Where to eat in Colombo 3, from the people at the desk
Our answer to the question guests ask most: where to eat on foot in Kollupitiya, where to take a tuk-tuk, and what to know about Sundays and Poya days.
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Colombo Court Blog
Stories from Colombo.
Our take on the places, people, food and experiences that make Colombo worth exploring.
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Getting from Bandaranaike airport to Colombo 3
About 35 km and 45 to 60 minutes, with four ways to make the journey. How each one works, what to do after a 3am landing, and where to change money.
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High tea in Colombo, and when to go
What high tea means in a country that grows its own tea, what is served on the stand, what it costs at Colombo Court, and the best time of day to book it.
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What a carbon neutral hotel actually does
Colombo Court was the first city hotel in South Asia to be certified CarbonNeutral. Here is what that means in our building and in how we run the hotel.
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The best time to visit Sri Lanka, and why the answer is two answers
The island has two monsoons at different times of year, so there is no bad season, only the wrong coast. Month by month, where to go and when prices are lower.
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Two days in Colombo, without rushing
Most visitors give Colombo one night on the way to somewhere else. Two days is enough to enjoy the city properly, and this is the order we recommend.
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Things to do in Colombo 3, on foot
Kollupitiya lies between Galle Road and the sea, and most of its highlights are within a twenty-minute walk. Here is what to see, and in what order.
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Balinese or Ayurvedic: which massage to book
They are not two versions of the same treatment. One works on the muscles, the other on the whole body, so the choice depends on how you want to feel afterwards.
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A Sri Lankan breakfast, explained
Hoppers, string hoppers, pol sambol, kiribath and a curry before eight in the morning. What each dish is, how to eat it, and why it is worth getting up for.
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Why our rooms face inward
Every window here looks onto a planted garden rather than out at the city. It began as a practical solution when the building was converted.
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Working from Colombo, honestly assessed
Internet, time zones, power and the best places to work. A practical guide for anyone planning to work remotely from Sri Lanka for a week or more.
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Colombo when it rains, which is often
Two monsoons, and neither of them ruins a visit. What rain in Colombo is really like, how to spend a wet hour, and why the rainy months are good value.
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How many days do you need in Colombo?
One night, two days or four? A practical answer for a city that many people treat as an airport stop, from a team who want you to enjoy it.
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Getting around Colombo: tuk-tuks, apps and the coastal train
How each way of getting around works, when walking is faster than driving, how to avoid being overcharged, and the train journey worth planning a morning around.
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What to pack for Sri Lanka, and what to leave behind
Thirty degrees and humid every day, temples with a dress code, cold air conditioning and sudden rain. A short packing list, since most things can be bought here.
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Is Colombo worth visiting? A straight answer
It has few major monuments, it is less photogenic than Galle, and many guidebooks suggest skipping it. Here is a fair case for and against, from a Colombo hotel.
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A short guide to Ceylon tea
Why the country is Sri Lanka but the tea is still Ceylon, how growing altitude affects the flavour, and how to buy good-quality tea to take home.
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Your first spa visit, and what nobody tells you
What to wear, what happens to your clothes, how much pressure to ask for and whether to talk. Common first-time questions, answered clearly so you can relax.
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What to look for in an eco-friendly hotel in Colombo
Many hotels in Colombo describe themselves as green. Here are the questions worth asking to understand what a hotel really does, and how we answer them ourselves.
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A wedding or an event in Colombo, and what to ask before you book
Capacities, the monsoon question, what a venue should tell you upfront, and the case for a small wedding in a garden rather than a large one in a ballroom.
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A weekend in Colombo: where to stay, eat and unwind
Two nights in the city, for a visitor or for a local who needs one. A plan built around a garden in Colombo 3, with the best of the neighbourhood folded in.
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What makes a boutique hotel, and what makes this one
The word gets used for anything under a hundred rooms. Here is what it should mean, and how Colombo Court measures up against it, honestly.
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Housekeeping Week: the people behind every room
Every September we stop for a week to celebrate the team who make the beds, fold the towels and notice the details. Competitions, swans, and a lot of laughter.
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An intimate event at Amber Poolside
Birthdays, baby showers, engagements, team dinners and proposals in a garden in the middle of Colombo 3. What the space is like by day and by night, and how to book it.
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Five treatments at The Court Spa, and who each one is for
Balinese, hot stone, deep tissue, aromatherapy or reflexology: the differences matter more than the names suggest. Our therapists explain which to book and why.
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Colombo Court for business travellers: what works and why
A boutique hotel in Colombo 3 with a meeting room for thirty, a library for eight, fast Wi-Fi and a garden that lets you switch off between meetings. The practical case.
