6 Airbnbs In Sri Lanka That Transported Me Far Away From Reality.

After carefully charting out a route that would help me and my girlfriends make the most out of 8 days in Sri Lanka, we decided to take our experience a notch higher by selecting the best Airbnbs that reflected the city we lived in. I cannot stress on how important the place you stay at on vacation, is. I’ve never been a fan of hotels or resorts whenever I travel. They don’t really promise you stories. When you live in someone’s home, you share their memories, their recommendations, their soulful anecdotes. You’re quite literally sharing a part of someone, rooted in the destination that you’ve set out to discover; you become a part of their story and I think that’s pretty amazing.

Colombo

Hedges Court

We stayed here on our first night in Colombo. It was a 40 minute Uber drive away from the airport (Uber was a great way to travel around Colombo and from the airport; it was cheaper too!) Most taxis outside the airport or the ones arranged by the host were around 3500LKR (Approximately 1500INR). We reached our destination in 1800LKR (700INR).

Why I Liked The Place:

• Centrally located, all the great restaurants and places you’d like to visit are no more than 10–15 minutes by cab. There’s also a Food City, (popular grocery chain in Sri Lanka) nearby.
• The apartment was very spacious, perfect for 3 girls who need their space to laze around or get ready.
• A sprawling rooftop pool that overlooks the city.

Housed: 3 people

Cost per head for 1 night: Approximately ₹1,850

Check it out here.

Villa Raha

This luxury boutique hotel was our home the night before we left Sri Lanka. What looks like a quaint, inconspicuous building on the outside, blew us away with the interiors on the inside! This Airbnb opens into a pretty little café, that leads to the living area. It boasts of an artistic lobby and an indoor pool with stairs leading to a gorgeous rooftop that has lounge chairs, tempting you to lay down with a book or just stare at the sky with headphones on.

Why I Liked The Place:

• 10–15 minutes away from all the great restaurants like The Gallery Café, Kopi Kadé, Upali’s, Ministry of Crab and walking distance from Sooriya Village — a cafè that’s also a music recording studio and serves the coolest drinks.
• Our host Luay, welcomed us with his infectious smile and enthusiasm. He gave us loads of recommendations and pretty much everything he had suggested we check out, was superb.
• The cafe I mentioned earlier, is part of the property and is a great option to catch a bite too.
• There’s always some sublime music playing in the lobby. I actually Shazam’d a bunch of songs!
• Apart from the common areas, the rooms are ridiculously cool too. Each one has a ‘theme’ and has interiors based on the theme. Every room also has a huge flatscreen TV with Netflix (so you can quite literally Netflix and chill on vacation) and a fully stocked snack bar with fresh fruits, crisps and other treats. It truly is a gem hidden away in a small street in Colombo.

Here’s a tip: You’re better off staying in Negombo if you have a flight to catch the next day. That’s actually where the airport is. Colombo is quite far in comparison. However, there will be limited options for things to do there, which is why we picked Colombo.

Housed: 2 people

Cost per head for 1 night: Approximately ₹2,500

Check it out here.

Kandy

Amandari Holiday Villa

Situated just a little outside of Kandy town, Amandari Villa felt like an oasis. While going up the hill, teetering and struggling, reaching the place was a bit of an arduous journey (for the driver, we quite enjoyed the view). All of that just melts away as you draw closer to the house. We peered excitedly at our home for the night, just knowing that we’re going to be very very pleased. The view from the villa is unreal as it overlooks a lush green landscape, outlined by mountains in the distance. It seems like the kind of place I’d escape to if I had to give the world a Pulitzer Prize winning piece of literature.

Why I Liked The Place:

• The main reason would hands down, be the view. It doesn’t even matter that it isn’t really in the city, every part of the home gives you a breathtaking view (including the bathroom!)
• The garden — it’s home to some of the most prettiest birds and gigantic fruit trees (that they handpick for your breakfast).
• The delightful couple that look after the place — Anura and Damayanti made us feel completely at home and made us a delicious dinner and breakfast.

*They don’t have accomodation for the driver but will help with it for an extra cost.

