With a beach only 20 minutes from the international airport, Brown’s Beach Hotel, Negombo is the most convenient destination to fit into any tour of the island. In fact, it is the relaxed atmosphere of the Brown’s Beach that surprised me. While there are over 100 rooms boasting air conditioning and hot water, a large pool and a site that sprawls for almost a kilometre down the beach, it has managed to retain the feel of a typically Sri Lankan beach hotel. This is due not only to the laid-back staff, but also to the open spaces dotted with sprinklers lazily keeping the greenery fresh.
On arrival, the perfect way to unwind and experience beach hospitality, but with the continued luxury of air conditioning and hot water, is to make Browns Beach your first stop. Not only are there sporting activities, the beach bar, a pub, a nightclub, ayurvedic treatments, and both buffet and a la carte restaurants, but also the opportunity to take to the seas aboard a traditional fishing boat that stands on the hotel’s wide beach.
The beach bar is huge and built on concrete, but at the same time has traditional palm frond roofing and that warm, lazy feeling you can only get at the beach. As night falls, the long corridor that stretches down beside the main building lights up dramatically to lead guests to the restaurants, pub, bar and nightclub. The feeling in the beach bar is intimate and informal, with the sea breeze blowing freely through the open sides, creating natural air-conditioning for those enjoying a cocktail in the night air.
