Beautiful 1-2 bedroomed villa in Colombo

Description from the owner

Dove Cottage is a 1-2 bedroom holiday villa, in a quiet suburb of Colombo. The villa was designed by one of Sri Lanka's best architects, with high ceilings, balconies and verandas, making maximum use of tropical breezes. One of the features of the villa is the two bathrooms with power shower areas that are open to the skies, and finished in slate and cement, with tropical plants all around.

Upstairs is the master bedroom and en suite bathroom. The room is fully air conditioned with twin beds, and has two balconies on either side - one leading to a large sun lounge area with potted palm trees, overlooking the swimming pool. The bed...room ceiling is double height and wood paneled, and the room has built in paneled wardrobes, mini fridge, teak bedroom furniture and a cane rocking chair. There is a lot of original art hanging on the walls throughout the villa, and many of the better know local artists are represented. One balcony looks directly into a large mango tree where you can see squirrels playing during the day.

Downstairs is the air conditioned living room and en suite bathroom. This room is the same size as the master bedroom upstairs, and can be converted to a second bedroom, with full size twin beds, allowing the villa to sleep a total of four. It is furnished mainly with teak furniture, cane chairs, an antique cupboard containing towels and linen, and it also has a desk and chair for those who have to work. This room has a veranda on one side, leading to a small garden area with a seat under the mango tree, and a small patio on the other side of the room which is covered with jasmine and another scented climbing plant.

The kitchen/dining room is also on the ground floor This room, like the rest of the villa, is furnished mainly in teak with a dining table to seat four. The kitchen is fully equipped with fridge/freezer, gas cooker and oven, double sink, microwave, electric kettle, toaster etc., and all necessary kitchen equipment, cutlery, crockery and glassware for six. There is also a washing machine, iron and ironing board. The kitchen/dining patio area has wrought iron seats and a table for four, and is ideal for bird watching whilst having your breakfast and maybe diving into the pool afterwards.

The garden is very well established, and overflowing with all kinds of tropical plants. The neighborhood is very quiet and the garden is visited by various native birds. The swimming pool is a fair sized 40 feet in length. It is cleaned three times a week by a specialist pool company, and is another place where you can watch the birds - a kingfisher regularly swoops down into the pool looking for dragon flies, and there are the odd times when you can even see a visiting monkey in the trees above.

The villa shares the large garden with another house, designed by the same architect, many years before. The owner lives there with his small family. The two houses are completely separate, and hidden from each other's view, but you can call on the owners at any time for whatever help you require, or if any problems arise, or for just a chat and a free cup of tea.Read more

Additional Location Information

Mirihana is a quiet suburb of Colombo. The villa provides off street garage parking for one car, and ample on street parking. Various supermarkets are located close by, and Colombo and all its restaurants is just ten minutes away. Tuk tuks can be found two minutes walk up the road, as well as radio cabs which are freely available and turn up fast.

Location Type Away from it all, City, Tropical

Rental fees

What Past Guests Are Saying

Overall Rating

• Russell C
  Sydney, Australia

  Cottage comfort for a relaxing start to your holiday

  Left on 05/16/2013 for a stay in January 2012
  
  

  We arrived from Sydney via Singapore only minutes before New Years Day but were welcomed without any fuss. Sunil and annuk have a cottage in a peaceful garden with a private pool. We spent three days. Annuk's dad built it with loads of local charm thrown in. Excellent value for us and the two kids and recommend this one without hesitation.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

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• Denise
  London

  we didn't want to leave

  Left on 02/03/2013 for a stay in January 2013
  
  

  I stayed here with my husband and grown-up son and his partner. From walking in the door we were blown away by the beautiful gardens, the fabulous house and the owner's peaceful welcome. The house is even better than the photo's. Tiny little details like the tiny little elephants by the sink indicate the care taken with Dove Cottage. This house had everything you need from and was so comfortable it truly felt like home. For small apartment city- dwellers like us, the space and serenity meant we were quite happy not to explore busy Colombo a 20min drive away. It was only the certain knowledge that we would return one day that enabled us to leave and explore the rest of the beautiful isle.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Travelers, Romantic, Disabilities, Luxury, Families

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• Gary and Debbie Smith
  Ilkeston Derbyshire UK

  Paradise in Mirihana

  Left on 07/31/2012 for a stay in February 2012
  
  

  This is an ideal place to stay when visiting Sri Lanka, located in a quiet suburb of Colombo close to local town Nugegado,and only a 15 minute tuk tuk ride to nearby Mount Lavinia Beach.
  
  The apartment is set in a quiet out of the way location where you can relax by the private swimming pool and take in its stunning surroundings and natural wild life. The apartment itself has everything you would wish for, very nice artistic decor and beautiful semi outdoor en suite bathrooms to both bedrooms which you neeed to see to believe,a truly refreshing early morning shower experience.
  