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From scrap to sculpture: the recycled art at Colombo Court
Every sculpture, lampshade and fountain here began as something thrown away. Why we chose to build with discarded metal, and the artists who made it beautiful.
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Cloud Café & Bar after dark
Where to go in Colombo at night is a question with a short answer if you are staying with us. The roof opens at half past five, and this is how an evening there goes.
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Fourteen things you might not know about Colombo Court
The tree is made of bicycles, the fountain was a cement mixer and the bar stools were tractor seats. A list for the curious, from the lobby ceiling to the bedside lamps.
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Why host your event at Colombo Court, and which venue to choose
Five venues in one building, none of them a ballroom. The garden, the roof, The Loft, the Scarlet Room and the library, with what each does best and how many it holds.
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Beach clean-ups on World Environment Day
Two years running, our team have spent the morning of World Environment Day on a Colombo beach with sacks and gloves. What we found, and why we keep going back.
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A hen weekend in the city, without leaving the city
A weekend away with your closest friends does not need a flight. A suite, a pool, a spa and a rooftop in Colombo 3 cover most of what a hen weekend is for.
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A destination wedding in Sri Lanka: what to know before you plan
The island does beach, jungle, tea-country and city weddings equally well. The legal steps, what to wear in the heat, and why the reception often ends up in Colombo.
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How to get the most from your massage
An hour on the table is an hour you have paid for and travelled for. Small things before, during and after that make the difference between nice and genuinely restorative.
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Arriving after a long flight: what actually helps
Colombo is where most journeys to Sri Lanka begin, often at four in the morning. How to use the first day, and which treatments at The Court Spa reset the body fastest.
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The art and the architecture, room by room
Colombo Court sits in the city’s artistic quarter, a few streets from Geoffrey Bawa’s old office. A walk through the hotel, and the makers behind what you see.
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Sri Lankan food: a first guide to what is on the table
Rice and curry is a category, not a dish. What the regions cook, what the words mean, and the eight things to order in your first week.
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Before you travel to Sri Lanka: what our team would tell a friend
Ten practical things about money, tuk-tuks, temples, food and the weather that make the first days easier, from people who live here.
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Seven Sinhala phrases that will make your trip easier
English will get you anywhere in Colombo. A few words of Sinhala will get you a bigger smile, a better price and, occasionally, a second cup of tea.
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The Kandy Esala Perahera, and how to see it well
Ten nights of drummers, dancers, whip-crackers and elephants through the streets of Kandy. Which night to choose, when to be in your seat, and how far ahead to book.
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Vesak in Colombo: lanterns, dansal and a city that stays up late
The full moon of May is the holiest day in the Buddhist year, and Colombo celebrates it in the street. What the festival marks and how to see the best of it.
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Earth Hour, Earth Day, and why we switch the lights off
Twice a year the lobby, the garden and the poolside go dark for an hour and the candles come out. What the two dates mean, and what we do the rest of the year.
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Colombo Fort on foot: the colonial city in an afternoon
The oldest part of Colombo is compact enough to walk in two hours. A route past the lighthouse, the clock tower, the restored banks and the Dutch Hospital.
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Galle Face Green, and why you should go at sunset
Colombo’s seafront lawn is where the city comes out in the evening. When to go, what to eat from the carts, and what you are looking at along the skyline.
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A visit to the Boys’ Industrial Home before Perahera
Each year, before the Esala Perahera, our team take a car load of food to a children’s home in Colombo. It has become the quietest tradition we have.
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Avurudu: the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, explained for visitors
Every April the whole country stops for the New Year. What the rituals mean, what to eat, and why Colombo goes quiet for two days.
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Linen for the children’s ward at IDH
When dengue filled Sri Lanka’s infectious diseases hospital past its capacity, the shortage was not beds but sheets. That is something a hotel can help with.
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When Tree of the Year came to the poolside
A competition to find the trees that matter most to Sri Lankan communities needed a venue for its awards. It chose a hotel built around its own old trees.
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A honeymoon in Colombo, and the suite we keep for it
Most honeymooners see Sri Lanka from the beach and the hills. A night or two in the city is worth adding, and Suite 305 is where we put you.
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Why Good Market approved us, and what they check
Good Market only lists businesses that are good for the planet, good for the country and good for you. Here is what they looked at before adding a hotel.
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What it took to become South Asia’s first CarbonNeutral® city hotel
How a small hotel measured every kilogram of carbon it produced, cut what it could and offset the rest, and why we mark the anniversary on World Environment Day.
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The film CNN made about Colombo Court
In 2014 CNN sent a crew to Alfred House Avenue to film how five old office buildings became a hotel. The film still explains us better than we can.
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