"27" Spathodea- Oasis in the City

The property is located in a convenient location and the grounds and house are beautiful and old-style. However, this leads to the problems detailed below. In terms of comfort, the bed was great and Ms. Sita, who was on site, was hugely helpful in all ways! She gave us a warm welcome, was very helpful and friendly, and ensured we had a sumptuous breakfast. She also helped us with mosquito lotion (as we had forgotten ours) and was generally available for all our queries.

The villa is old style, which means that the interiors are classic but a bit dim in the evening. The biggest problem we faced, however, was mosquitoes from the (admittedly gorgeous) garden. Of course, we were there during the rainy season, so the mosquitoes can't be helped. However, the property could put in meshes on the windows, which would allow us to keep the windows open at night without worrying about mosquitoes. As it is, we were warned not to leave the windows open (which was very kind and helpful!) and so couldn't enjoy the beautiful garden view right outside! The bathroom is big and very well-appointed, but has a similar problem with a lattice-work door opening onto the back of the house with no mesh at all. Finally, this is not on the property at all, but during our stay there, their street and adjoining street seemed to be carrying out some pest control which meant that we found 2 dead roaches around the property. However, this was not on them. Unfortunately, our stay was interrupted by the mosquitoes - if the property could simply install a mesh at all windows in the common areas, bedroom and bathrooms, it would be incredibly comfortable and a very good stay.

From the moment we booked “27”, to the moment we left, we were treated like friends, and Glenn and Fiona helped hugely with my trip-planning - so helpful and much appreciated to have a local viewpoint. The house is such a peaceful, relaxing haven, surrounded by greenery, and Sita looked after us incredibly, with freshly made roti for breakfast, and countless pots of refreshing tea! Room and bathroom were spotlessly clean and full of thoughtful little touches.

It truly is an oasis of calm in the midst of a very busy Colombo. Sita’s food is fabulous; freshly cooked breakfasts and one night we were lucky to sample her delicious fish curry. The room was clean and comfortable, huge bed, excellent air con and a good shower. What more do you need? Sita was also super-accommodating when we had a very late night out to watch a World Cup match, getting up in the early hours to let us back in.

Breakfast was good,Room was reasonably clean. The House Keeper was good, courteous, and helpful to the best of her ability.

Toilet needs more attention & cleaning, Also had no Hot Water for the 4 days I stayed due to a problem with the Hot Water System.