Negombo skyline at night.
Other Amenities
The bathroom in our room was well-appointed with a bunch of amenities – cleaning products, toiletries, hair dryer, towels and whatnot. Again, pretty straightforward, but gives out a very homey vibe.
The common area of the apartment includes a cozy couch as well as a shared kitchen which was well-equipped with an electric kettle, oven, refrigerator, toaster, dining table and a number of other kitchenware. If you feel like cooking your own meals during your vacay, this tiny kitchen has got it all covered.
Image credits : booking.com
Everything about this place ensures that you can enjoy a nice, homelike stay where everyone is warmly welcomed.
Service
The usual check-in time is 12.00pm, but when we called them to get further details, they said that they'd have the room ready by 9am in the morning. Anyway, we dropped in around 9.15am, but unfortunately the room wasn't ready as the previous guests hadn't checked out yet. So we circled around the block, grabbed some breakfast at the Pancake House, returned after like an hour and the room was ready then.
Aside from that minor issue, we have no complaints regarding their service. The guy manning the reception counter was friendly and helpful from the minute we arrived at the property.
Conclusion
It's just 2.5km away from the Negombo bus station, meaning that there's a bunch of things that you can explore – including the beautiful seashores, flora and fauna of the lagoon and the sprinkle of spirituality reflected by the Dutch influence.
So if you're keen on having a peaceful getaway in this sanctuary of a beach town, while enjoying a homelike stay, Christima residence is just the place to be.
