Best location to see the bathing elephants”

We stayed at the hotel one night to see the local attraction - the bathing elephants from the orphanage. This proved to be a very good decision - to visit the orphanage you need to buy pretty expensive tickets (20 USD per person), and they ask for the tickets even if you want to go to the riverside when the elephants are going there for bathing. With the hotel you have the best spot available to see the bathing elephants and you don't have to pay for the tickets of the orphanage. At the same time the quality of the room is pretty good, very clean, new and the size was also good. They have a great restaurant on the terrace with spectacular view on the river and the elephants and the selection is quite OK. However the prices are twice higher than normally in Sri Lanka. At the same time we weren't really satisfied with the staff at the hotel. We had a feeling that for everything they do they wanted to get money in reward, otherwise they wouldn't help. And when we asked some basic things from them (how to get to a railway junction in the near city to catch the train to Anuradhapura) none of them knew the answer, which was strange. Anyway, the location is very good and room was also great, so among other hotels near the elephant orphanage, I would definitely recommend this one.

Best hotel ever!! Especially if you love elephants”

this hotel is amazing....the rooms are clean, have wifi and sky television and a clean bathroom but to be honest i wouldn't have cared if they didn't. the thing that makes staying here so special is naturally the elephants!! the hotel looks over the river where the elephants wash 3 times a day and to get there they walk past reception. they stay for two hours and watching them is just mesmerising. an added bonus was the quality of the service at the hotel and the rooms and food. the manager was so helpful- when we arrived he asked whether we knew what we wanted to do yet and we said that we wanted to ride an elephant somewhere so he showed us our room and arranged for a tuktuk to come in half an hour so that we could do it and be back for 2 when the elephants walked down to bathe. he came with us and waited for us to finish our ride then came back with us in the tuktuk! couldn't reccomend staying here more. and also the hotel is at the end of a street which stretches from the road to the river (river end obviously) and the street is full of local shops selling postcards, clothing, handicrafts, souvenirs and naturally everything elephant!! there are two shops which sell elephant dung paper and other books etc made from the dung and they show you the process too!

Memorable Stay”

Excellent location to watch bathing elephants. Courteous staff. Stayed in a river view room. Enjoyed the soothing sound of Maha Oya flowing on the granites throuout the night. If pop up come to upgrade, please do not accept. If clicked, your bookings will actually downgraded for an additional $12 to a garden view room. Careful to select the river view rooms. I am lucky that for an additional $10, my downgraded room was upgraded to a river view room. Thanks for the manager and receptionist both are extremely helpful. Missed the Sri Lankan traditional hopper breakfast that should be booked 12 hrs in advance. Nevertheless staff gave me a rice and fish curry breakfast, that was bloody good. Western breakfast is pretty ordinary. Staff are helpful and made my stay comfortable. Rather than paying $20/person entrance fee to the elephant sanctuary, visitors could get all the excitements in watching the elephants from the hotel. Nothing much to see inside the sanctuary anyway. Major attraction is elephant bath at the river.

Excellent ffor the price”

Hotel overlooks river where elephants are bathed twice a day. Unfortunately heavy rains day before our stay made river too dangerous for this while we were there. But hotel is an easy walk from the orphanage, and we saw plenty of elephants there. Feed them by hand with a few exra rupees, stay as long as you like taking photos. Open restaurant overlooking river was breezy and pleasant, so we enjoyed dinner there. Food good and not too expensive. Free breakfast was good for the price, choice of menu items hot and cold. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would love to stay again someday.

Change of hotel”

we moved to the kandyan bungalow in kady from hotel elephant park on 2/13/2012 this was a lovely small hotel on the top of a hill overlooking kandy. the room was extremely comfortable and the staff could not have been more attentive it was a pleasure to stay here and we will return to this hotel in the future

Lovely hotel next to an elephant sanctuary”

We were very glad to have started our tour of Sri Lanka by first visiting this hotel which is near to Kandy, instead of wasting time in traffic jam travelling south to Colombo. We arranged with the hotel to pick us at the airport. Very friendly driver, who also acted as tourist guide! We are so pleased with him that we also engaged him to drive us to Kandy the next day. The hotel is strategically located next to the river whereby dozens of elephant come to bath twice a day, from 10-12 noon, and again from 2-4pm. This is the best site to view the cute elephants in action.

Amazing views and lovely restaurant”

We didn't feel the photos on Agoda did the hotel justice so were pleasantly surprised how nice it is. The restaurant is open air and feels like being in a tree house overlooking the river where we watched people washing their clothes and selves, then the next day seeing the elephants come down the road next to the hotel and into the river where we watched them bathe and frolic about as we had our breakfast. it was very special.

