Seashells Hotel

I have read all the reviews regarding the Sea Shells Hotel. We stayed at the hotel for a week in June and I agree with all the reviews, the hotel is fantastic and all the staff are lovely. I must point out however, that the pool is extremely dangerous! My partner dived into the pool and banged his head on a lip dropping down into the deep end of the pool (this is in fact illegal in most countries), it is supposed to be a gradual drop from shallow to deep. I feel I must warn anyone who visits the hotel to take extra care when using the pool. My partner actually died from the serious head injury he sustained. I also know that a child nearly drowned in the same pool three days after my partner died!

We have just returned from a 2 week stay in Negombo staying at the Sea shells hotel. The hotels location although slightly on the outskirts of the main negombo road is superb. It only costs about 50p to get to the centre in a tut tut. The views of the sea from your balcony are very impressive, and the staff just cannot do enough for you. The rooms i would say are more than basic, they are large and kept very clean by a daily cleaner. The pool is kept clean with a life guard on duty during the day. I certainly would recommend this hotel to anyone. A little tip would be to pay for an airconditioned room as this was a god send to us as it is very hot and humid at night. We personally had bed and breakfast but some people had half board. We prefer to be able to eat out in different restaurants each night therefore would not be able to comment on the quality of the evening meals. We did however eat on quite a few occasions during the day and all our meals were excellent.

Just back from a fantastic 2 week break at Seashells in Negombo. The weather was brilliant - hot sun each day, even when it rained (once) the shower passed in 10 mins and the baking sun had returned by the time we gathered our bits and got back on the beach. The Seashells is a spacious, clean and professionally run hotel. Having read the other reviews I can't understand why some people have slated it. The people are warm and friendly, they earn so little it is hard to be angry with them when they try and sell you things - I certainly would do the same in their shoes. All I have to say is if you visit look out for Laus on the beach, he will give you the best price and best excursion you can have - much better value and more personal than the tour operator or hotel taxi drivers. He will also have his driver Randy with him - really nice fellas - it is nice to meet such good people. Have a look at the pics...they speak for themselves...

I returned from Sri Lanka yesterday, 16 May 2007. The island is well worth a visit or two. I was based at the Seashells hotel. This is because of the price at First Choice for a couple of weeks B&B with flights via Gatwick; it was only £492.40 for sole occupancy of a double room, including all supplements and taxes. I had intended on an island tour, but with that worked out at £1,580 through Thomas Cook for only nine days. So, I thought I'd stay at the beach and arrange a couple of trips locally instead. And, I did. At only £70 for a two day trip to Kandy, staying at a true five star hotel by any western standard and £75 for a two day trip to the wild-life park staying in a four star hotel near Yala, I saved a fortune by taking the Seashells deal. OK, the Seashells is no great hotel. I recon it's between two and three stars. But, it is adequate and they made a special effort to provide me with a lovely vegetarian meal each night at only 300 rupees, less than £1.40 (At least 215 rupees to the £) The downside, a drawer smelt musty. The mossies dined on my back for the first few nights. The beach was a bit dirty and the sea was too rough for a swim. And, it was very quiet! At one point, we guests were outnumbered about 4 to 1 by staff..... The upside, the staff were great. They couldn't do enough for you. The food was great. The pool was clean. The locals were friendly. I was never at a loss for something to do. A few beach people asked for money, but accepted my "no thanks" with good grace. The local shops had good bargains. I got a ring fixed for about £4....a first class job. It would have cost £60 plus at home! I'd go back to the Seashells as a base to further explore Sri Lanka. The Island has many wonders. I've only witnessed a few and there's more life in my Rough Guide for a return match or two.

Hotel is lovely and fresh and clean , with lovely scenery. The beach is beautiful and adds to the whole atmosphere of the hotel. The staff were lovely and friendly especially the front desk staff. I had a wonderful time and would recommend the hotel to anyone.

This is a very clean hotel with simple but comfortable furnishingsand very friendly staff. The food is very good and local to the area. The pool is very clean and the views are to die for. The hotel opens onto the beach and the sunset each night is worth sitting out for by the pool bar. For bird lovers they do 2 exceptional tours, one along the canal by boat and one a walk in the wetlands. We saw at least 48 different types of bird and all at close range as the guide Mr Chandra Jayawardena is an expert who speaks English perfectly and has the eyes of a hawk. We never felt in any way threatened when we left the hotel, all in all a great holiday.

