44 Kirulapone Ave · Colombo 5 · Open since 2014
Five guests laughing in the plunge pool at Seconds Colombo Boutique Hotel — coconut palms above, gold sign on the wall
a boutique hotel · colombo 5 · est. 2014

Fall in love
in seconds.

book direct → take the tour
00 : 15 · check-in to garden

You drop your bag. You walk down the path. You're in the garden before you've finished checking in. — it's quick.

The first fifteen
minutes.

The garden at Seconds Colombo — fairy lights between trees, full restaurant tables, brick walls, evening light
the garden, around six.

The garden.

Passion fruit vines twined overhead. Mango trees that drop fruit in season. Two squirrels who run the place. Butterflies most mornings. The small birds the locals call pani kurulu — sunbirds, technically — hovering at the flowers.

They look like hummingbirds but aren't. They live here. So do you, for now.

The pool.

Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Free for guests. Free towels. Free for non-guests if they're eating with us.

Warmer at sunset than at sunrise.

The reception fish.

A Siamese fighting fish lives in a glass bowl on the front desk. Solitary by design. Iridescent when the light hits him.

No name yet. Guests have proposed sixteen. None have stuck. Suggest one when you arrive — if it lands, we'll name him after you.

propose a name →
Three guests at a garden table at Seconds Colombo, café signage behind them, evening light
drinks at the café, around eight.
Vinya Garden by Seconds Colombo at night — fairy lights, full tables in the garden, brick walls

By six,
the lights
come on.

The restaurant at the back of the garden is called Vinya Garden. Named after a legendary sunbird who, the story goes, lives in the trees here. You see her, you're lucky.

Hand-chopped kottu. Wood-fired pizza. Sunday lamprais on banana leaves. A separate kitchen. We send you over for dinner.

visit vinya garden →
Flaming kottu at Vinya Garden by Seconds Colombo — hand-chopped roti tossed at the open flame, served on a wooden board
08 : 00 pm · the signature

Flaming kottu, — made to order.

Hand-chopped roti griddled over high flame. The whole table goes quiet. Then it doesn't.

What's in it — and what isn't — is the whole story.

in.

  • free-range chicken
  • six-hour high-collagen bone broth sauce
  • Sri Lankan farm cheese
  • roasted chicken
  • shredded vegetables
  • lightly smoked egg
  • quality celery oil

not.

  • stock powder
  • MSG
  • commercial additives
  • shortcuts
Non-spicy. Suitable for pregnant women, children, patients, and the elderly. Made to order, every order, every time.
book a table at vinya garden →
day 03 · why people stay longer

Six rooms. Each named.
Never numbered.

Two dorms, three doubles, one single. Booking engine arrives next week. Until then — write to us.

Friendship Dorm at Seconds Colombo — bunks with green and orange curtains, blue metal frames, sunlight through bamboo blinds

Friendship Dorm

dorm · shared · from $8

 Safari Dorm at Seconds Colombo — bunks with bamboo blinds, green curtain, deep navy accent wall, plant in the foreground

Safari Dorm

dorm · shared · from $8

 Ocean Double Room at Seconds Colombo — small hand-painted whale on the wall, deep blue door, arched colonial window, mustard floor with rolled towels

Ocean Double

double · private · from $28

 Creative Double Room — clean white pillows on a wooden headboard, three sun-and-leaf prints above the bed

Creative Double

double · private · from $28

 Serenity Double Room at Seconds Colombo — pallet-bed with magenta runner, woven wall lamp, yellow beanbags, 'the sky is the limit' artwork

Serenity Double

double · private · from $28

 Waves Single Room at Seconds Colombo — twin pallet beds with bright blue runners, neutral walls, a single black-framed artwork

Waves Single

single · private · from $25
enquire to book →
year eleven · the receipts

Why we're
still here.

A short list of true things, in no particular order. We printed it like a receipt because it is one.

SECONDS COLOMBO

Eleven Years · Itemized

2014 Opened on this lane in Kirulapone. Same building. Mostly the same team. Eleven years and counting.
2019-21 "Pay-as-you-can" through the pandemic. Guests paid what they had. Embassies sent us stranded nationals. We came out of it certain we wanted to keep doing this.
2021 Renamed to Seconds. Because life is a matter of them. The name stuck.
2022 Switched to solar. The only hostel-grade hotel in Sri Lanka running on renewable energy. We have the certificate. We don't put it on the wall.
2022 Started recycling guest plastic into clothing. Bottles in. T-shirts out. A few thousand of them so far.
2022 The in-house restaurant was officially established. For house guests, then. For everyone, soon.
2025 30,000+ guests through the gate. Counted. Most stayed at least one night longer than they planned.
2026 Vinya Garden opens to the public. The garden is no longer a secret.
today LKR · cards · Wise · PayPal. Whichever currency you've been carrying.
Total irreplaceable.

thank you, come again.

things people ask

Before you book.

Where exactly are you?
44 Kirulapone Avenue, Colombo 5. The 138 bus stops at the gate. Five minutes' walk to Kirulapone Railway Station. A short tuk-tuk to Galle Face, Viharamahadevi Park, or Wellawatte Beach.
How far from the airport?
About 35 km. 45 to 60 minutes by car depending on traffic. We arrange private pickup with a driver who tracks your flight, around USD 21–25. Or take a PickMe / Uber for LKR 4,000–5,000.
Is breakfast included?
Only if you book a "breakfast included" rate. When it is — it's a savoury Sri Lankan plate: cardamom dhal curry, our daily-baked bread, a half-cooked egg, and top-grade Ceylon tea or coffee. The bread comes out of the oven each morning. You can smell it from the garden.

If you booked without breakfast, no problem — the full Vinya Garden à la carte menu is available from 8:15 a.m.
Is your flaming kottu spicy?
No. Non-spicy by design — suitable for pregnant women, children, patients, and the elderly. The flavour comes from a six-hour homemade chicken bone broth, Sri Lankan farm cheese, lightly smoked egg, and quality celery oil. No stock powder. No MSG. No shortcuts. Made to order, every order, every time.
Is the pool open to non-guests?
Through the Pool Dining Package at Vinya Garden, yes. Order food, swim, eat, swim again. Otherwise it's for hotel guests.
Is Colombo 5 safe?
Yes. Kirulapone is residential — markets, supermarkets, hospitals, a railway station, all within walking distance. We've hosted solo travellers (many solo women) for over a decade.
How do I pay?
LKR, credit card, Wise, or PayPal. Whichever you've got.
Sri Lankan breakfast at Seconds Colombo — cardamom dhal in a white bowl, half-cooked egg with rosemary, our daily-baked bread sliced thick, on a woven tray
— breakfast, on the days it's included.
find us

44 Kirulapone Ave,
Colombo 5.

The 138 bus stops at the gate. Five minutes from Kirulapone Railway Station. About 35 km from the airport.

welcome

Come and sit
in the garden.

Six rooms. One pool. Open every day. The shoes by the door are spare — please borrow if it rains.

book direct → visit vinya garden