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Holiday Reviews > Indian Ocean > Sri Lanka > Negombo > Negombo Hotels > Browns Beach Hotel > Read Reviews
Browns Beach Hotel Reviews
| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Cosmos |
| Submitted
By: |
snoopy58 |
| Overall
Rating: |
3/10 |
| Comments: |
If you're thinking of staying at this hotel think again. We found our room to be tired and dirty, with bed linen being recycled between us. Mould in the bathroom, the shower took 15 - 20 minutes to drain, tepid water. Despite reporting these problems to reception absolutley nothing was done about them.
The hawkers on the beach are a nuisance and do spoil enjoyment of the beach.
I would NOT recommend this hotel.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Mercury Direct |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr B Klust |
| Overall
Rating: |
4/10 |
| Comments: |
My mark of 4/10 is very generous.
We knew we booked a 3 star hotel, so you would expect it to be maybe a bit rough and ready but what we cannot accept is it not to be clean.
We were on the 3rd floor (Room 322) and all I can is that it was filthy. The bathroom had mould on the walls and in the shower cubicle it had it's own culture growing there. The net curtain on the balcony door was grey (I'm sure it started off white) and it had holes in it. Also, in the corners of the room it looked like it hadn't been cleaned for months. The towels were threadbare and grey and has for the sheets they always had marks on them even though they had been cleaned.
As for the food it was repeated a lot with not a lot of choice and a lot of the time it was luke warm. The napkins on the table were dirty.
I could go on for ages, all I would say is that the staff are pleasant and cannot do enough for you, however I will not be going back and I certainly would not recommend it to anyone.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs E M Yates |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
My friend and I went to Browns Beach, Negombo to celebrate our 50th Birthdays.
When we got there we were taken directly to Browns Beach where our luggage and needs were immediately attended to. We were given refreshing drinks while we waited for the reception to distribute our room keys, which never took more than 15 minutes. The room was basic with no t.v. it was spacious and had a fridge and complimentary bottles of water, which we continually filled from the fresh drinking chilled water dispenser in the corridor where our room was.
We were totally looked after by the friendly and helpful staff who held interesting conversations.with us and made us laugh. Nothing was too much trouble for them.
Upon sun down every night the 'mozzi man' came round to refresh our insect repellant machine and spray the curtains, floor and bathroom, everything was done to make our stay as comfortable as possible. The bedding was changed EVERY DAY, as were the towels. and the beds were later turned down for us before we retired.
Food at the hotel was excellent with a wide choice of foods catering for everybody's needs, there was always a good variety, which was always well prepared and cooked to our own specific request.
The hotel was on the seafront which we could see from our bedroom, although partially blocked by lush palm trees.
Tours were organised by the First Choice rep, although we decided to pay £20 extra for a chauffeur driven tour who was extremely informative and took us to places which were interesting and avoided the frequent showers on the dates we had booked. Again nothing was too much trouble.
There was a jeweller as we turned left out of the front of the hotel. The shop was called Suncraft Jewellers. The gentleman in the shop quoted very fair prices and even took us round the workshop to see our goods being made. Some of the goods we bought were delivered to the hotel for us to save us walking down the street to the shop. All the goods were of good value and made again to our specific requirements, we would definately recommend him.
The opticians next to the Jewellers was Euro-Optic and was again really good value and my friend got herself a real bargain with buy one get one free offer, no charge was made for the eye test and she was really pleased with Reading glasses, sunglasses and night visiion glasses for just £95.
Most of the jewellers and opticians in Negombo accepted English pounds, and US Dollars. However, we couldn't take cash from cards in the hotel and had to go to the bank in Negombo for that.
Travel into Negombo was usually by tut tut which cost 200 Sri Lankan rupees which is less than £1 and was a real bargain and good fun.
I would recommend this holiday to anybody. Good Value, Good fun, Good time.
Give it a go! We would go back again next year, no problem....
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Mercury Direct |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs A BELL |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
Just returned from a fantastic 2 week holiday at Browns Beach.
The staff were very helpful and friendly - nothing was too much trouble. The hotel itself was a bit worn as were the towels and linen but the food was very good - there was a good selection of dishes at every mealtime. The hotel, beach and pool area was very clean and the staff were always sweeping up!
I will definately go again.
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| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Feb 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr B Summerill |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
The staff were very helpful and friendly and would do anything to make sure you had a cood holiday.
Linen and towels were changed every day and the laundry service was excellent.
good food in the hotel with plenty of choice though we ate out most evenings.
Our favourite was the Palm Lanka where 2 starters 2curries[or other] and 4 beers cost about £10.
There are plenty of other good restaurants
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| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Feb 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr B Summerill |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
The staff were very helpful and friendly and would do anything to make sure you had a cood holiday.
Linen and towels were changed every day and the laundry service was excellent.
good food in the hotel with plenty of choice though we ate out most evenings.
Our favourite was the Palm Lanka where 2 starters 2curries[or other] and 4 beers cost about £10.
There are plenty of other good retaurants
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| Board Basis: |
Full Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Nov 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Mercury Direct |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr R Smith |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
We found our holiday at Browns Beach to be two of the most enjoyable weeks for many years - The hotel staff are all anxious to ensure that guest enjoy their stay with them. We upgraded to a beachside villa on arrival and were very happy with what we found, the rooms are very clean and comfortable.
