Taprobane House

The location was just okay. There’s no beach nearby, only rocks, so I wouldn’t swim in the ocean there. A tuk tuk to the city cost 500LKR and took about 20 minutes. There are a few small places to eat nearby, along with some supermarkets. The rooms were spacious, new, clean and comfortable, with a good bed, though the pillows were mediocre. The rooftop pool was a nice way to cool off after a hot day exploring Colombo. Breakfast was good, but three options weren’t available. Staff were friendly and helpful and tried to accommodate us, though their English wasn’t always enough to sort things out smoothly. There was some disorganisation with our pre-booked late checkout and breakfast missing from the booking, but it was eventually fixed. Arranging a car to the outskirts also involved several unsatisfactory conversations and poor communication among staff before it was sorted out. They really should have suggested we book an Uber.

I really enjoyed staying here. My room was spacious, and the rooftop pool was great in the Colombo heat. Everyone on staff was friendly and helpful. Nuwan, who checked me in at the front desk, was particularly kind and helped me with a few things I needed to deal with.

I originally booked three nights, then added two more because I loved how peaceful the room felt even though it was in the city. I’d like to come back when I need somewhere quiet to recover. The more experienced reception staff were easy to talk to and very accommodating. People I met outside my room were chatty but polite, and it felt like they treated me as a person, not just a paying customer. I had some issues, though they didn’t greatly affect my stay, and staff still tried their best to help. There was construction on the corridor windows on my floor the whole time, and soundproofing wasn’t great. There were few vegetables throughout my stay. Since I’m vegetarian and didn’t want to leave my room, that limited my choices. At first, reception staff checked with the kitchen about alternatives for the dishes I picked, and they were able to make some variations. Later, a different staff member, who seemed new, told me to choose something else when a dish didn’t have vegetables available. The earlier staff had offered adjustments without me asking, so the change felt jarring. I asked them to check with the kitchen about flexibility, but kept being told no. It got tiring, and I stopped asking. With the same staff member, I had a few other isolated moments where I felt I had to guide them through the process. One time, a warm cappuccino spilled as they moved it from the tray to my table in my room. It was clearly an accident, and I’d seen how carefully they’d carried it upstairs. They thoughtfully brought a complimentary drink, which I hadn’t expected and appreciated. Since it was iced peach tea instead of the cappuccino, I’d have preferred to be asked what I wanted as compensation. A previous staff member had told me to leave finished plates and cups in the corridor for collection. This staff member would forget, and I eventually asked them to take them because ants were getting on the dishes and bothering me. By my last day, though, they were clearing the finished dishes and cups without prompting, so kudos for that. On my last night, the power went out across the whole building, I believe, for a few seconds. It came back and everything worked except the WiFi in my room. It connected and had internet, but the ping suddenly jumped to 5000ms and then disconnected me. This happened about three times before I called reception, and they came to my room right away to help, which I appreciated. The speed was fine; the problem was that it kept connecting and disconnecting every few seconds. Management was notified, but I was in the middle of an online task and switched to mobile data to finish it. I don’t know whether it was fixed. I had one more sudden disconnection the morning I checked out, though I’m not sure if it had another cause, since the WiFi had been stable until then and there were no more power cuts. Even when the fixes weren’t perfect, everyone did their best and I didn’t feel left alone with the problems. I’m still grateful and would like to return.

Taprobane House Hotel has a great spot in the heart of Colombo, luxurious facilities, friendly and accommodating staff, good food, and a fantastic rooftop pool. I’d highly recommend it.