Stunning hotel with amazing staff”

We had 4 nights at this wonderful hotel, it really was a pleasure to stay at such an old and amazing hotel steeped in history. The staff are fantastic from the second we arrived to the second we left, every door was opned for you and always greeted with a smile and a good morning or good evening Sir, they literally couldn't do enough for you. The food is great, buffet breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Indian Ocean is a great way to start the day, the private beach is a great place to spend a good few hours, my best experience is the seafood restaurant, amazing food so reasonably priced, I would return just for this restaurant :-) This is my 2nd time in Sri Lanka and it really is the most amazing country to visit, Mount Lavinia Hotel is a must for anyone either travelling around Sri Lanka or just visiting for a short break....a truly wonderful hotel.

a touch of Agatha Christie”

What's not to love about the grand colonial Mount Lavinia Hotel? Every time I stay here I am pulled between the covers of an Agatha Christie colonial adventure and I love it. It's all helped with the splendid uniforms the staff wear, the doorman who insists on opening the door for you, (Ranjith wept as I left - yes, I know, but what is life without flirtatious comedy?) the helpfulness and courtesy of the staff - sometimes under difficult circumstances- and the gorgeous buffet breakfasts. I must mention two of the breakfast staff, although truth to tell I could mention them all, but these two went out of their way : Priyanthi and the 'Princess of Sri Lanka' Lomini., All the rooms are good and I particularly like the Governor's Wing - in keeping with the Colonial feel - but this time we stayed in a beach view and it was fabulous. Go and enjoy olde-world charm and service and dress up to suit the feel of the place. Oh yes, and watch for the weddings, particularly on the week-ends.

Colonial elegance with a poignant love story”

This is our second stay at Mount Lavinia, the first being 16 years ago on our honeymoon! This is a very special place indeed & many people stay here on at the beginning or end of their stay in Srilanka as it’s so conveniently placed about an hour from the airport. The building has so much history & holds a beautiful (but sad) love story which includes a secret tunnel that the staff will show you! My kids loved that & going on a tour of the small museum & the original building including the Governor’s living quarters. The staff are exceptional here., warm, helpful & friendly. We enjoyed an evening seafood cove meal on the beach (choose your fish. & portion size & watch them cook it fresh on the beach!) & an English High Tea by the swimming pool on our last afternoon (sensational). We enjoyed the spectacular views of Colombo & the coastline while sipping our tea feeling very grandeur in the Old Governors Palace. Would dearly love to return again!

Historic Hotel with Great Staff and Facilities”

we chose the mount lavinia as a stopping off point from colombo airport to the south coast. we were not disappointed. we had a lovely room with views over the ocean and gardens. the hotel has a colonial feel, but is more modern than the galle face in colombo. the hotel provided an extra bed for my daughter, but we did not feel overcrowded. bathroom was well provisioned and all facilities worked well. the best feature of the hotel is the lovely terrace, which has sea on two sides, and the excellent buffet. the staff are well trained and very polite. worth a stop over if you are travelling south and don't want the hassle of a 50 minute drive to colombo first.

Possibly the most beautiful hotel we've stayed in”

We stayed here for two nights at the end of the trip and this hotel was perfect. The hotel itself is stunning to look at and the view of the beach and shoreline from the pool and bar area is breathtaking. Being monsoon season, it was beautiful watching the waves roll in and crash on the rocks. The lighting of the palm trees at night and subtle lighting of the hotel is equally as impressive. Our room was spacious, clean and just what we needed after 3 weeks of running around. Room service was great and cable tv appreciated with the cricket on ;) Seaside view was to die for. The private beach is a bit strange but the Mount Lavinia area is a gorgeous suburb feel where you get a taste for Sri Lankan life but away from the hectic nature of the city itself. We didn't make it to the turtle hatchery nearby but that sounded cute as well. Nearby Bixton St Cafe was our favourite though there are many beachfront bars and restaurants to enjoy. In the lobby, the puff pastries are a must and happy hour by the pool from 6-7 a treat, as well. Overall we had a ball here and highly recommend it to anyone considering!

