Villa Hundira

We stayed at Villa Hundira for 2 nights at the start of a 19 day tour of Sri Lanka. We landed in Colombo at 0930 and it's a 40 min drive from the airport to the hotel, which is located on the spit of land between the Negombo Lagoon and the Indian Ocean. The hotel kindly allowed us to check in early, so we were in our room (no.1 - a deluxe room) at 1200. The hotel is set back from the tarmac'd road, up a rather rutted track, but our guide's saloon car managed to negotiate it, if rather gingerly! It was a very spacious 1st floor room with large balcony overlooking a sort of mini canal that meanders through the property to the lagoon. We had a kind size bed plus spare single bed, and a good sized bathroom and very large separate shower cubicle. The room was fairly traditional in style, with dark wood floor and furniture and we slept well. WiFi was good. The property itself is in colonial style with a number of buildings spread around the canal and two pools, with lots of separate seating/eating/relaxing areas. We think there were about 10 rooms but it was always very quiet - we saw a max of 3 couples at meal times, so it was a good place to recharge after flying in from a night flight. We tended to relax by the pool close the lagoon and there was a small bar adjacent so you could order cocktails, beers etc which watching birds and fruit bats in the late afternoon! Food was very tasty, some of the best we had during our nearly 3 week trip. There was a good choice at breakfast - as with all our hotels in SL, commencing with a fruit platter, then choices ranging from SL traditional dishes like string hoppers or coconut rotis with curry dishes (particularly enjoyed these, including fish curry which we think was tuna), to other nicely cooked dishes like Eggs Benedict. We also ate one lunch and one evening meal there and were happy with the range of menu choices. We enjoyed sitting "canal-side" for our meals. So tranquil. As per our experience throughout Sri Lanka, the staff were lovely - always smiling and helpful. As we stayed for 2 nights, we used this hotel as a base to take a scenic half day boat trip that took us on the nearby Dutch canal, into a river, into the lagoon and out onto the ocean to see local wildlife (from water monitors and kingfishers to dolphins at sea!). This included a visit to the bustling Negombo fish market as well. We also took a tuktuk tour of Colombo in the late afternoon. We were really happy with our choice of hotel to start this trip around such a beautiful country and would recommend.

Best place st Sri lanka. Second time I stay here. This time 2 nights. Superior service, food and great roms. Do not miss the gallery. Close to airport so best place to start and end visit at Sri lanka. Call place with only 14-15 rooms, suitable for Dingle, pairs or family.

A great stay once again. We've been coming here since 2016. A tranquil oasis with excellent staff, food and drinks. The owners India and Rolf are real gems. Rolf was a world champion motocross racer and a recent addition is a lovely little gallery with memorabilia from his racing days.

Delightful hotel with kind and attentive staff. Nothing was too much trouble. Quiet and relaxing location with a very comfortable bedroom and lots of pretty places to eat breakfast and dinner. The little gift shop full of crafts made by local people was unique.

Our family of four had an absolutely wonderful stay at this hotel! The room was incredibly spacious, providing more than enough space for everyone to relax and unwind after our adventures. The food was a true highlight – every meal was delicious, and the variety offered something for everyone. A special shoutout to Priya, who went above and beyond to make our stay extra special. His warm and attentive service truly made us feel at home. From personalized recommendations to his friendly demeanor, he was a key part of what made our visit so memorable. We can’t wait to come back and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a perfect family getaway!

For those of you who have read my review of the Sigiriya King’s Resort, the following will be familiar as this was written in error (and, despite my best efforts to delete, the option is not being very cooperative: it is still there, somewhat embarrassingly). So, here is what I intended to write for Villa Hundira: This welcoming and friendly hotel is a wonderful place to stay. The staff are charming and it is a short tuk-tuk ride into Negombo (1500 KLR each way). As a previous reviewer has mentioned, the beds are pretty hard, but that really suited me. The pillows are super plush, however. The Sri Lankan breakfast is brilliant and my wife and daughter were big fans of the Continental option.