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Reviews of White Palace

3 out of 5
White Palace
No:554/47, John Silva Rd 2nd, Kurana Colombo Rd, Negombo

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 36 out of 94 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 38 out of 94 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 94 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 5 out of 94 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 94 reviews" "

8.2/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

8.2/10

Amenities

7.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.2/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

4/10 Poor

VIVEK

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It's at the end of a back alley, the rooms are basic, there is an odour/smell - best you pay another $50 and get a 4 star. This is not a 3 star hotel, its one star at best. Avoid !!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from steve on 16 Oct 2023
Thank you for the review appreciate your words please do mind that you forgot to write you just paid 20 with breakfast and a free shuttle to the airport. "BACK ALLEY" Negombo Lagoon

10/10 Excellent

Philip

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from Udi on 23 Oct 2023
Thank you !

10/10 Excellent

fazida binte

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A hidden jewel
Very huge room for very little price Hotel manager , Woody was available all time and gave good advice..many good places R&R for coffees or ice creams. Didnt have time to explore the beaches Negombo is an easier place to chop around than colombo on a trishaw..lots of fruits esp durians on the road Will come again insyaAllah just to explore the beach
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Udi on 23 Oct 2023
Thank you ! Always welcome back

10/10 Excellent

Gopala

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very hospitable staff,very kind
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2023
Response from Udi on 3 May 2023
Thank you and hope to welcome you back !

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022
Response from Udi on 5 Dec 2022
Thank you & hope to welcome you back!

10/10 Excellent

Deanna

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff and service is exceptional! The facilities are basic, price is great and it’s fairly close to the airport. They went above and beyond to arrange a safe ride in the middle of the night to the hotel and even drove us to catch our bus. Udi answered a thousand of our questions and provided a wonderful breakfast. We travel a lot and I can say we probably received some of the best and kindest service at White Palace.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Udi on 14 Sept 2022
Thank you ! For being such nice guest ... Hope to welcome you all one again .

10/10 Excellent

Jenna

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great hotel and helpful staff.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Udi on 19 July 2022
Thank you and hope to welcome you again!

10/10 Excellent

Jenna

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice hotel, close to the airport. Kind and helpful staff. Cold AC and good wifi. Nice breakfast by the lagoon.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Udi on 19 July 2022
Thank you and hope to welcome you again!

10/10 Excellent

Sean

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
From the minute I arrived, the staff was waiting for me at the gate and welcomed me. Very big and clean room. Very friendly and nice staff. They even helped me when my train ticket wasn’t delivered!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Udi on 10 May 2022
Thank you hops to welcome you back !

10/10 Excellent

Liyana

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly, quiet, services provided with a personal touch, water front with beautiful sunset.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Udi on 11 Mar 2022
Thank You! Waiting to welcome you back.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Proximity to the airport; comfort; excellent manager
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2020

2/10 Terrible

Farhan

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Holly

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Faheem

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Welcoming Staff and Amazing Breakfast!
We were amazed by the hospitality of the staff. They made our stay very comfortable and helped us in booking our day trip to Dambulla and also made some great recommendations. Absolutely loved the breakfast! It was some great Sri Lankan food.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Eugene

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Would highly recommend!
Our stay at White Palace was great. The owner Udi was extremely helpful and definite 10/10 service. The location when good weather is also beautiful right on the lagoon. Would highly recommend people staying here.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Amenities
Location is good for airport access (you will need tuk-tuk / taxi to get to Brown beach restaurants area). No garbage bin in the room. Some rooms are right at the breakfast area so very noisy from early morning. AIrport drop-off is free!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

vivek

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This is a great place for a holiday on the lagoon, lovely breeze, clean room, care taker very helpful and supportive.
Stayed 8 nights in Sep 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 7 nights in May 2019

8/10 Good

Douglas

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very simple stay close to airport
Very very simple bed and breakfast. The hosts were very kind and welcoming. The room is extremely simple. TV and WiFi didn’t work properly.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
One night sleep after landing in Colombo airport
This is Very simple family owned guest house. The guys running it are fantastic and very helpful. We felt it was a little overpriced given that is not much offered. Simple and ok for a one night sleep.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good value stay
We had a few nights here before our flight out. The staff were friendly and helpful. Overall it was an ok stay. Wifi bit patchy.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Manish Kumar

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service
When I arrived our hotel was overbooked. We had to wait around before being driven to another hotel that was inferior in quality (the bathhroom was so bad I didn’t even take a shower). The original booking offered airport transfers whereas the new accommodation tried to charge us 2,000 rupees!! We ended up paying 1,000 as we had no choice. This was a disaster and we did not get what we paid for.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Jerome

