Magic Mansion — Hotel in Colombo

it is very easy to get carried away with the beauty of the garden of this venue. This is exactly what happened to me. i booked the garden for an evening cocktail function and at the first meeting, the proprietor Mr. Nalaka Edirisinge spoke very highly, winning our hearts and promising us many things. When the date of the event rolled around, many things that were promised were not delivered (ex: police constables to guide the traffic and assist with parking of vehicles). The venue had no generator, of which i wasnt informed till the night before when i phoned and checked up on it, at this point i was informed that a generator can be rented out at an additional charge (to be fair upon my refusal to pay for a common event venue facility, the generator was provided to me FOC). It rained on the evening of the event and for a few days before that. Mr. Nalaka's only concern was putting up a marquee (for which he of course had a supplier - surprise surprise!). We did put up a marquee, but it was all an utter waste of money as we were not able to use the garden at all for it was ankle deep in water - this, after the venue manager, Nalin, assured us ten times over that no water retention happens in the garden. The event had to be held indoors where the AC wasnt put on, all in all i was completely disappointed and dissatisfied with the service and levels of professionalism. this venue probably works as a good B&B for travelers not looking for luxury but i will never ever recommend it as a venue...

cheated. unprofessional.

we planned our wedding on a special day of a special month and we paid and booked the date, but they sold that date to someone else even after we paid for it, and without our knowledge. they just sent a text message a week before the wedding and saying they got covid and they need to shut down the place for about a week which includes our date.

but apparently, it was totally a LIE!!

we have already printed the invitation and we went through a difficulty such as we had to cancel our makeup and photography and re-plan the the whole event and was a huge mess.

we found out that day was given to someone and there was an event.

The manager Udara was drunk, the owner Nalaka was disappeared...

The place is nice and welcoming, it caters to all and the manager on duty Abarnath was a true hero, pointing me in the right direction with useful help and even inviting me to dinner with his friend so I could eat some proper "not tourist trap" food. There is a shop and a small "isso" takeaway if you arrive late & it's really close. All in all a welcoming place and was a great start to my Sri Lanka tour||This is a guest house not a 5 star hotel. Those expecting pressed white linen and all the mod cons need to dig deeper in their pockets or not be so picky. Air con worked a treat, breakfast was good and you can really crash here after a hard day touring Colombo. (Once you've gone to the shop around the corner to...