If you and your partner are above the age of consent, healthy, and both consenting, there are no legal barriers to spending time together, or spending the night together. The moral barriers are vague and arbitrary so we trust you, as adults, to make those decisions yourself.
For vital information, please read our two blogs on 10 Things You Need To Know Before You Have Sex and How Not To Get Pregnant. Keep in mind, if you think buying condoms is embarrassing, an unwanted pregnancy or STI is a LOT more embarrassing.
Since "rooms for couples", "where can I take my girlfriend", and "safe hotel for unmarried couple" are the most commonly searched terms on yamu.lk for the last 5 years, we thought it might be time to make this easier for everyone.
- If you are two consenting adults, you do NOT need to bribe anybody, the police has absolutely no right to arrest you, demand your ID, or harass/threaten you in any other way. Sexual intimacy for heterosexual unmarried couples is not a crime in Sri Lanka. Don't let yourself be extorted.
- If you go to a dodgy, unverified hotel, you are setting yourselves up for failure. They could ask for your IDs as a form of blackmail, they could have hidden cameras, or worse. Always choose a safe and reputable place. In all honesty, you're not going to find a safe and reputable place for less than about Rs. 4000 in Colombo. Unless it's your friend's house.
-Even a fancy hotel may ask for you ID to take a copy at check-in, but that's it. They can't keep it with them or demand it later. They also can't ask you if you're married, if your family knows where you are, etc.
Any 5 star or international chain hotel is more than happy to give you a safe, clean, room for a 22 hour period. Of course, you'll have to shell out, anything from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 a night including breakfast and full use of the hotel's facilities. We've got a full, sortable list of 5*, 4*, boutique, business, and budget hotels here. Keep an eye out for discounts on sites like booking.com and you might even get budget hotels for as low as Rs. 8,000 a night.
Colombo's really upping its hostel game. We've visited a lot of beautiful, chic, and friendly hostels recently with cheap dorms and private rooms in central Colombo locations. The best part is they're reasonable and ask no pesky questions, but we've heard they may not be too welcoming to local couples looking for suspiciously short stays. It might not be super romantic to dine with a bunch of sunburnt backpackers, but neither is a pay-per-hour room out in Mount Lavinia. For a private room, you could pay anything from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 10,000.
Airbnb is an option if you're not uncomfortable with staying in somebody else's house or guest house. If you're looking for your own space (especially over a weekend or for a few days), Airbnb is often a reasonable option where you can share a room or even an apartment or house for a period of time. This is especially good if you want to cook, watch TV, etc. We've mentioned some of the nicer high-end Airbnbs in central Colombo here. We also got a comment from Mahasen by Foozoo, which has excellent ratings and is even LGBT friendly!
RelaxOn Motels - These are a series of converted houses around Colombo that offer short stays starting at about 3 hours onwards at about Rs. 2500. A YAMU user vouched for their safety, but apparently they do keep one ID for the duration of stay.
Solid Hotels - This chain has locations around the city, in Bambalapitiya and Welawatta. It's about Rs. 4000 a room. Definitely a bit dingy, but not dodgy per se.
Signature Hotels - Another chain like Solid, Signature Hotels has locations all around central Colombo including Carwil Lane, Shrubbery Gardens, and 5th Lane. Prices go from Rs. 5000-Rs. 6000 a night.
Hotel Juliana - Another super central option, you can get a double room here for Rs 5000 from 12 noon to 12 noon. They will charge you the same rate even for shorter stays. This is definitely one of central Colombo's seedier hotels (seedy enough that they helpfully cover up your car number plate for you in case you're meeting someone other than your wife), but they have a good Korean restaurant.
Grand Oriental Hotel - A beautiful old 1837 building steeped in history and overlooking the port, the GOH is sort of close to the Dutch Hospital etc, but is pretty dated. You're also not getting your money's worth at Rs. 11,000 upwards for a room unless you're really into Chekov.
Concord Grand Hotel - Based in Dehiwala, this hotel is quite pretty from the outside, and they let you have rooms either for upto 22 hours at around Rs. 6000. You can stay for a shorter period, but the price is the same.
Hotel Janaki - Seedy yet safe, Hotel Janaki is in the heart of Colombo 5. Rooms start at about Rs. 7000 upwards for a double. They also have a pool, in case you're feeling a dip.
Hotel Sapphire - Down in Welawatta , the Sapphire is on Galle Road and relatively central. Prices start at about Rs. 10,000 upwards.
Hotel Nippon - The Nippon is a gorgeous old building, recently renovated and reopened. Prices for a double room with a balcony are about Rs. 10,000 upwards, but it's worth it for the historic value. There's also a couple of good restaurants downstairs.
Pearl City Hotel/ Pearl Grand Hotel- Right in the heart of Colpetty, Pearl Grand will give you A/C double rooms for Rs. 13,000 for a full night or Rs. 12,000 for upto 6 hours. Which kind of makes no sense. Pearl City will do the same at Rs. 10,800.
Yoho Bed - This is a simple booking site with rooms all around Colombo (and the country). They maintain basic standards of cleanliness, A/C, Wi-Fi, and breakfast, and prices are quite low from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 7000 for private rooms.
Booking.com - An international booking site that lets you sort according to a bunch of variables like price, date, room type, availability, location etc. Watch out though, prices lower than Rs. 2500 generally indicate dorm rooms.
Bookings.lk - This local booking site lets you sort according to price, and the spots registered on it are verified in advance so you know they're legit.
And that's our list. It's a work in progress, so if you know any places that are cheap, clean, and legitimate, please comment below so other users can find them too. In the meanwhile, we hope this was useful. Please be responsible and stay safe!
