Colombo Court Blog The Hotel
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.
More people are asking about working from Colombo than two years ago. The answer is mostly positive, with a few points to consider.
The time zone
Sri Lanka is UTC+5:30, with no daylight saving time. This puts it four and a half hours ahead of London in winter and three and a half hours ahead in summer, two and a half hours behind Singapore, and nine and a half hours ahead of New York.
This makes Sri Lanka ideal for working with Europe, but difficult for working with the east coast of the United States. A London afternoon is a Colombo evening, and a New York morning is the middle of the night here. If you work with the west coast of the United States, the time difference is even harder to manage.
The internet
Internet access is better than many people expect. Fibre broadband is widely available in Colombo, and mobile data is fast, affordable and available almost everywhere. A local SIM card from Dialog or Mobitel is inexpensive and makes a sensible backup.
Our Wi-Fi is complimentary and covers every room and public area, including the rooftop, and it is suitable for video calls. As anywhere, we recommend keeping mobile data available as a second option.
Power
The scheduled power cuts of a few years ago are no longer part of daily life, and established Colombo hotels, including ours, have their own generators. Sockets are the British three-pin type, so visitors from the UK will not need an adaptor, while most other travellers will.
Where to actually sit
This is often overlooked. A hotel room desk is comfortable for two hours, but not for a full working day.
The Luxury Duplex Suite is ideal for a longer stay. It is on two floors, so you can work and sleep in separate spaces, and there is an iMac at the desk. A Luxury Junior Suite is also a good choice, with a proper writing desk, a desk lamp and a separate seating area.
The library is quiet and has comfortable chairs. The Scarlet Room is a fully equipped meeting room with a projector, for calls or meetings that need privacy. The garden tables are also pleasant for working in the morning, before the heat, with only birdsong in the background.
The practical bits
Laundry and dry cleaning can be arranged on request, which is useful on a longer stay. Breakfast starts at seven, so you can eat before an early call. And the pool is open all day, which is one of the best reasons to work from here.
The rooms are here. For long-stay rates, send us a WhatsApp message.
