Hostel at Galle Face — Hotel in Colombo

INDIANS/BROWN PEOPLE AVOID THIS HOSTEL AS THE HOST/MANAGER IS RACIST. Me and my sister explored Kandy, Ella and Mirissa and we have never encountered such racism. We stayed in this hostel for 15th August night. The location is good and room was okay. The host and the helper men were racist.

Check in took about 30 mins. Since we were travelling entire day and were sick, we requested for speedy checkin for the stay but he asked us which country we are from and took extra time for the checkin process. Whenever we asked for the update like how long will it take, his reply was always “SILENCE”, even though we are talking in normal voice. He doesn’t have basic manners how to deal with guests or sick people.

Finally he checked us in and gave beds in 2nd floor and this building has no elevator. First time in Sri Lanka, the host/helper didn’t help with the bags saying they don’t do it. After several request and maybe a bit humanity was left in him, he helped us sick people.

And the racism was so evident cause next day during our checkout, a white girl checked in and the helper guy offered to help her with the bags. So good manners are only reserved for white people.

We did online booking and this hostel only has mixed dorms. Now there were 2 dorm rooms in one floor. The first room had only 1 girl and the rest beds looked empty so we requested him to give us bed in that dorm since that have a few girls. But he gave us beds in the other room which had only indian men and said ‘all Indians in one room’. when we requested again he said everything is booked but beds were empty. He showed us only the washroom stalls in the first picture to use even though there were more stalls available (second picture) which we got to know when he was showing to the new checked in girl and his expression changed when he saw us sitting in the living room area. Now inside the room, he gave us only top beds even though an entire unit of top and lower beds were empty. My sister was dizzy so we requested for 1 lower bed cause it’s not safe for her to climb to top bed. But he said it’s not available. We checked with the roommates if anyone is in that empty bed, they said noone is there and we can request the host to give that bed to us. But he again denied. Later on at around 1 AM in night one guy came asked the woke roommate which bed was empty and slept and left in morning. He was most probably the other helper guy in the hostel. So they are using mixed dorm for personal use and denying sick people for basic help. As we girls talk, we found out the other room was also a mixed dorm and beds were empty. In late evening some German girl checked in, he checked her in the other room. Same repeated the next morning. He kept all white people in 1 room and lied to us that everything was booked.

So if you are a brown girl/Indian especially solo female traveller, avoid this hostel cause even if there are beds available in dorms where more girls are present, they will still give you a bed in a room full of brown guys. And you will see their racist behaviour in front of your eyes. For white people,...

I am usually not one for leaving negative reviews, but people should be aware of this place and their practices.

We arrived at this place around 8:20pm after landing in Colombo. There was no one at the hostel to let us in. We called every number we could find, including a piece of paper on the door that had a sign saying ‘Out for a movement’ with a telephone number listed. We were unable to get a hold of anybody. We also emailed the property multiple times without any luck. We also called the office number and could here the phone ring and ring and ring behind the locked entrance door.

The good reviews led us to believe this would be a good place to stay. I even emailed with a member of the hostel the same day confirming our arrival time this evening. We were outside their entrance in the stairwell for over an hour before we decided to find another hostel.

I would caution staying here and opt for a...

This hostel is located amidst the best of Sri Lankan hotels. Galle Face beach is less than 5 minutes by walk, so is the nearest bus stop opposite Galle Face Hotel by bus No. 2 from fort. Pick me or Uber would drop you at the location if one chooses Ramada Car Park as the address. The hostel itself is accessible only by stairs, no elevator. The open space welcomes you and the staff puts you at complete ease. Any information is aptly provided. The in house pantry provides bread, butter and jam along with seasonal fruit. Showers are clean and so are the toilets. Beds are comfortable enough with soft and smooth linen. With temperature in colombo always above 25 C/77 F even in the night, aircondition rooms are preferred. Good food is about 15 mins walk away in the basement of 'Crescat Boulevard' which has a standalone...