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

8/10 Good

andrea, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A good stop if you arrive late and want something close to the airport. Helpful staff and ample breakfast.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

STEPHEN

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Great for the airport
Booked for an easy overnight stay local to the airport, 10 mins or so & 600 rupees in a taxi. Room was large and well furnished, the A/C was cold. Nice view out over the lagoon. Night staff didn't speak much English but we managed. The breakfast was good. For great food walk to the main road, turn right and 50 yards down on the same side is Sasha a wonderful place with great wifi!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

10/10 Excellent

Karin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

Tanya

Lovely guest house.
Udi our host was super informative & helpful & arranged a tuk tuk to take us around Negombo. He also arranged dinner which was lovely. Our room was lovely too & we were accommodated in a less noisy room the second night as there was a wedding on the premises. The breakfast was very average although the tea & coffee was great.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Caring staff good food Relaxing
Relaxing sitting on the balcony enjoying the breeze from the Indian ocean Drinking a Lion adds to the experience as does talking to fellow travellers
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Udi on 12 Aug 2018
Thank you & hope to welcome you back!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good for airport stop
This was our last stop after spending 15 days in Sri Lanka. We took the AC bus from Colombo and got off at a bus stop after the junction to the hotel. Best to have gps on your phone to navigate. If you have a local number, give them a call if you need direction. We got lost finding the but manage to find it with help of locals. As for the hotel, we only stayed one night as a stopover to the airport the next morning (15 minutes away compared to coming from Colombo). We liked the spacious bedroom and good breakfast. The wifi was a bit slow the afternoon we arrived but worked well later in the evening and in the morning. We were greeted by friendly and very helpful staff. I didn't get his name but I'm sure he's Udi and later on met his colleague Gopi (names based on previous review). Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy all of the good breakfast as we had to leave to the airport by 8am. If you don't have big luggage, do take the tuk tuk to the airport as it only cost 500rp which they can happily arrange for you the night before. The only thing for us was the room wasn't that soundproof so we can hear the dog barking in the middle of the night. AC took a while to cool the room. It would be nice to have a fan though :) Location wise for food, there's a bakery and a cheap restaurant nearby (we got chicken fried rice for 200rp one pack). The hotel has a garden to sit around. Recommend for quick a night or two stop to or from the airport. Thanks for the hospitality guys.
Response from Udi on 9 July 2018
Thank you Hope you welcome you back !

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Not good value for money
The hotel is one of the expensive ones we had during the two weeks trip in Sri Lanka, but it’s service lags behind its cheaper peers. The room is big, location is quite and breakfast has more variety of food. But the room has no window and the air is stuffy. Floor and bedsheet were not clean. (Bedsheet was changed upon request). We were asked to cook water with the pot in the room for breakfast tea, which seemed weird. The hotel also charges 1,500 rupees to send us to the airport, a 15 minuets journey. While the hotel we first stayed near airport upon landing offered free airport transport although it was cheaper.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

John

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Handy airport stopover
Arrived late from the airport to a warm welcome from Udi and Gopi, and apologies for his driver not picking us up. They gave us very helpful information, and could not do enough to make our stay pleasant. The room was ok, but could do with a better water flow in the shower and a fan. Given the hot, sticky climate, a pool would be a winner. The location is handy for the airport but requires a tuk-tuk to go anywhere in Negombo. Udi and staff happily arranged transport, including a taxi to Colombo.

8/10 Good

Sylke, Bristol

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely staff
I stayed here after spending 2 weeks im Kandy and Ahangama. When i first arrived I was very impressed with the room. I was however feeling a bit isolated and bored. I was missing direct access to a pool or a beach. I did speak to the manager and he arranged a boat trip om the lagoon and a day pool ticket for the following day at a local 5*hotel. Overall I must say that it is od lovely place to stay. Also very convenient for the airport.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

6/10 Okay

Simon

Liked: Staff & service

10/10 Excellent

Kathryn, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent stay at White Palace
We are ladies in our late 60's we enjoyed our stay so much. Udi the manager organized our tours and made great suggestions of places to visit. The breakfast was delicious. The Outlook over the lagoon was very peaceful. Thanks guys we will be back.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Udi on 4 Apr 2018
Thank you Hope you welcome you back !