Great stay ”

Hotel was nice. Staff was very friendly esp. the breakfast staff. Con: I would warn guests about the locals soliciting money from tourists to feed the elephant. I felt threatened for my life when a local man demanded $50 USD for some fruits he gave us to feed the elephant. He never mentioned a fee until after we fed elephant and during this time, no one seemed to be around to protect us. I wish I knew to watch out for him.

Spectacular stay in Hotel Elephant Park”

We stayed at the hotel for 7 days and the experience was unique. The hotel room was very clean and even modern. The air conditioning in our room worked flawlessly. The hotel is located just incredibly beautiful area and the views are spectacular. There are elephants in surroundings of the hotel bathing every day, which is the highlight. The staff are genuine and friendly, and it was pleasure to meet them. The food was also excellent. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone and we will miss there.

Overlooking river where the elephants bathe”

In reality, the place is much nicer then the Agoda photos so we were pleasantly surprised. 5 minute walk to the elephant orphanage to see them being fed before they walk down the street past this hotel and into the river where you can have breakfast while looking down at them bathing and frolicking.

Elephants”

Right next to river. Great thing is they bring elephants down early in morning before tourist buses arrive. Got to spend time with elephants & take loads of photos by myself & gave the local guys a tip for it. Was awesome.

Excellent option if u stay in pinnawala”

Can watch the elephants twice a day when they pass going to the river. Can watch elephants bathing from resto and balcony. Can watch earlier the old and sick elephants. The view of the river at all times is superb. Can walk in the stones when not bathing time.

A must visit when in Sri Lanka. ”

We booked 2 rooms but only 1 room had hot water and a working Aircon. The food however was the ebst we had in Sri Lanka. The hotel management team made up for the lack of hot water and AC by providing free of charge an extra room on the day of our departure so we could store our luggae and have alast minute shower for a late afternoon departure. Of the 6 places we stayed in Sri Lanka, this hotel was certainly the best in terms of food, facilities, value for money, customer service and just being a fantastic place to view the elephants bathing in the river by the hotel. I would go back there again and recommend it to anyone.

Hotel with good location to see elephants”

Nice hotel if you come to see elephants! This hotel is located next to elephant shower! Only there is late check in on 4pm, but if you buy some kind ticket, then some time you can do it earlier!

Elephants bathing outside your hotel window”

this was a fairly expensive hotel for our long trip in asia, however, as we saw the elephants bathing and walking to and from the orphanage, and they were in view from the hotel restaurant. the staff were very friendly and helpful, and the food was also quite good.

Absolutely perfect location, great value. ”

The hotel is located on the river exactly where the elephants from Pinnawella Orphanage take their bath. Excellent view from restaurant and balconies. The main entrance to the Orphanage is only 200 m away. Everything was to our liking with this hotel.

Perfect location for a few days with fantastic view and service!”

Every morning the elephants go bathing - so book a room with river view for only a few Euro/ Dollar more. The Service is very kindly and helpful. Rooms a very clean, cozy and comfortable but not extraordinary. The kitchen prepared good food from several regions of the world. Ask for Sri Lankan breakfast the evening before. Thanks for a beautiful stay!

Amazing location!”

beautiful large room with windows opening directly above the river. the view of the elephants was awesome. the restuarant is also situated with the best view of the river where the elephants bathe twice a day. fantastic spot!

Good location for viewing elephants”

Booked four rooms for group 3 very good but one had problems with air conditioning not working which was not attedended to although we stayed two nights . Pinnawella is a little way out and an hours journey frm Kandy and with hindsight I think we would have booked one night and then moved on to Kandy. Breakfast good although second day we had fruit and juices which were not offered first day. Suspect the chef may have changed . It's a small hotel with only 7 rooms and they seem to use the kitchen at their sister hotel next door for evening meals. Limited meal choice in the evening but food was fine. Elephants came down to bathe at 8 for a small group and then 50 plus came down at 10 when most of the tourists arrived and paid to watch..staying at hotel meant no payment and sitting out at breakfast overlooking elephants bathing was good experience. Value for money hotel better than expected.

Beautiful hotel and location.”

great hotel, value for money. it was great to see the elephants bathe every morning just under the hotel. the size of the room was pretty decent. mini bar was a nice touch. however, despite its location, the hotel remained very quiet. we didn't see many people in the restaurant or at the bar. apparently it was fully booked. we did request for the sheets to be changed as it was stained and ripped. the receptionist does need to be trained in customer service. all in all, it is a great hotel and highly recommended.