The food on offer left nothing to be desired with a huge range of familiar English and European dishes together with exceptional Sri Lankan and other spicy foods; the range of desserts is staggering - from English hot puddings through delightful gateaux to local sweets.
The beach is spotless and the small amount of structural improvements being undertaken do not impact on guests in any way. The pool is clean and bar service there is up to the high standard of the rest of the hotel.
We wanted to undertake an overnight trip to the hill country to see the tea gardens and also the elephant orphanage at Peenawalla - we found by using a travel agents a few hundred yards from the hotel we could do what we wanted, when we wanted and at a price of around 50% less than the tour operators charge at the hotels.
We travelled from Birmingham via Dubai which in itself is a good choice, however, the packed flights made it less than ideal as Emirates cram additional seats on their planes compared to other airlines.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Sep 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Mercury Direct |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs S Woodhead |
| Overall
Rating: |
1/10 |
| Comments: |
I wish there was a 0 rating for this hotel. We stayed here last year 2007. I have never seen such a filthy hotel anywhere else in the world. After inspecting the room (toilet filthy, shower ingrained with dirt and mould, beds really dusty, bed linen soiled and balcony with furniture that would be better off on a tip) we refused to stay and demanded to be put in another hotel. This was the best decision we ever made. If you are thinking of booking this hotel - don't do it !!!
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Kuoni |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr P Gaster |
| Overall
Rating: |
3/10 |
| Comments: |
The only good thing I can say about this resort and hotel is the staff were excellent.
The resort manager decided to close the bars for the New Year (4 days) and only opened one of the three when threatened with a revolt by the all inclusive guests.
The Sri Lankans left the beach and sea in a disgusting state with rubbish and dirty nappies all over after their evening parties.
The pool is very tired and needed a good clean and the rooms need an upgrade.
We upgraded to a beach bungalow which had been refurbished and were glad we did, however there were still some faults which included a faulty phone, which kept ringing at odd times.
The food was good but rather samey.
The staff were very friendly and would do all they could to help.
You must take a Tuk Tuk ride even if only the once, great for increasing the heart rate.
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| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Kuoni |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss L Fields |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Initially we thought that the hotel required some upgrading but after visiting a couple of other hotels in Sri Lanka realised that this hotel really knows how to look after their residents - its a bit colonial but the rooms were clean and spacious and the view from our balcony was second to none. Room service was brilliant - same price for a drink at the bar or to have it delivered to your room.
The staff were very helpful and we found that if you tip 100 sri lankan rupees for each bill the staff really looked after you. In Sri Lanka the staff can buy their dinner with 100 rupees - which is approximately 80 sterling pence - which for us Brits doesn't buy much in our Country!
Places you must visit are without doubt Pinnawela - the Elephant Orphanage - we even got to pat one of their heads - tremendous. Polonnaruwa, Temple of the Tooth in Kandy - hire a guide for a couple of sterling pounds - well worth it as you get to places other tourists don't get to see.
Shopping is a must in Sri Lanka - Kandy especially - you need to visit Barefoot - clothing and household wares - very cheap and very good quality items - eg like Habitat, Monsoon. Barefoot also has a wonderful restaurant in the back garden where live music is played -very chilled and cool. Odel is a brilliant department store with everything and anything in it along with a Sushi Bar, other restaurants and best of all it is air condtiioned. There are a number of other shops that we visited and the prices are so cheap compared to home but the quality is good if not better than at home.
The best way to do your shopping is to hire a driver from the hotel - this is a lot cheaper than using the Tour guides choice of driver - it cost us about £20 per day for the use of a driver in an airconditioned car - our chappie collected us from the hotel - took us round all the shops we wanted to visit and brought us back to our hotel in comfort - very reasonable indeed.
Take very little clothing with you - wonderful items to buy while you are there and then you can bring home all sorts of delightful items, cushion covers, clothes, household items etc - so the best piece of advice is to take an empty suitcase with you so that you can bring it back full and not have to pay any excess baggage.
Downside is the poverty - quite distressing if you are not used to seeing it. People do beg - but you really can tell the ones who are honestly very poor just by looking in their eyes. Also since the Tsunami there are a number of people trying to con you out of money saying that they are collecting money for the children - please beware of this - if someone asks you for money with regards to the Tsunami look at what they are wearing - if they can afford to wear good clothes, and have a pen and notebook it is very doubtful that they are in fact collecting for the orphanes - pens and notebooks are expensive in Sri Lanka for the everyday locals - so beware.
Restaurants are good - Sri Lankan curry is delicious and there is tons of fresh seafood - aim for the German hotel in the main street and you will get a delicious meal for a few pounds.
A few times a month there is a holy day called the "Full Moon" - you cannot buy alcohol on this day apart from getting beer delivered to your hotel room but I am sure all
our livers can resist the temptation for 1 day per week!
Well worth a visit and really the very best way to spend January especially if you live in Scotland, UK!
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomson |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss L Johnson |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
What a fantastic holiday. Browns Beach was a great hotel - clean and tidy, spacious, peaceful. The staff at the hotel are so friendly and can't do enough for you.
The beach is lovely and you don't get hassled too much by the beach vendors as they are only allowed so close to the hotel but a polite no thank you is suffice for them to leave you alone.
The food is good - always plenty of choice.
We used the hotel driver Kumudu to go on the trips - he gives a good price and fabulous trips - very safe.
So much to see and do in Sri Lanka and Browns Beach is a great place to base yourselves.
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Browns Beach Hotel Reviews
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