Southbeach Weligama: Hotel Guide, Airport Transfer & Taxi Fares

Southbeach Weligama is a new beachfront apartment hotel at No. 160 Palena, on the eastern side of Weligama Bay, between Weligama town and Mirissa. The white tower stands on the beach with its driveway off the Galle–Matara coast road, and its apartments — from one-bedroom units to three-bedroom penthouses — look out over the bay or the palm garden. There is an infinity pool, a restaurant called Cecil's and a rooftop bar. We drive guests there from the airport and around the south coast, and every photo on this page is our own, taken on a drop-off.

Arriving at Southbeach

Coming from the airport, your driver takes the expressways almost the whole way — the Colombo–Katunayake, the Outer Circular and about 115 km of the Southern Expressway — then turns down the Weligama–Kananke road (B465) for the last few kilometres to the coast. At Palena the Southbeach tower shows above the coconut palms, and the driveway turns straight off the main road into a paved forecourt under a steel canopy. Cars and vans drop you at the porch beside the white Southbeach sign, a few steps from the lobby doors, and there is parking beside the palm garden for drivers waiting to collect guests.

The apartments

The units at Southbeach are full apartments rather than hotel rooms, with kitchens and balconies, and the name tells you the view: Beach View units face Weligama Bay and the Indian Ocean, Palm View units look over the coconut palms. The hotel's website lists nine types:

For a family or group in a penthouse, book a van rather than two cars: our vans take up to eight people with their luggage, and the fare is for the whole vehicle.

Pool, Cecil's and the Rooftop Bar

Southbeach's restaurant, Cecil's, serves "flavours from the bay" from breakfast to the evening, with lunch and brunch by the pool and tables that run out towards the beach. The Rooftop Bar sits high above Weligama Bay beside the infinity pool — the place to be at sunset. Guests also have a gym, an art gallery, a beach club and, unusually for a beach hotel, a professional recording studio. Its list of experiences includes surf lessons, sunrise surfing, seaside yoga and whale and dolphin watching. Restaurant bookings: +94 76 045 8643.

How Southbeach was built

Southbeach has been a long time coming. In April 2021 the Sunday Times reported that its environmental impact assessment had cleared a high-rise apartment complex on private land at Pelena, beside the A2 road in the Weligama tourist zone. The developer, South Beach Weligama Properties, had scaled the plan down from a 34-room hotel with 99 apartments to a 106-apartment building, and the Coast Conservation Department set it back 15 metres from the shore (10 metres for the pool). The assessment also flagged turtle nesting on the beach and recommended keeping it clean and fencing off any nests that were found.

In 2022 the design firm Balmond Studio told The Morning that every piece of furniture would be made by Sri Lankan artisans, and that the building would run solar panels and turbines for the lobby and restaurant and harvest rainwater, aiming for the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka's platinum standard. Building was due to start in March 2022; booking sites list Southbeach as opened in 2026.

Around Southbeach: Weligama Bay

Weligama means "sandy village", after the long sweep of sand that Southbeach looks over. The beachfront in town, five minutes' drive away, is lined with surf schools and cafés under the trees, and the bay is one of the most popular places in Sri Lanka to learn to surf. Along this coast you can still see the stilt fishermen, who sit on a single pole set in chest-deep water just off the beach and cast beyond the surf.

Out in the bay is Taprobane Island, a tiny private island with one villa. The Count de Mauny built it into a private Eden after sighting it around 1925, and the American writer Paul Bowles bought it in 1952 and finished his novel The Spider's House there. In Weligama town, the Kusta Raja Gala is a 3-metre statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara carved into the rock between the 6th and 9th centuries. And Mirissa — beaches, Coconut Tree Hill and the whale-watching boats — is only 5 km east. More in our Weligama guide.

Day trips from Southbeach

• Galle Fort — 37 km, about 50 minutes. Ramparts, lighthouse and cafés inside the UNESCO-listed fort. Galle Fort guide.
• Udawalawe National Park — 113 km, under 2 hours. Famous for its wild elephants; safaris through our sponsor udawalawa.com.
• Yala National Park — 133 km, about 2 hours. Leopards, elephants and coastal lagoons.
• Ella — 180 km, about 3 hours. Hill country, tea, Nine Arch Bridge — a good next stop after the beach.
• Tangalle — 56 km, about an hour, for quieter beaches further east.

Taxi fares to Southbeach Weligama

Fixed prices to the Southbeach porch, per vehicle, including the driver and fuel. Tap a route for its booking page — the fare there is the same. Distances are measured by road (how we measure).

Taxi fares from Southbeach Weligama

Checking out, or heading out for the day? These are the fares from Southbeach to the airports, the beaches, the national parks and the hill country.

Why guests book TaxiGo to Southbeach

• Fixed price for the whole vehicle — no meter, no surge, no haggling at arrivals.
• We know the building: your driver drops you at the porch, not on the main road.
• Meet-and-greet at Colombo Airport, with no extra charge if your flight is delayed.
• Vans for up to eight — one vehicle for a penthouse group and its luggage.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup (policy) and WhatsApp support.

More on this coast: Weligama guide · Weligama taxi rates · Mirissa taxi rates · Galle taxi rates · Colombo Airport taxi rates · Galle Fort guide.

Frequently asked questions