Travel Reference
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BOOK YOUR STAY ONLINE
For more accommodation reviews by Lonely Planet authors, check out
ht-
tp://lonelyplanet.com/hotels/
. You'll find independent reviews, as well as recommenda-
tions on the best places to stay. Best of all, you can book online.
Accommodation
Sri Lanka has all types of accommodation ranging from rooms in family homes to five-star
resorts. With tourism booming, prices have been increasing rapidly. Wherever you stay be
sure to bargain over the price as negotiation is common.
Rates are very seasonal, particularly at beach resorts. The prices quoted in this guide
are typical high-season rates; look for good discounts in the low season. The high season
is December to April on the west and south coasts, and April to September on the east
coast.
Note that there are reports of a few hotels refusing to honor prepaid reservations made
on sites like agoda.com. They'll tell you that if you want to stay you'll need to pay rack rate
(always inflated) and that you will then need to get your money back from the booking web-
site. This is usually a scam. Bring printed confirmations and have the local contact number
for the booking website. One call should sort things out as the hotel won't want to be
banned from the booking website.
Some midrange and top-end hotels quote room prices in US dollars or euros, but accept
the current rupee equivalent. Note that a service charge of 10% will usually be added to the
rate you're quoted. At many hotels an additional Value Added Tax (VAT) of 14.25% is ad-
ded which can make for a large surprise at check-out. Reviews in this guide include the ad-
dition of both service charge and VAT.