  The bedrooms are very spacious with air conditioning and a beautiful terrace balacony with sun bed and seating area for those nights when you want to chill and watch the sun go down.
  
  All in all I cant wait to visit again, the people are so friendly and this is just the perfect place to stay. 10 out of 10.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Romantic, Families

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  Was this review helpful? Yes

   

  Response from Sunil Situnayake - 08/01/2012

  

  Sunil Situnayake

  Owner

  Debbie and Gary it was great having you stay. We also can't wait until you come again!

• Joy52
  hertfordshire

  What a find..an Oasis in the city

  Left on 07/26/2012 for a stay in August 2011
  
  

  Having been regular visitors to Sri Lanka over the last 25 years to see family, we have always stayed in hotels but this time decided that we would prefer a more relaxed villa type holiday.We found Dove Cottage on Google and what a find...an oasis in the city!!
  The day that we arrived in Sri Lanka we had booked an overnight sleeper train to Trincomalee for a three day stay and Sunil kindly let us drop off our cases and freshen up at their house(3 days before we were booked in at Dove Cottage) only to discover that the cottage was being used as the location for a film..and no wonder as it is beautiful.
  When we returned from Trinco we were made so welcome by Sunil and anouk.The house is so full of character and charm.Our two daughters used the lounge which was very quickly converted to a bedroom and the main bedroom upstairs is so spacious with both rooms having the most amazing showers that we have seen as they are open to the sky..wonderful design!
  Dove Cottage is situated in the leafy suburb of Mirihana with easy access by taxi or tuk tuk to central Colombo.We often travelled by tuk tuk to Mount Lavinia Hotel where we used the private beach and facilities.
  It was so relaxing to come back home to Dove Cottage ...sit out on the veranda with a glass of wine and watch the sun going down after a dip in the pool.We regularly met up with family for dinner but on the evenings when we stayed at home we sampled local food brought in for us by Senaka who runs errands for Sunil and anouk.Senaka is a legend in his own right..speaks amazing English and has lots of stories to tell.
  All in all we had a wonderful holiday and subject to availability we know where we will be staying on our next visit to Colombo!
  Thank you Sunil and anouk
  The Williams family

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

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  Response from Sunil Situnayake - 08/08/2012

  

  Sunil Situnayake

  Owner

  How very kind of you to write such a lovely review of Dove Cottage. It was great having you stay, and you became our friends. We really look forward to your next visit here. Take very good care of yourselves. Many thanks again.

• KYoula
  Melbourne, Australia

  Our Oasis in Colombo! We Had to Come Back!

  Left on 07/15/2012 for a stay in April 2012
  
  

  We fell in love with Dove Cottage the first moment we stepped through the door!, it was such an oasis in the heat and humidity of Colombo and we were glad that although we had looked at places closer to the city center we were glad we had chosen to stay here once we saw it.. and the city center is only a short tuk tuk drive away! The house is so comfortable and has a wonderful feel and beautifully presented.. I especially loved the open air ceiling bathrooms on both floors, Even though the house is great we tended to spend most of our time sitting outside on the patio or the upstairs balcony watching the skies change under the mango tree and also being amused by the squirrels and monkeys!! It was great to have the pool to ourselves for the whole time we were there on both stays and nice to come home to after a long day out in the heat! When we left for the start of our tour we knew we would miss this little oasis so much so that we decided to return at the end of our tour of Sri Lanka so this would be our last memory here in the garden at Dove Cottage! Thank you also to anouk and Sunil who are there if you need them but respect your privacy. We arrived during the Tamil New Year and anouk bought over traditional sweets and fruits and both Sunil and anouk were great with helpful suggestions and messages ... thank you so much anouk and Sunil we do hope one day we may return...but we have wonderful memories and hundreds of photos and most of them of the time spent at Dove Cottage! We stayed at many places on our tour of Sri Lanka but none of them compared to how much we enjoyed our stay here.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends

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  Response from Sunil Situnayake - 07/17/2012

  

  Sunil Situnayake

  Owner

  Thank you so much for that lovely review. You were perfect guests and we loved having you stay. We do hope you come back!

• Subo_24
  Manama, Bahrain

  A beautiful home away from home

  Left on 07/15/2012 for a stay in November 2011
  
  

  Highly recommended if you would like a comfortable, stylish, homely base in Colombo. I spent a week here and would have been happy to spend another.
  
  It is situated on a quiet street and is a sanctuary well removed from the hustle and bustle of Colombo; but yet 20 minutes from the heart of Colombo .
  
  The owners are a charming couple who were extremely helpful and hospitable; and who made me feel welcome
  
  I will return.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

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  Was this review helpful? Yes

   

  Response from Sunil Situnayake - 07/26/2012

  

  Sunil Situnayake

  Owner

  Thank you so much for that Subo. I am very glad you and your girlfriend enjoyed your stay. I do hope you decide to come again. My very best regards to you both.