Golden Star Beach Hotel    

The hotel is located at on of the best spots on the beach of Negombo. It is a good option for a stay overnight near the airport.

The stuff speaks very poor english, is not very engaged in service, reception stuff is on the edge to be unfriendly. A quite high wrong bill was put on our account. hotel pretends to be better than it is.

We liked the location

Once upon a time this hotel perhaps was beautiful, but now it is broken off. The management seems to be far away, the staff is bad educated, with only few exeptions.

I was a solo traveler and liked the fact that it felt very safe there and like a bit of a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of outside. There is an ayurvedic (a bit rustic, but no problem here) adjacent to the hotel which was great and there was a beach chair in front so if you want to get away from the other tourists it's possible to have your own little space there. The front desk staff was very gracious and even sent out someone to get pain medication for me when I wasn't feeling well. They also provided the only Tuck Tuck driver I came across who didn't bait and switch me on arrival at my destination! ; )

The internet was provided just in the lobby, which makes it difficult if you're skyping to another time zone late at night.

The pool was good and its location near the beach

I stayed here about 15mths ago with Intrepid and remember it being pretty good. But the room we were given this time was awful. I asked for a double bed - we got twin beds. The room was hot and the AC didnt work, the room was full of mosquitoes and then the power control thing broke (where you put your key to make all the electrics work). When we went down to complain they said they would fix it, but we requested a different room. They moved us to a ground floor unit. It was still full of mosquitoes and sort of warm but the AC worked. We asked them to spray the room when while we were out, which they did, although there were still a heap of midgy flies. For almost US$100 (they added about US$20 worth of tax onto the advertised price) the room was in pretty bad shape - the paint is peeling and the bathroom door didn't close properly and there was no hot water in the shower. The bed was uncomfortable. The food at the restaurant was pretty poor as well. And they over-charged us for the airport transfer. My advice - stay at a local guesthouse a few streets back from the beach and enjoy the local hospitality.

It is located on the beach.

The hotel is old. The room decor is awful. The sits looked like they were not cleaned. They will not clean up your room by their own initiative, you have to chase the house keeping staff and they will request your own key, since it is the hotel policy not to provide a master key to the house keeping staff. The food is not good. We had a flight to catch at 2 a.m. asked for a late check out and we were informed we had to pay for half day so half rate so that we could use the room until midnight. The next day when we went to check out and pay for the half day rate, so that a late check out was provided, they came up with the story that it was just a late check out rate and that we could only stay until 6 p.m., but if we paid the whole day we could stay until midnight which immediatly caused us to immediatly check out from this horrible hotel, that besides lacking cleaningness and services wishes to rip of tourists.

On time taxi arrangement for the airport.

1. Dirty toilet. 2. Dirty room. 3. Mosquito in the room. 4. No comforter in bed. 5. People dance and party in the common area infront of the entrance stairs. 6. Breakfast was not ready in time.

The food.

I was given room with a seaview which was last renovated in late 70th, maybe not even then. Awful. Very worn-out and they dared to ask full price for this room. I had to complain to get ridiculous 10% discount. The room is not worth than 40 usd.

Best - the very good breakfast buffets that come with the room cost! Almost as much as we enjoyed that, we loved having a nice clean beach to enjoy and a nice clean swimming pool to use. A very relaxing ambiance, and for the most part, the facilities were good, and the hotel was clean. Well managed.

nothing

Well, it was on the lovable right spot, such as beach, beautifully placed, cozy rooms well maintained swimming pool, indeed very charming & attractive, value for money meaning Very good.

Bit conservative for freedom at bay, guest should be given freedom to eat with their choice if they want to sit at beach side and have sometime. well with their own cost.

Great quiet location right on the beach

Saggy bed and inconsistent service in restaurant and pool areas

This hotel has a good location, right on the beach and on the main drag of Negombo.

We were disappointed. Our room was basic and in need of refurbishment. The pool/beach bar area was tired and run-down. Our experience was very different to that reflected in the online information.