Superb hisoricalblandmark hotel”

travelling with two childrem ( 13 and 8 years old ) we were looking for a nice hotel for the last leg of our trip in Sri Lanka. With private beach, excellent buffet restsurant and attentive staff Mount Lavinia hotel perfectly met our expectations. We are impatient to go back to Sri Lanka and stay again in this hotel which have more than 200 years History. Please note the sea can be rough in this area and you need to watch carefully tge beach flag color. Anyway the hotel beach lifesavers will warn you.

Caring staff, wonderful Sri Lankan food!”

My stay, as usual, was just so relaxing and enjoyable. I believe the standard of service has increased over the years and the staff are all extremely helpful and customer service oriented. The Coco Spa is excellent and relaxing. The Seafood Cove on the beach offers up some delicious fresh seafood rice and curry. The breakfast buffet is excellent with a food choice available for every nationality. I am from Canada but only eat Sri Lankan food when in Sri Lanka and one does not need to go outside of the Mount Lavinia to get virtually every type of food. I was also pleased with the high speed internet wifi available in the room, which work seamlessly. The room is old, but everything worked well and everything was kept in order. I used the laundry service almost every day, and came back just the way I liked. Great hotel that holds sentimental value for me as I have been coming here since 1986.

hotel with character second to none!”

possibly the best hotel to stay at in colombo. theres something magical and ethereal about mount lavinia. it has a perfect blend of history, location, service, food and views. from the time we checked in until we checked out, there hotel took great care of us. they also let me have a late checkout until 7pm!! i mean which hotel lets you do this? their food is absolutely to die for! one of the best buffet sets ive seen.

Best hotel experience I have ever had”

This was my first stay at the famous Mount Lavinia Hotel and I was recommended by a friend. I found the whole experience af this hotel delightful. Warm friendly and helpful staff from the General management all the way down. Wonderful themed restaurants and bars including on the beach and the food is superb! I will return one day and definitely recommend it to my friends and colleagues.

Beautiful Location”

Had a very present stay at the Mount Lavinia hotel. The staff we're incredibly helpful and spoke English well. Breakfast was very good and the restraint and room service was also very good quality. The room was nice with 180 degree view of the ocean. Sunset is something to take not of - very beautiful. Only downfall is there is not anything close by to do - you need to hire a driver for 10,000r per hour to go anywhere or do anything. I would stay here again for sure

Excellent, enjoyable, friendly colonial hotel”

We stayed for 3 days at the start of our 2 week Sri Lanka trip. Could have stayed a fortnight! A hotel with colonial history and character. Uniformed staff with their own policeman in a white uniform and helmet. Breakfast was marvellous every day with a very extensive choice. Great ambience, service, rooms, entertainment, swimming pool etc. Everything good about the Mount Lavinia Hotel!

Mount Lavinia hotel review Sri Lanka”

My sister & I stayed at the Mount Lavinia from 06.12.08 to 12.12.08. It is a wonderful hotel. You arrive to a huge courtyard with a fountain in the middle & the hotel surrounds this are. Our room was in the Bay Wing. The room was on the ground floor & we had a lovelly large balcony too with wonderful sea views.This was great for my sister in particular as she smokes! The staff we found to be very pleasant & always had a smile. The food was excellant & the breakfast buffets were fantastic with a varied & wide choice of both Sri Lankan & western food.

great service”

we stayed 3 nights at mount lavinia. the hotel is located on the beach about 20 mins south of colombo. service was excellent throughout, staff remembering our faces and always friendly, doing more than was asked even on some occasions. i will almost certainly stay here again and would recommend. a word of caution: the hotel isn't modern, and could do with updating a little. for our needs everything was satisfactory.

Great location and view!”

