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Reviews of Shalimar Hotel

3 out of 5
Shalimar Hotel
46, Panchikawatte Road Maradana, Colombo

Reviews

7.4

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 16 out of 96 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 44 out of 96 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 23 out of 96 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 96 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 96 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

7.6/10

Staff & service

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Satgunarajah

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

8/10 Good

Wojciech

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The place was very nice, comfortable with friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommended.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Luis

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
It is worth every penny
After 3 weeks thrvarious places i Sri Lanka, i stayes here for 3 nights when I needed to return to Colombo. Waje, the manager, was the nicest, most aurhentic, flexible and helpful person I had encountered so far in tne hotel industry here, and maybe beyond. I had to check out before anyone normally comes on duty, and he had the kitchen make me a sack breakfast to go the night before. And when i came downstairs, he was up and waiting anyway. He sent out for English newspapers for me, at their expense, and immediately offered to change my room when the TV stopped working. He gave me sughestions on what and where to avoid. I felt like he cared. It is a 2 *, and generally caters to the local population. If you are good with that, you will be very safe and comfortable here. ( that said, it was much more expensive to book on booking.com, so book.here instead)
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Lucy

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to train
It was in a great location for catching early train from Marada Station to Galle
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Julian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
A traditional style hotel next to Maradana railway
A traditional style hotel next to Maradana railway station. The rooms are quite big, and spacious. The AC worked fine, although the WiFi struggled occasionally. The staff seemed very friendly and helpful,and assisted as required. There is a restaurant on the ground floor open until 22.00, serving a mix of Indian and Chinese dishes, there is also a bar area. I will stay here again, as it suits my needs, although the local area is not central for many people.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Traditional hotel near Maradana railway station
Good value traditional hotel near Maradana railway station. The rooms are very good sized and clean. The bathrooms have individual hot water boilers so always available should you wish. AC in the room was ok and the wifi worked although the signal wasn't the best at times. Friendly and helpful staff who remembered me from previous visits. Laundry took just over a day, but was well done and cheap. They also arranged a car to the airport at a competitive rate. The restaurant was open until 22.00 which is handy as the choices around the area are limited. Beware that rooms at the front will be subject to the associated noise you find here.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

cherry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A great place to rest your head
This hotel was a 5 minutes walk from the train station. The hotel bedroom is very big and spacious with a huge comfortable bed and very clean. The staff were fabulous and would help with their knowledge and always with a big smile. The food in the restaurant was fabulous and plenty of it and they would even get you a beer from down the road. Would definitely recommend this place.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Staff very friendly. Rooms clean. Front room facing the road was very noisy. Changed to quite back room.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

peter

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Good value budget hotel
A very good budget hotel in Colombo. The service was very good.The local area is nothing special with lots of shops selling car parts. My bathroom was clean, but the bathroom tap only emitted a trickle. For what I paid (30 pounds per night) it represented good value
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good for one night, near train station! Food at then restaurant was good.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

joanne, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hotel with friendly staff and spacious rooms
We were instantly upgraded to a suite room at Shalimar, which was a two storey bedroom with living space, king bed and beautiful slate tiled bathroom. The staff were really helpful and helped us to get the cheapest travel to our early morning flight. The hotel is really clean and nicely furnished and I would definitely stay here again considering the price was so reasonable.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Mosquitoes in the room, no bed nets. Stupid lazy desk staff, no bottled water, shampoo. Very noisy with the train at 5am. Try to find a better hotel but the standards are low in Sri Lanka.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

8/10 Good

adam

Liked: Staff & service
zephyrs from another era blow the dust...
the Shalimar has seen better days but is quite quiet and comfortable in general. i liked the weird design of my room which was like a sunken garden you went down steps to. (perhaps, however, not everyone's cup of tea). not much happening in da hood, especially after 6pm.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Location and overall maintenance poor.
The hotel is not within easy walking distance to attractions in the city. The hotel is badly maintained. Remote controls for the airconditioning and TV did not work well. Shower didn't have enough pressure. Staff however were polite and tried to help as much as possible.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Scruffy.
The hotel is promoted as having old world character. It does, lots of wood paneling which is rare these days. But the carpet must be to one orginally layed when it was openned. It's red (or was) and clearly very worn, bald and shiny in places. Not sure having a car repair place in the central courtyard is very attractive and the are as a whole is very run down and dirty. The night porter has a natress on the floor in the dinning room which allows him to see the front door, but this feels a little weird when you have to come down early to meet a bus. Not sure about the porter lurking around each floor and corner where ever I seemed to be.
Mechanics street
Hotel front
Central courtyard, car repairs below
Chicken noodles

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Alison

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fabulous hotel next to maradana
Very friendly reception- smiles across all members of staff. Large comfortable bed, hot water, air conditioning- really fantastic watermelon fresh fruit juice with breakfast, lovely evening meal. A perfect stay.

