When you arrive in Sri Lanka, chances are you will spend your first night in either Colombo or Negombo. We chose to stay in Negombo and booked Villa Dominikku. This guesthouse run by Dulshan & Dilu scores a 9.9 on Booking.com which was reason enough for us to try out this little hideaway.
Villa Dominikku offers an airport pickup as a service for $15. While this is on the expensive side (an Uber costs 3, dollars) it does save you some hassle. We opted to try Uber as we had very good experiences with it in India. However, we soon found that Uber around Sri Lanka’s airport is not ideal.
The alternative: Pickme. We could not use because we could not sign up (the SMS verification never arrived). If you are traveling to Sri Lanka? Then try to install Pickme while you are still in the Netherlands.
Location of Villa Dominikku
The hotel’s location is fine. It is tucked away in small side streets, but that was not a problem for us. We had no intention of staying long in Negombo so we didn’t need to go out.
With Dulshan’s friend’s tuk-tuk, we drove to Negombo Beach in 10 minutes. Like I mentioned before, Villa Dominikku was a bit on the expensive side. An Uber charged 300 LKR for this and Dulshan’s friend charged 600 LKR.
From the airport, it takes about 35–40 minutes to reach Villa Dominikku. We paid €3 for the Uber (LKR 1,350).
Pros
- Super friendly owners who do everything to make you comfortable
- Spacious room with a nice hot shower
- The guesthouse is spick and span. Very clean
- Breakfast is very tasty.
Cons
- As with most guesthouses, privacy can be limited
- Not within walking distance of Negombo Beach and its restaurants.
What does Villa Dominikku cost?
We booked Villa Dominikku for $40 per night (Nov 2023). You can find the cheapest offer for Villa Dominikku here.
Remote working in Sri Lanka
Remote working is possible. Although the internet is not particularly fast, we achieved speeds of 10 Mbps. Enough to do a video call or handle some emails.
In the living room, there are a number of tables used for breakfast. You can comfortably work there with a laptop.
Villa Dominikku breakfast
Breakfast was excellent. While taste is subjective for debate, I cannot imagine anyone leaving here with an empty stomach. You can specify your dietary requirements at check-in and the next morning there are two breakfasts waiting for you. A continental breakfast and a local breakfast.
We enjoyed a delicious fresh coconut roti, pancakes and honey hoppers. In one corner of our table was a fried egg with a slice of bread. Tip: specify in advance how you want your egg prepared.
Fresh juices, coffee and tea are also served and if you are still hungry, you can order unlimited refills. What more could you want?