Perfect location on the beach, about 30 minutes (driving) from Colombo and central shopping areas. We stayed on the first floor, and had an incredible view of the Ocean - that was definitely the best part of our stay at Mount Lavinia Hotel. One downside: the area has lots of tourist traps. Would highly recommend taking advantage of the private beach, as there are many locals loitering near the perimeter of the hotel and on the public side of the beach looking to sell anything from coconuts, to paintings, to tours of temples (for a surprise donation at the end, of course!). The breakfast buffet was included in our hotel price, which was nice. The food was delicious and featured many traditional Sri Lankan dishes, fruit, and fresh juices. They also had eggs, waffles, sausages, etc. for those looking for more typical hotel fare. The hotel desk clerks were very friendly, however we unfortunately did not find that they were very helpful. We asked for recommendations on Sri Lankan restaurants nearby and popular shopping areas for clothing, and after several discussions (with several different clerks) they still seemed confused and pointed us to Chinese and Italian food, then a grocery mart for shopping. As a highly rated and popular hotel with English-speaking guests, I am surprised that their staff were not more fluent in the language or prepared to answer these questions. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at Mount Lavinia Hotel and would recommend it for a first trip to Sri Lanka due to its convenient (and beautiful) location.

Heaven awaits you at Mt Lavinia”

A stay at Mt Lavinia is a pleasing to all of your 5 senses! The sound of the waves from the ocean pounding on the beach on your doorstep, the taste and smell of the mouthwatering breakfast buffet, the sight of the unimaginable beautiful coastline and skyline of Colombo, the feel of the great cotton sheets and fluffy pillows and towels and the gorgeous cinnamon smell you inhale when you walk into any of the public washrooms on site all make Mt. Lavinia a 5 sense explosion. Lastly, the beautiful welcome and service you receive from the Mt. Lavinian staff who can’t do enough for you make you feel like a queen. Certainly one of the best hotel experiences I have ever had. I can't wait to return and enjoy a longer stay.

Great”

I stay at this hotel every year and have had a great stay. Nedra the lobby manager to Camillus from governors restaurant along with rest of the restaurant staff and the reception staff and Mr vignesweran and the cleaning staff on 2nd floor to the front door staff gave us such a welcoming helpful service that I will always stay at Mount Lavinia hotel every time. Thank you to all the staff

A real good colonian style hotel, fanstastic stay”

The mount lavinia hotel is a really good one, we spend the last day of our journey there, the staff all friendly and nice, the seafood is terrific (excpet price, lol...). the cove in the sand is also beatiful! The swimming pool is also very good! my wife like it! also you can see many local couples holdig their wedding ceremony here!

Great colonial styled hotel!”

Mount Lavinia hotel is one of the must-stay hotels in Colombo should you be visiting the area. Sitting atop a hill overlooking the beach of Colombo, you can get a pretty good view of the sunset and relax at the private beach. The staffs are friendly and attentive to your needs, which is very important. The breakfast has a good spread and a good view to enjoy your morning. The bad point about my stay was that my neighbor above me was dragging his chair in the wee hours of the night and caused me my sleep.

Fantastic views of the sea and amazing terrace”

We spent 2 nights at the hotel after travelling around Sri Lanka for 3 weeks, it was a brilliant choice, the staff are very friendly and look to assist you anyway they can, from the doorman in his traditional dress to the reception staff for easy check in. We came by train from Galle and the hotel is a 5 minutes walk at a leisurely pace from the train station at Mount Lavinia. We had an amazing sea view balcony room with a large room, the views were amazing every time you looked out of the panoramic windows. We had room service the first night and the food was really good, and came still very hot to our room, we had a meal on the terrace the 2nd night and this was equally impressive and the staff with really good service added to the occasion. The prices are very reasonable for a 5 star hotel and we are travelling so are on a pretty tight budget, so this was good. Its not too far to Colombo and you may as well catch the train there as its literally a 5minute journey and 40rps to boot. The breakfast buffet has plenty of choice for any diner and if you wish ou can enjoy this in our room at no extra charge.

Perfect start and end to the perfect honeymoon.”

The Mount Lavinia Hotel provided us with a beautifully relaxing start and end to our honeymoon in Sri Lanka. We will never forget the afternoon we spent lounging in the pool while live jazz played all around us. It's not the cheapest hotel in Sri Lanka, but if you get the chance to pamper yourself, spend one night in this uniquely colonial relic.