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Foozoo
Excellent article. You can also stay with us at Mahasen by Foozoo, where our tagline is 'everybody's welcome'. A homely, quiet, private place with free car parking, wifi and more. Plus we are LGBT friendly. Check us out online.
Kinita
That's wonderful to hear! Thanks a lot for letting the YAMU community know :)
roshan
@Foozoo are you provoding day room too? I mean for around 4 hours? If so what is the rate ?
Foozooboohoo
Be careful and responsible of the material you put out. Kid's may be reading this.
Kinita
Yes, that's the point!
Foozooboohoo
May be I missed it
Dave R
Here is a place that I used about 15 years ago, with my girlfriend (Now wife)
Hotel Prasad (https://goo.gl/maps/tfQnm5xKsa52) A buddy gave me the location, saying that it has ties to the police, so no risk of police raids. I live in colombo and this is how far I had to go to avoid the risk of police raids of colombo places.
Here is another place https://goo.gl/maps/UhAWFvZSkPN2. It had some other name back then. Compared the back then (adjusted for inflation) places are lot cheaper.
Finally, there was the good, old Metro Cinema (https://goo.gl/maps/xRHHnAyhTy42) when we were broke A/L students :-)
I wonder if they still have the boxes. Might be good for little foreplay or a BJ, but definitely nothing more than that.
Nipuna
#50958
DavidBlacker
there are literally dozens more places in your 3-10k bracket, from the Sapphire to Hotel Janaki to the Grand Oriental to Hotel Nippon.
Kinita
Thanks, David! Added these on, although they're all actually in the 7-12K bracket not inclusive of taxes.
Sam
Any couple friendly hotels for swinging (exchange partners or group fun)
Coldblood
Sam were you able to find a hotel?
Jeff Rogers
Guys,
A couple days back I found this thread when I was looking for a place to go to. Thanks YAMU for this!
I think I should share my experience for the benefit of everyone. I've used a fake name of course, but I hope YAMU will approve this comment.
I used Yoho Bed to book a room. The website itself is easy enough to use and the support rep was nice and answered all my questions. I booked a room from what the website called Yoho Carlwil Place. The price quoted on the website was 4200, but when I went to the checkout page it ended up being 5000, so beware of hidden charges, guys.
When I went to the place yesterday it turned out to one Signature Hotel (of the same chain that manages several properties around Colombo.) The place looked dingy and uninviting but we went in anyway. THEY ASKED FOR MY NIC TO BE KEPT WITH THEM FOR THE DURATION OF THE STAY. When asked why, the guy at the reception snapped at me and said they need to keep it with them in case there is a police raid (so that they can prove no underage couples are occupying any rooms.) He further said there are no places that let you in without keeping the NIC.
When we finally went into the room, it looked dark and untidy, and nothing like the pictures in Yoho! We checked for camera, there were none but the first impression of the room sure did ruin the mood.
So guys, if you're using Yoho to book a place, be extra careful. I'm sure they're a great service and does a better job when it comes to premium bookings, but I you're looking for a budget option the more research you do, the better. Even though Yoho lists there rooms with names like Yoho X and Yoho Y, the properties are not managed by them. So always check Google Maps to see what hotel it is, and better still, ask a buddy if you can before booking anything.
Stay safe guys!
Kinita
Thanks a lot for sharing your personal experience! I'm sure this is going to be super helpful for other readers too. Yes, I think Yoho simply does a few basic checks at hotels to see if they fit the Yoho guidelines, I'm not sure if they really control for quality!
Nuwan herath
hey, Can i know the minimum age to visit a private room in colombo ? It would be helpful for the other users too. Looking forward for a good reply. Thank you :)
Kinita
As of now, the age of consent in Sri Lanka is 16 but this may change. Most hotels ask for 18+ though.
damlurker
This might not be ILLEGAL in terms of LAW but it is against our culture.
duli99
Grow up
Praveen
You get great deals on www.pikanite.com for the night, for any purpose(as long as it's legal). Just download the app and be on your way.
Roshanrox
Please suggest me a safe hotel under the budget within Colombo 02-06, where I can stay with my girl friend (not underage).
Kazza
Try GSH colombo (Colombo 06). They do offer day rooms. But you have to call and ask for the price
Pasindu_Sex
Please suggest a good box film hall or room for just 2 hours
This is for just play with my boy friend BJ & 69
Immediate responses highly appreciate
Kazza
I have been Lalix Hotel Colombo (Boralesgamuwa) [https://goo.gl/maps/Z8ditvbZ7o82] few months before. Rooms are clean, the team is friendly. However as I remember they didn't had Credit Card Payment option & the food is not that great (but eatable).
Papadam
There's a place in Colombo 05. Call them up on 0717174444
Open Minded folks so you can tell them the requirement and they will oblige
Bit expensive but private and secure
Mad44
Useful article. I've got a question. Are "Solid Hotels" and "RelaxOn Motels" tourists board approved ones?
Kamal_90
Friends, is there any place to visit and enjoy with my Girlfriend during the weekend?
It's better to have fun games, rooms, pool etc.
Thanks
nanda968
I checked in to a budget hotel in Pita Kotte Junction (Amra Residency) , it was only Rs.1400 for 4 hours. First I wasn't sure how the place will be, but it was worth the price. very clean and fresh rooms. Private parking and separate entrance so we felt more safe and comfortable.
JojoRabbit
Is there any place in Colombo where it is safe to park the car and be inside without anyone disturbing?
donasi
Water's Age Car Park