My family and I stayed at the Seashells Hotel late October and early November 2006. Luxury, this hotel is not, however the old addage that you get what you pay for is more than true for the Seashells. It is a 2 star plus hotel and is definately no more than this. The hotel has recently under gone a refurbisment and as a result, overall, the hotel looks fresh and is clean. The room are comfortable and again clean. I read like many others, the previous reviews and some of them worried me, however I have to say that overall the hotel was good. Importantly, what the hotel building lacks in looks and luxury is more than made up by the staff that are employed there. The staff were absolutely superb from the day cleaners through to the manager. All I can say about the staff is a big thank you, as when problems arose they sorted the issues out quickly, sincerely and always with a smile. Well done Seashells staff!!! The hotel fronts the beach which is cleaned daily, however don't expect blue sea and white beaches as due to the nearby lagoon the sea water is mixed with the draining lagoon water, that said, the beach is still a pleasant place to while away many hours of your holiday with a cool beer and a good book. The atmosphere in the hotel during the day is good, however in the evening it does leave a lot to be desired and the 'every other night' entertainment is a bit hit and miss. It was a blessing that we were only B&B as we had to venture out and sample the local restaurants approximately 1/2 mile down the road ( Tuk Tuk fare approx 100RPS return ), that offered an excellent choice of food. In fact over a fortnight period we only had one bad eating experience and that occurred away from the resort and town. Another bonus at the Seashells was meeting Cyril Fernando, a taxi driver licenced to the hotel and who drove us all over the Island and showed us much more than any holiday company tour guide could ever do. Cyril was excellent and I strongly recommend seeking him out in order to commence your tours to Kandy, Galle and the South East of the Island. In many ways, Cyril made our holiday by providing us with a personal, unquie look at the island with the highlight being a beach we were taken to due to his local knowledge near Hikkaduwa where we came across 3 large wild sea turtles swimming in the sea. We were able to spend about an hour with the turtles and my children enjoyed feeding the turtles with sea grass. Superb! Anyway, in a nutshell, Seashells hotel, great but don't expect too much in the way of luxury as it is a fairly average hotel. Would I stay there again, maybe, would I go back to Sri Lanka and seek out Cyril, definately. Enjoy your holiday.

Just returned from Seashells. What a lovely experience. We've never had a beach holiday all-in before. Would definitely recommend it. The choice of food was good (and my husband is a FUSSY eater!) The beds comfortable, the rooms clean and the staff only too willing to be of service. All the while the managment were asking if all was O.K. and to tell them if it wasn't and they would put it right. O.K. The mossy net was dirty, as was the window curtain, but they are closing in July for upgrading so we'll forgive that. We had a fan in our room which was fine. Friends of ours had AC which was fierce. The location is perfect. Right on the beach. The licensed beach sellers can be a bother - if you let them! Just chill out and smile and say no politely. After all, they are trying to make a living. There is no welfare state in Sri Lanka!! We had three excursions included in our package. Chandra, the naturalist, was an expert. It was wonderful listening to him and he was willing to answer any questions, stupid or not. One of the trips was on the dutch canal and the boatman, Sarath, was a darling. He also did private trips to the lagoon to see other wild life. A tenner each for at least 4 hours. Well worth it. He invited us to meet his family and gave us ginger tea. Also gave us some to bring home as a present. As I said, a darling. Ronan, the taxi driver, was also charming and very knowledgable. You could arrange private trips with him to where-ever you wanted to go and he would even arrange a two night stay for you with hotels included. Or just a trip into Negombo for a couple of hours with him waiting to take you back was no trouble. All in all a wonderful holiday. We don't usually return to our holiday destinations, but in this instance we are making an exception. February seems the best time because the sea is calm, they tell us.

My wife and I have have just returned home after spending a wonderful two weeks at the Seashells Hotel. Could not fault our stay. Room was fine with a shaded patio and a large sized bathroom. The restaurant served good food, we are vegetarians and the chef would show us what dishes were available to us as some had unfamiliar names. The staff were very helpful and friendly which we appreciated. Had read some mixed reviews before our vacation but were pleasantly suprised and can understand why several people we met return year after year. If you remember this is a two star hotel in a third world country as some one has stated in another review you will have no problems. Non of the guests while we were there had any complaints and neither did we.

We stayed at SeasShells Hotel in Negombo for nearly three weeks during March and part of April 2006. We had a room on the ground floor with a little lawn leading from the patio onto the beach. The room was large adequately furnished with an ensuite shower room. The shower was big and worked well although the toilet was not so efficient. All the facilities were well maintained and clean. We were on an all inclusive basis and a good choice of food was available that always included a salad bar.The advise of eating well cooked meat was often taken to extreme with the meat being almost cremated. However the restaurant was delightful overlooking the sea. We would advise eating out on occassion the seafood restraunts were wonderful. The staff were some of the most helpful and pleasant people we have ever encountered. There are three people associated with the hotel who made our holiday. One was Chandra the naturalist employed by the hotel whose knowledge of wildlife is amazing and infectious it is well worth going on a trip with him. The other was Rohan one of the hotel drivers who will take guests on trips that are much cheaper than those organised by a firm and he will stop whenever he sees something of interest. Trips with him are a joy and he has excellent English. The last person is Sarath who is a boatman on the beach and will take you to the lagoon which is an experience not to be missed seeing crocodiles, monkeys and many different and exotic birds. The hotel is closing during June to the end of August for refurbishment and relocation of the restraunt. We thought this place was excellent value for money, it is not luxurious but what would you expect from a 2 star hotel in a third world country. It is clean with good size rooms in a splendid location and we would recommend it.