Location

Price.

The hotel had a good location with a good beach set up and the Bar staff were very friendly.

We hadorganised an airportpick up through the hotel that arrived 45 minutes late, so not a great start. The room we stayed in over looked the road with no balcony and opposite a bar that played very loud music till 3am. There was also a wedding being held that was playing loud music. The front desk staff were not very friendly or helpful. All in all it was expensive for what it offered and I would not choose to stay here again.

The service was great as well as the staff. The view was also amazing

The wifi wasnt available at the room.

Almost Nothing

Terrible experience! Worst & rude management

The rooms were very big and the furnishings were lovely, the rooms had recently been refurbished. The hotel was in a perfect location on the main tourist stretch in Negombo and had direct access to the beach.

I seriously doubt that I could have made a better choice. The rooms are lovely. Somehow I ended up in a room with a balcony and a marvelous view of both the Indian Ocean and the hotel pool. My first pass at the resteraunt was just a shrimp appetizer. It was both beautiful and delicious. The next evening, my last night in Negombo I decided to try the special “set menu”. The price was 1,800 and I nearly balked until I realized this was a four course meal. The salad was actually an aspic and it was wonderful! The soup was carrot and orange; man was it delicious. I chose the fish and am so glad I did. It was delicious and perfectly prepared. The desert was wonderful as well. I love surprises and received a very nice one with the bill. The 1,800 was inclusive of all taxes and gratuities. This was a marvelous meal at a great price. Golden Star: Like I said, I tell it like I taste it, smell it and see it. The location is wonderful, right on the beach. They have a great pool. It's a marvelous property.

The restaurant is a winner, but wait. I ordered the Fajita’s for supper. Bad mistake, they were somewhere between awful and terrible. My best advice, eat there but avoid the Fajita offering. Meat was burned and too tough to chew, what was supposed to be beans looked and tasted like bad ground meat which had been refried. The rice was dry but almost passable. Did I forget to mention the tortilla’s, not at all. There were no tortilla’s. Where I come from the tortilla is the bread in which you place the contents of the Fajita. Sorry, Golden Star, I tell it like I see it, smell it and taste it. The next day I went to talk with the chef about the last evening’s meal. His explanation was that Australian beef is very expensive and local beef not very good. I suggested he stop selling the stuff and gentle reader I recommend you stay at the Golden Star, eat in the restaurant and by all means avoid the beef! In fact it’s likely a good idea to avoid the beef in all of Sri Lanka. Yes, it was that bad.

Location was fantastic

Rooms & breakfast need updating

It was very convenient for my stay,beach was nearby,although the salesmen on the beach were a nuisance.

Location was fantastic, right on the beach. For the cheap price, even included breakfast. Although limited selection, i can't complain. Coffee House faces the pool and beach, imagine having your breakfast there! If you are looking for 5 star accomodation, go somewhere else. If you are looking for relaxing time with friendly staff, nice pool and right on the beach, this is the place for you!

Towels, pillows and there was some renovations going on at the time. But renovations were not noisy, just an eye sore. No big deal and still worth the money! Also free wi-fi does not work in rooms far from lobby. Just go to the phone shop opposite to get a phone card with 400 Rupees of calls and 1GB of data for about $10.

Dinner was a really pleasant surprise and very well presented.

The Bar music was on till almost 2 am and I could not get to sleep as a result with my room being a ground floor garden room near the pool area.

The view and environment

Beach swimmng pool

Yeah was fine for a night, when we stayed there were lots of kids there but for the money it was quite nice.

Service, Staff, facilities. All very good.

The reception area looked good. The swimming pool, the sea facing bar were the main attractions. The staff were well behaved and never gave away any opportunity of giving us a smile.

1. The complimentary breakfast menu was not satisfactory. It included mainly bakery items. Local dishes could have been included. 2. When i went for the breakfast, i saw few flies sitting on the food. 3. Wifi was not available in the room. Was available only in the reception and restaurant areas.