Housed: 3 people

Cost per head for 1 night: Approximately ₹1,730

Check it out here.

Nuwara Eliya

Tranquil Villa

Imagine this — a house made of glass, situated atop a tiny hill, overlooking a lake, tricking your mind to believe that you’re floating among the clouds. Other than the fact that there was a rain storm whirling outside the first night we got there, threatening to go full armageddon on us, this place is like a dream. While the main town of Nuwara Eliya, is quite small, it was still a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle. Getting to this Airbnb takes some serious commitment, especially if it’s raining so if you’re looking for the perfect escape, I’d highly recommend this.

Why I Liked The Place:

• Again, the view. The entire hotel, including the balcony in the room, overlooked a misty wonderland.
• The manager and chef — Hiran, made us ridiculously extravagant dinners and breakfasts. Totally worth the money.

Things You Should Know Before You Book The Place:

• It might get a little cramped for 3 people so make sure you specify that you’d like a bigger room.
• Also, it gets very very cold and the rooms have no heaters so layer up!

*They have accomodation for the driver at no extra cost.

Housed: 3 people

Cost per head for 2 nights: ₹3,360

Check it out here.

Yala

Yala Villa

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the entire property (that easily could house around 10 people) was all ours for 2 days! The villa is situated about 20 minutes from Yala National Park so other than a couple of really small stores that will only provide you with basic necessities, there’s not much around. The place is beautiful with lots of space, greenery, a swimming pool and a cook who will make you breakfast, lunch and dinner on request.

Why I Liked The Place:

• It’s one of the best places for the perfect getaway with your friends. You can play your music as loud as you want, have your own pool party and no one will bother you.
• The shower area in the bathroom has an open roof so you end up bathing to the sound of birds chirping.
• Since the national park is pretty close to the villa, it’s very easy and convenient to go for an early morning safari — the caretaker books it for you and the safari jeep picks you up from the villa!
• Irrespective of how many people you are, they only give the property to one group at a time — this ensures that you have the entire space to yourself which is pretty awesome.

Things You Should Know Before You Book This Place:

• While the caretaker was quite nice and cooked us some simple, but delicious food the first night, the food made us violently ill the second night so I’d suggest carrying your own food here.
• Since it’s pretty much in the wilderness, there are a lot of geckos and very annoying little frogs everywhere. They don’t harm you, but can jump anywhere; I am not exaggerating when I say this but these frogs magically turned up inside our bathroom every night and it’s quite a task to get rid of them. They even sat themselves under the toilet seat and we accidentally crapped on one all night. It sounds and feels hilarious now, but trust me, it was TERRIBLE to deal with.
• The host of this place was not empathetic to our plight at all and didn’t help us in a situation that could have gotten worse — we might have needed to go to the hospital, that’s how sick the food made us!

*They have accomodation for the driver at no extra cost.

Housed: 3 people

Cost per head for 2 nights: ₹2,940

Check it out here.

Mirissa

Peacock Villa

Peacock Villa is a beautiful family owned villa, just a 5 minute walk away from Mirissa beach. Peacocks casually wander around and sometimes, you might even find them in your balcony! It’s located close to many restaurants and each room overlooks a field of coconut trees and plants with peacocks and peahens strutting around, calling out to each other.

Why I Liked The Place:

• The rooms are spacious, clean and have a great view.
• The beach is so close, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. They even have beach towels, umbrellas and games handy in case you’d like to use them.
• The place is run by a father-son duo, who are absolutely lovely. Charindu is one of the most attentive, sweet and helpful Airbnb hosts I’ve met. He even welcomed us with some cold coffee the day we got there.
• This place gives you a great exchange rate in case you’d like to exchange more money.

*They don’t have accomodation for the driver but will help with it for an extra cost.

Housed: 3 people

Cost per head for 2 nights: ₹2,620

Check it out here.

If you’re planning a trip here soon and would like some advice, I’d be happy to help!

*Disclaimer: All the images in this post belong to Julia Miebach, Michelle Varghese and Shazia Tinwala.