2/10 Terrible

vince, texas

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Avoid this hotel
The electrical system is faulty. The room airconditioner caused the room fuse to trip about 12 times, putting the room in dark. There iz no room phone to call anyone for help. There is no front desk person. Make sure you have a torch and knowkedge of how to fix fuses, if you decide to go here. The room offered ti us did not have TV, i. Fa t most rooms do not. The wifi works close to where they keep their router. There is no running hot water in the basin, but does have on demand hot water heater. The hotel location is on on main riD, but after a narriw dark alley.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2018
Response from Udi on 11 Feb 2018
Dear Mr.Vince, We are shammed to hear such a heading on our review list.! we are extremly sorry for the unexpected situation caused and as we promised you we have WAVED 2 nights complimentary even when you refused to room move. we are a guest house located closer to the airport so we always have a team member to take care of the arrivals and departures that is schedule at night and we operate more at night time day well i guess if your talking about another guest house!. Please read below for the reviews of other guest which proves how long we work late!! All the rooms are with fixed electric hot water geezers. The room category you booked was the cheapest of all which was not even USD30 with breakfast but the mistake we did was upgrading you to a deluxe room just because you wanted a TV. Well we got 3 wifi connection 1 4g and 2 fiber optic lines with extensions. The location is rated well by other guest and im sorry if the place was not at your expectations, we not a 5 star L situated in Las Vagas this is Sri lanka so please be aware of were you are traveling to and of course Mr.Vince Kumar please read the descriptions and see the prices before you book a guest house and be aware of the difference between a guest house and a hotel. Lastly please know the difference between Sri Lanka and India(your origin) if there is a next time.

10/10 Excellent

Symon, Kelowna, BC, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect start to our trip
Udi and the staff at White Palace helped us settle in on our first night in Sri Lanka. Breakfast was great in the morning and they arranged a ride for us to anuradhapura the next day. Highly recommend!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

4/10 Poor

WAZEED BASHA

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
It's O..K...
Room is too small...Need to call reception for everything...parking is also too small...good for a short trip..and alone...Breakfast is good. wI-FI also not working.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Decent quiet hotel close to the airport
The hotel staff was very friendly and gave me a lift to the center of Negombo.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A fabulous first night
Incredibly kind and helpful staff. Couldn't do enough to help us and put us at our ease on our first night in Sri Lanka. Very impressed. Thank you!
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

Leena

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent
Amazing place the owner was so helpful and he upgraded the room for me as one was available. Arrived late in the evening shattered and he even let me book out an hour later.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2017

10/10 Excellent

Emily, Adelaide

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommend
My friend and I stayed at the White Palace for our first night in Sri Lanka. The location was very convenient as it is only a short drive from the major airport so we were able to catch an uber there. The hotel staff were kind enough to wait up past midnight for us to arrive as our flight was a late one. The room was quite large for the price, very clean and safe. We were given welcome drinks, wifi password and allowed to settle in. The next morning we had a lovely breakfast provided for us and were quite sad not to be staying longer. We would definitely recommend staying here.
Stayed 1 night in May 2017

8/10 Good

Au

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
very nice host. Things basic but nice. Convenient to stay for a night after arriving airport at night.

8/10 Good

Jeff, Bangkok Thailand

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice quiet place in Kurana Negombo
I had a great stay at the White Palace. It's located about 2 KM outside of Negombo city in Kurana. You can walk to Negombo or catch one of the multitude of tuk tuks in the area. I walked everyday. The White Palace is located on a beautiful lagoon that is fed by the Indian Ocean. I stayed at the White Palace for 2 nights and enjoyed my stay very much. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful and made me feel very welcome. At the end of my stay I had to leave very early in the morning to catch a bus and Udi, the Resident Manager, made sure I had breakfast and then gave me a ride to the bus station. Now that's service!!! I could not have been more pleased with the staff. The rooms do not have a TV, so that's a consideration if that's important to you, otherwise the room was extremely clean and comfortable. Anyway, I would not hesitate to recommend the White Palace to anybody who wants a quiet stay outside of the main city of Negombo. By the way, you can catch an express bus from Negombo to Colombo. The bus leaves about every 15 minutes and costs 120 rupees (about $3). The buses are packed but comfortable, and the ride takes about 30 minutes....

8/10 Good

Konrad, UL/PL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
1 night stay
I spent few weeks in Sri Lanka and I had good size rooms however mu room on the White Palace was the biggest!! You could park your car inside and still have a lot of space. Nice staff who gave me a lot of useful information, very helpful. I gave 4 for room 'coz you cannot lock the door in the bathroom. Good value:-)

8/10 Good

Graham, Nottingham UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location for airport
We used White Palace as the last stop on our Sri Lanka holiday because it is close to the airport AND is a tranquil location off the main road and facing the lagoon. The welcome was very friendly, with staff on hand to advise - without being overbearing, for example a couple of local restaurants for our evening meal. In the morning, after a leasurely breakfast White Palace transferred us to the airport.