Emel Boutique Hotel

Sri Lanka , Negombo
NEGOMBO, No 15 Lurudu Road Poruthota Rd
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17 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2025

Peter

Lovely welcome to Sri Lanka

This was the first part of our stay in Sri Lanka and our host made us feel very welcome-waiting outside for us on our arrival and giving us a choice of rooms in either the original hotel or the new one up the road.
The rooms were clean and spacious and the swimming pool was very clean and cleaned every day.
I explained that I was celiac and our host made sure that i had a suitable and delicious alternative breakfast. Alongside the fresh fruit and omelette inhad a different sidedish each day-my faourite being the rice noodles with a coconut filling. As well as plenty of delicious fresh Ceylon tea!.
We explored the area and swam in the pool, leaving feeling refreshed and invigorated for the rest of our trip..

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Apr 2024

Levi

Hosts were amazing and spacious rooms

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

06 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Made to wait forever at check in as the manager insisted they don't have our booking and that we did not pay when we already booked and paid them 8 months in advance in hotels.com. Even the next day they argued with us until eventually they either found the booking on their system or hotels.com called them.
How can a property be on this system when it does not have proper admin to know when people book there? Not worth the trouble

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

09 Aug 2019

Mathusuthanan

Hotel closed no refund - stranded at midnight

The hotels says 24 hour check in. However, when I arrived at the hotel around midnight all doors and gates where closed and when I called the number at the main gate the answer was that there where no reservations in my name. This even though the hotel has already charged my bank account. I can in no way recommend the hotel. I have send the hotel mails around my situation with all details regarding confirmation without any answer back!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

Definitely worth 5 Stars

Great Hospitality & personal touch. Small Boutique hotel with only 5 rooms and a large swimming pool near airport. We occupied 3rooms on our last day after a fabulous Srilanka tour. Would definitely recommend the place to friends & everyone.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jun 2018

Ian

Perfect place for a real Sri Lanka experience.

We have just come back from an amazing holiday thanks to having booked at this hotel. It is tucked away in a quiet place in Negumbo and because it is just 6 rooms you get to feel like one of the family. The rooms are very comfortable and Chef (Abey) provides excellent breakfasts (Continental or Sri Lankan style) as well as tending to all other in-house needs.
Manager Nalaka went out of his way to provide us with the best itinerary to view the wonders of this country. He listened to some of our suggestions and then gave us the best cultural experience we could have had - places, religions, food and a real immersion into the Sri Lankan way of life.
He, together with his driver ((Janaka - the best I have ever driven with) then took us on numerous tours. Some were just days, others overnight at excellent and affordable hotels in the area we were visiting.
In the end we were just four firm friends enjoying a holiday together.
Eight days that will be fondly remembered thanks to a lucky choice of hotel.
Thanks Emel Hotel.

2/10

Poor

05 May 2018

John

Wow, what can I say. After 24 hours of air travel I was just ready to get to the hotel and sleep. I first peeked at the mattress and was taken back by how dirty it was, but at this point I was just ready to sleep. I took a shower, and then pulled up the sheets to get in bed and what I saw was disgusting. There was significant amounts of blood stains, hair, an wet spots. These sheets had clearly not been washed for a long time I left the the hotel immediatly after and ended up having to take a 45 minute ride to downtown Columbo in TUK TUK on a rainy night at 1:30 AM to search for another hotel. Then the guy would not even issue a refund. Please, I'm warning you, do not book this place. There are plenty of other decent and clean accomodations in Colombo at the same price where you dont have to be freeked out about sleeping in the bed.

6/10

Pleasant

17 Apr 2018

Verified traveler

helpful and attentive host

room needs a little renovation but the hosts are extremelly helpful, thumb up for the service!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Mar 2018

Martha

Cheap and cheerful

Excellent value for money. Lovely staff. Easy place to stay for short trip.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

Boutique hotel

Very nice boutique hotel.Wonderful and attentive service!You'll feel like you're staying with friends in no time.Airport transfer went smoothly,room was spacious and breakfast was fresh and tasty!Will stay here again next time,thank you!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Dec 2017

Vajini

A home from home.

Emel Boutique Hotel, proved to be a fantastic stay. Close enough to the airport to recover in a relaxed manner from a long haul flight and before heading out on the road around Sri Lanka. Nalaka and his staff are very attentive and go above and beyond to help. Either chilling out by the pool or just relaxing in the lounge, Emel proved to be a home from home. As a solo female traveller, it was a good place to start my adventure. I will return again and again.

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2017

David

It’s the staff that makes the stay.

I wanted to stay around Colombo as I thought it good to visit the city for a day. However, Nogombo is about 30 KM north of Colombo, but fairly close to the airport. I found Nagombo more interesting and this hotel a quirky but very nice find. Emel is a cross between a small hotel and a B and B. The most memorable part of the stay was the 2 staff. Nalaka is the manager who went out of his way to make sure I got picked up, advised me on places to go in Sri Lanka, and arranged for transportation to Kandy and Galle. Abee (probably not spelled correctly) was I also incredibly nice. When I got up at 4 am jet lagged, he was immediately up and got me coffee and breakfast. The room was comfortable and a good value. But, it’s the staff that makes the stay.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2017

dutchy

A quiet retreat

A loverly italian inspired and furnished home with a great pool in a garden setting. Close to restaurants and beach by tuk tuk

8/10

Excellent

04 Sep 2017

Noreen

Very helpful in making our experiences a good one

A good place to be if you enjoy peace and quiet. Very helpful in assisting you to get the most out of your stay.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2017

Elizabeth

Relaxing holiday

We enjoyed our stay in Emel Boutique very much and plan to stay there again when we visit Sri Lanka in the future. The staff are very friendly and nothing was too much for them. They catered for what ever food we wanted. The place is clean and we felt like being at home as it was so relaxing. We felt much happier staying at Emel Boutique Hotel than staying in other big hotels. We would certainly recommend this place to others specially if you want a relaxing holiday. If you need to go on trips etc they are more than happy to recommend reliable transport to take you about, also will arrange you up from the air port if necessary. Swimming pool under construction and would be completed sometime in August.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Jan 2019

Christian

Sehr freundliches Pesonal

Kleines, schönes und gepflegtes Hotel. Liegt etwas abseits von den “Hotelburgen” von Negombo. Mit dem Tuk-Tuk in 5-7 Minuten zum Strand. Sehr freundliches und zuvorkommendes Personal. Hotel im Preis-Leistung-Verhältnis empfehlenswert. Garten und Pool sehr gepflegt. Zimmer etwas verspielt und könnten ein Design Update vertragen.

Friends

6/10

Pleasant

04 Mar 2018

Juergen

Very hard to find even for taxi drivers. Rooms are large, but need renovating. Metro nearby. Good enough for one night.