Hotel Pinnalanda

Hotel with a grate view & very friendly staff. Rooms are good. well cleaned. It was heavy rain when we visit there. They warmly welcome us. Food was Ok. but can improve. unfortunately there was no elephant to see in the river due to high water level. the elephant orphanage is within the walking distance. will visit again surely.

We had a lovely time at Grand Hotel Pinnalanda, this was our 2nd time at theirs. Such lovely and helpful staff, always goes above to help their guests. “Ela” and Miraj both were very attentive to all the guests and helpful at their best. There was some issues with the electricity in our room, but Mahesh (electrician) and Miraj took care of it during our stay, going above and beyond to ensure we are not disturbed with the power issues. A huge thank to Shantha, the manager who is a people pleaser and always tries to make every guest returns to them again. He even helped us buying tickets for the elephant bathing session. The two lovely ladies at the reception (sorry we couldn’t take their names) were welcoming, polite and friendly. We are definitely going there again next time we visit Sri Lanka. To the owners of this property - Your strength is your lovely staff, take good care of them! There’s a lot of room for you to improve things in this property for more guests to return to you on their next visit to Pinnawala. Try and invest some money on improvements in the property and your guests will pay happily to enjoy as your hotel has the best view of the river. Also we believe that you don’t need to keep the minibar filled in all rooms, not even 5 star hotels do that nowadays. Instead, invest some money on improvements and maintenance of the property. It’s a lovely property that needs a bit of love from the owners.

The view of numerous elephants bathing in the palm-fringed Maya Ora River in front of the Pinnalanda Hotel is an iconic promotional image of Sri Lanka that looks as good in real life as it does on the tourist brochures. And the location in Pinnawala is half way from Colombo to Kandy or Sigiriya. On our arrival, management confided to us that their deluxe rooms were actually basic with a communal balcony. They upgraded us to a private balcony room overlooking the river in the next door hotel. The room was great, bed comfortable, and view over the river and elephant bathing in the morning was excellent. There will be elephants bathing in the river from about 8.30am until 12 noon, although the biggest number will be between 10-11am. The hotel pool overlooking the river was great, (although you had to walk through the restaurant to get to it) and the hotel staff were friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, their restaurant food was poor quality. Dinner in the restaurant was a selection of badly cooked western food. Breakfast buffet was not much better. Unfortunately you have no other options for eating. If you arrive at the hotel before 4pm, you will be required to pay the Elephant Orphanage entry fee, even if you don't visit it. The hotel has many flights ofstairs and no elevator. This was difficult for my wife as she has some mobility issues.

This hôtel is perfect to see elephants ! You can watch them from the pool or from your breakfast it’s completely insane :) All he Staff are very friendly and take care about you ! De spent such a good time !

We (family of four) stayed at the Hotel Pinnalanda for one night after our arrival into Sri Lanka. The hotel is basic but has everything you need for a short stay. The staff are very welcoming and friendly. The view and the close proximity to elephants is what makes this place. It is truly amazing to experience the elephants so close, even whilst having breakfast in the morning. We didn’t see or witness any bad treatment towards the elephants at all (some reviews suggest this takes place) and we also didn’t get pressured into feeding them or having pictures with them. The food was good and the staff very helpful and willing to change certain things for my fussy daughter. There was limited options but that was understandable and not the hotels fault, due to the current crisis. Overall this is a good base for a very short stay (1-2 nights max as nothing else to do in the area) if wanting to see elephants close up.

Yes you see lot of elephants in the property- if you looking for a safari kind of experience this is the place for you. The elephant being brought every morning on 8:30 just in time for your breakfast to "enjoy " the view. The keepers will suggest you to take photos with them and will give you fruits to feed them and of course your money for that after. Not wild in the nature, not a "shelter" only one big tourist trap. The hotel even suggested a "free" tour in a ayrovidic farm- off course nothing comes for free And the "guide" will ask you kindly for your money and to buy their very poorly products.... NOT OUR CUP OF TEA