De Saram House by Geoffrey Bawa

The rooms were spacious, but felt stuffy and dusty, and the in-house team and management didn’t make us feel very welcome. I came away with mixed feelings about our stay. After checkout, even though we’d paid, they tried to charge us more than our booking amount. We got repeated calls and messages from several different numbers, which felt like harassment. Trip.com had to step in and settle the matter. It’s a shame from such an esteemed trustee.

The rooms and bathrooms were clean, so it worked well enough for a no-frills overnight stay. But the mattress was hard as wood and felt decades old, as if Bawa himself had slept on it. The beautiful shared rooms were locked and unavailable to guests, while the courtyard and building badly needed a proper clean and freshening up. There’s a lot of potential, and you can feel the place’s bygone charm. Sadly, it seems to rely on Bawa’s fabulous reputation while falling short as a small hotel in other ways. The staff dragged their feet as though they owned the place.

I still can’t believe I got to stay in a house designed by Bawa. The place is stunning, and the house staff were incredibly kind. They helped us understand more about the story behind the space. We came all the way from Taiwan, and it was totally worth it!

De Saram is set around a beautiful courtyard in what I think is the best part of Colombo. The building is fabulous, especially if you’re into tropical modernism, and the rooms are nicely decorated and very clean. The accommodation itself is simple, comfortable, and reasonably priced. There’s no restaurant or bar on the premises, though there are plenty nearby. Breakfast is provided, homemade, fresh, and tasty. The manager is polite and knowledgeable, so let him show you around. Treat yourself to a stay at De Saram.