I will briefly try to answer your query. Believe that Bentota is ok for a choice of bars/restaurants which are within walking distance of some of the hotels. As well as the sea (Indian Ocean) you've also got the river and you can take a trip to see the wildlife (monitor lizards, crocs etc). The beach is also very good here but you have to be aware that if you like swimming there are certain times of the year when it's not advisable to do so. I'm actually going back to Bentota in April (5th visit to Sri Lanka) and 2nd to this area. Sri Lanka is only the size of Ireland but travelling can be quite long winded. 1st time we went (before the Tsunami) it took over 4 hours to get to our hotel which was about 20 miles from Bentota. We've stayed in Negombo which is only 20 minutes from the airport and there are lots of restaurants/bars here and this is much closer to things like the elephant orphanage, tea plantation etc etc. Some of the hotels are quite isolated in so far as away from the local town but you can always jump in a tuk tuk if you fancy a change of scene. You usually find tuk tuks outside the hotels bit of bartering on the price and away you go. A good source of information if you want to take a look is the sri lankan forum on trip advisor. Hope this helps.

That's very useful thank you. How did you find Negombo and which would be your preferred choice? Many thanks

From a strictly personal view we didn't like Negombo. My review of the hotel (Browns Beach) is still on the forum under Indian Ocean hotels. Out of the 4 areas visited Bentota, so far, is our favourite the only minus being that it takes about 3 hours to get there. PM me if you have any questions and I'll try to help.