6/10 Okay

Vine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good security
It was ok the food selection after hours for room service sucked. Wifi was spotty and I hate having to re log in all the time

6/10 Okay

Tim, UK

Suitable for a quick stay transiting from the airport to the next morning train. Nothing special, but decent for the price.

6/10 Okay

Angel, Bangkok

Ok for a night in Colombo
Average dated guesthouse in Colombo, can be reasonably priced compared to other ones in worse shape nearby. The best thing about this guesthouse was the restaurant in the lobby, which turns out some decent biryani, sambal and curry dishes along with nice full liquor/beer selection. There's another good local place across the street towards the train station that makes better biryani and is quite popular. The guesthouse is on a busy street so getting a tuk-tuk is easy, but there's not much else in the area but automotive parts stores if you want to walk around. Staff was generally friendly and spoke adequate english, rooms were spacious and A/C worked, decent choice for a night in Colombo before catching a train somewhere else.

8/10 Good

wendy, west yorkshre

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient stop over
Hotel chosen for convenience as close to railway station. Nothing attractive about the neighbourhood but central position make it easy to explore Colombo from here. Hotel has very comfortable, clean and spacious rooms, very pleasant and helpful staff. Decent restaurant, though I'd recommend trying some of the excellent and very cheap cafes nearby.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
just so so
Just so so,only stay for transfer

8/10 Good

Kawaljit, India

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
good
Hotel is good but some problem. No lift.no watch in room.no TV working. No fridge working. After complaints but all OK.service is good

8/10 Good

Sonia, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel, good food.
We enjoyed our stay here. Our room was very spacious and comfortable. Excellent shower, wifi was good and the staff were super helpful. They even got our train tickets to Galle for us and we went from the station next door, much more convenient than going to Colombo Fort. Nice restaurant with good food too. Was about 30 minute walk to the centre which didnt bother us.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Hotel!
It was a nice hotel with nice management. The location was not so great since we were in a busy street area. In-side of the hotel was wonderful.

2/10 Terrible

Nathan, Sydney

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible experience
No water in bathroom on day2, despite repeated requests not fixed, finally I was asked to use a bathroom on the upper floor. Bedroom got flooded with rain water during the first night, had to get it mopped up. Room was not made up on day 2. Neighborhood lonely no shops or restaurants Not very safe at night. I will not recommend this hotel

4/10 Poor

Imran

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good Budget Accommodation
The staff were very helpful, the room was good just make sure you ask for a room out the back as the ones in front can be a little noisy.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

MelbournePam, melbourne australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Value for money
Found this hotel to be excellent value for money. A little out of the main city area but a cheap tuk tuk ride anywhere within the city, although taxi and tuk tuk drivers have trouble finding it. A good clean and comfortable room in an old hotel. Staff organised a driver for a half day tour of Colombo and he was brilliant, as was Charles at the bar. Found Sri Lankan people to be very helpful and would stay here again.

10/10 Excellent

Amelia, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Good value for the price
Staff do everything they can to please you and make you comfortable.

10/10 Excellent

Nigel, Sydney. Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great A.C, Friendly Staff, Close to sights
Nice hotel, excellent food, very good cable for SL, A.C very good, room housekeeping superb would stay again good value for money. Thanks!!

8/10 Good

Cheryl harvey, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good budget option
If you want travel but have a limited budget this is a good choice. It is located very close to the train station, bus stop and tuck~tucks abundant....so public transport is easy. Pettah, downtown and beach not far away. One to two train stops away. The hotel had a very friendly and helpful staff. The directors wife particularly was a doll and genuinely concerned about our experience. Food was reasonably priced although we were not pleased with the fact they added 12% vat tax (which is standard) but then they charged a 10% service charge according to the VAT total. But overall we were very impressed with the service. Room was spacious and clean and reasonably priced. Cons: taxi ride from airport was $3000 rubies there and $2,900 on the way back and we were asked to pay toll on the highway ( not the hotels fault). We talked to some other people and it sounds like that's pretty much the case for all the tourist accommodation. The area was not the greatest but on all fairness we felt that way about the whole city. For us two days in Columbo was enough.

10/10 Excellent

Richard, United Kingdom

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good Value Colombo Hotel
We had an excellent stay in this lovely old hotel and found the staff very welcoming and helpful. The location is pretty good the only negative is the busy road outside but this didn't interrupt our sleep. Would recommend to anyone wanting to stay a night in Colombo going to or from the airport.

