Jacqueline
October 9, 2025
It is such a shame I have to leave this review. I have stayed at Mount Lavinia multiple times since my honeymoon in 2001, but had not been back to stay in 13 years. I had to leave the hotel after just 2 nights. The only things still beautiful about this hotel were the location- which is still beautiful- and buffet.
The first room I was shown to was appalling. It was dark, dingy, stained carpet, watermarked walls, damp smelling, broken chair in the room, broken toilet seat and random dining chair on the balcony instead of patio furniture. The second room was better, but still had 2 broken doors, rusty fridge etc. It was a far cry from the warm, welcoming grand colonial hotel it once was. It's a crying shame that it has been allowed to lapse into such a state of disrepair. I don't want to bore your with the enormous list of issues I had in two short days. But be aware that the only atmosphere at the hotel was one of having just given up. Only the lobby and terrace were the same as I remembered. Before leaving the hotel I sat at the poolside bar and was disgusted at the state of it. The nonchalant attitude of the staff -who had once been the reason- I held the hotel in such high regard was the final straw. I cancelled the rest of my booking and departed. As I said, the view is unrivalled, but the main draw for me was the private beach area. Sadly, I felt unsafe in the 5 minutes I was on it. In that 5 minutes I sunk into a waterlogged area. I was done!
