Vivanta Colombo Airport Garden, formerly known as Taj Airport Garden, is a 4‑star property opened in 1986. It offers 208 guest rooms overlooking a scenic coconut plantation and the Negombo Lagoon. Built as part of the Taj group’s properties in the country, the hotel serves as a convenient stopover near Bandaranaike International Airport.

SriLankan Stopover Hotel

SriLankan Airlines offers complimentary stopover hotels for itineraries with transits lasting between 8 and 24 hours. This applies to passengers holding a single booking reference with a ticket value exceeding USD 390. Since my flight from Kathmandu to Singapore on SriLankan Airlines included an overnight layover in Colombo, it qualified for the programme. After securing my booking, I reached out to the local SriLankan Airlines office to request my hotel voucher. Business Class passengers are placed at the Vivanta Colombo, whereas Economy Class passengers are offered a room at the Good Wood Airport Hotel.

Check-in

After arriving on my flight from Kathmandu, I headed to the SriLankan Airlines travel desk at the Arrivals zone of Bandaranaike International Airport. Having shown my hotel voucher from the airline, I was told to wait for 10 minutes as a car was prepared for me. Sure enough, 10 minutes later, I was told to proceed to the kerbside where a car was waiting for me.

Following a leisurely 10-minute ride to Seeduwa, I was dropped off at the hotel’s porte-cochere. Soon, a member of the hotel’s staff came up to assist me with my bags and walked me to the reception desk. At the lobby, after providing my hotel voucher, I was invited to sit down to wait for my room to be ready. Before long, I was handed my keys and was soon on my way to my room in the annexe building.

Superior Twin Room

I was assigned a Super Twin Room located in the older annexe building of the hotel. Interestingly, this grade of room does not appear to be sold online; Possibly, SriLankan Airlines has a special arrangement with the hotel booking into these rooms. Many of the rooms in the building have been renovated to become the Deluxe Rooms, so I suspect that these rooms are slowly going away in the future.

Bedroom

True to the outdated facade of the annexe building, the 24 sqm (258 sqft) room way past its prime. The room has basic but functional furniture with a striped feature wall, a design best described to be from the 90s (at latest). Occupying much of the space are the two beds, clad with thin but clean linens and a single pillow on each bed.

Across from the beds are a luggage rack, a misaligned artwork, as well as a hilariously small flat-screen LCD television. There is also a small but functional work desk, as well as a tired-looking armchair located by the window (which views an industrial warehouse). Lighting is also not optimal, leaving the room looking quite dim and uninviting at night.

Finally, I’ll add that the room’s closet is located by the entryway, where you’ll also find the basic minibar and the hair dryer. The latter features several sachets of instant coffee and tea.

Bathroom

Right beside the entryway is the bathroom, which is a basic and small offering, much like the bedroom. Expectedly, the bathroom features a shower stall (with a rain shower and handheld showerhead), and a toilet with a handheld bidet (as is common in the region). At the very least, the bathroom is a lot brighter compared to the bedroom, which I appreciate.

The amenities offered aren’t much different. The soaps and shampoo were hotel-branded and weren’t very good in terms of quality. Apart from a shower cap and a sanitary bag, all other amenities (like toothbrushes or razors) have to be requested from the reception.

Amenities

Fitness Centre

Located within a compact wellness complex adjacent to the tennis courts, the fitness centre at Vivanta Airport Garden offers a relatively modern and inviting exercise facility. It includes a full selection of cardio machines – such as treadmills and ellipticals – alongside strength-training equipment and free weights from Precor, all well-maintained.

The fitness centre is open 24 hours a day, which I always appreciate for any airport hotel. Its location in the wellness complex also connects guests to other recreational amenities like the tennis court, as well as the swimming pool.

Pool

Located near the fitness centre and across the Mynt restaurant is the hotel’s outdoor pool. Like much of the hotel’s other un-renovated section, the pool looks quite outdated. Regardless, being surrounded by the shade of large trees and well-maintained, the pool does look like an inviting place to be in the tropical heat of Sri Lanka.

The outdoor pool is open from 07.00 to 20.00. Surrounded by loungers and umbrellas, the pool facilitates a relaxing atmosphere for a relaxed swim or even some brief sunbathing.

Tennis Court

Immediately beside the fitness centre stands an outdoor tennis facility, with two courts, complementing the hotel’s fitness offerings. The courts look relatively nice, although some extra care might be due to keep the courts in tip-top condition.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served daily from 07:00 to 10:30 at Mynt, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant in the annexe building near the pool. As is typical of larger hotels, breakfast takes the form of a buffet, featuring a generous spread highlighting Sri Lankan specialties, alongside Western, East Asian, and Continental options. The selection includes curries, sambols, pastries, cereals, fruits, omelettes made to order, and a range of fruit juices and yoghurts. The overall quality is quite good with pleasant flavours and relatively fresh ingredients. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Service

The service at the Vivanta Airport Garden strikes a friendly yet professional balance, genuinely reflective of Sri Lankan hospitality without feeling over the top. As a four-star property, I didn’t expect any personalised touches; regardless, the attentive, polite staff still managed to impress me. I liked that the staff members weren’t shy to say hello or make a bit of small talk. Overall, while the service wasn’t incredible, it was definitely pleasant.

Overall

Overall, I had a pleasant-enough stay at the Vivanta Colombo Airport Garden. Despite the outdated room I was assigned, I appreciate the hotel’s friendly service and proximity to the airport. While I wouldn’t consider the hotel to be ‘world-class’, it is nevertheless a nice amenity for SriLankan Airlines to provide for its transit passengers. Although I’d probably prefer spending a few days in Colombo next time, the Vivanta is a decent choice for those seeking accommodation closer to the airport.

Read more from this trip here!