8/10 Good

Shane, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect for the money
The shalimar hotel was a perfect experience for the money you pay. The staff spoke very good English and always were eager to assist you if you had any questions. The hotel offeres a full bar and restaurant and the food was very good. One word of caution as Sri Lankans love spicy food some meals were very spicy, and the staff had no problems making it less spicy to suit your taste. Rooms were cleaned daily to our liking. The hotel offered tours around Sri Lanka with a car and driver and this really made our trip. Our driver( tour guide) which we spent 4 out of our 8 day stay with was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. All in all the staff, owners and experience were very positive and I would highly recommend this hotel for anyone doing a casual trip to Colombo or anywhere in Sri Lanka

8/10 Good

Paola, Philippines

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Strategic Location
The Shalimar is a hotel which offers great value for money since it is quite near to Colombo Fort, the city center, and Maradana Railway Station, while the price is kept at an affordable rate. The hotel seems to be old though, but I think this is for the intention of keeping the "historical ambiance" of the place. The room features are quite basic, however, the TV, ref, and wi-fi were not working efficiently, and there's no elevator too (but there are bell boys who will be willing to carry your luggage).

8/10 Good

Lindsay, Hunter Valley Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Close to railway and center of town
This is a decent mid range hotel with attached restaurant and ok food. its a short tuk tuk ride from the station and is clean. I could not get the TV to work although this may be my problem being somewhat tired. It was very much better than another hotel I stayed in on the return leg for the same price although around this hotel is a bit industrial.

10/10 Excellent

Pamela, CA, USA.

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Brilliant Tours / Haven in the city
For the price the facilites offered are great! Large clean rooms, a/c, tasty food. Wonderful ! In close proximity to many of Colombo's leading tourist hot spots. Worth mentioning is the hotel provides airport transfer and tours which are very economically priced. They send an email as soon as you make a reservation, which contains all the details and a link to their website. We toured around the island for 10 days. Our driver/guide was most helpful and concerned about customers happiness. We really felt at home and well taken care of!

4/10 Poor

TravellerFI, Helsinki

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dismal rooms, poor restaurant
Shalimar is a hotel I would not recommend to anybody neither stay again myself: - poor location (far from other restaurants) - wifi never worked (it should be forbidden to use such bad wifi as a selling point) - mediocre food in restaurant - poor service (staff just seemed not interested in the reception area, restaurant service was ok) - dismal rooms, poor shower

6/10 Okay

Sophie, France

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
One night in Colombo
We stopped in Colombo for only one night as we arrived late and wanted to take the train to the hills early morning. The hotel was perfect for just one night stop, it's perfectly clean, proximity to the fort railway station. The room was spacious and comfortable but noisy as most hotels in town. The only down side is they have a travel agency and we asked for help to book train tickets on the morning and it seems they did everything they could to sell us their car at overprice. I won't trust them to organize my trip or to help as it seems their interests come first.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Cheap hotel with old facility
THe hotel seems very old. Breakfast has almost nothing to eat. Staffs are friend, but almost cannot help.

8/10 Good

nori, 日本神奈川県

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

2/10 Terrible

non

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
エアポートタクシーが来ない
「エアポートタクシーを手配出来る」というメールが予約後に来たのでお願いしたが、空港に現れず電話連絡した所、「間違えた、そこでタクシーを使ってくれ」で結局一般のタクシーでホテルを探してからようやく到着したら、誰もいなく大声で呼んだり歩き回ると床で寝ている従業員が。エアポートタクシーのミスも従業員に連絡してないのが分かり最悪の気持ちで過ごした。
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

4/10 Poor

ボブ

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
汚さが目立つかも
部屋に入って早々ゴキブリと大型のクモと遭遇。安さ重視で選んでるからしょうがないと割りきるが、スリランカ滞在中に宿泊した4つの同価格のホテル中で私的には最下位。やっぱり清潔さが欲しいなー
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

6/10 Okay

Izumi, osaka

可も無く不可もなく
普通の3星、駅近くリーズナブル。古いが価格は相応。コスト重視ならOK.メインステーションはもう１駅行かないと行けません。歩いたらまあまあ遠い。周りには何もない。
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Room comfort
Very old
Stayed there only for one night, wouldnt stay there for longer. The personnel doesnt speak english.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Als City Hotel zu empfehlen
Bei city aber Lage gutes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis, freundliches Personal, Comfort Zimmer groß, sauberes Bad
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2017

8/10 Good

emilie, bordeaux

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A recommander pour un passage à colombo
Hotel très bien ! Coup de coeur pour le restaurant Du soir (carry potatos et Nasi goreng) .... un petit bémol personnel un poil envahissant !