Name: Hotel Pinnalanda
Address: B199 Rambukkana, Rambukkana, Sri Lanka, Pinnawala, Pinnawala, Pinnawala, 71100, Sri Lanka
Rating: 8

Shopping on site

Air conditioning

Currency exchange

Gift shop

Garden

General

Room service

Cable TV

Minibar

Flat-screen TV

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Wardrobe/Closet

Rooms

Laundry

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Airport transportation

Car rental

Transfer

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Free parking nearby

Free Parking on Premises

Parking

Meeting and presentation facilities

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Polgolla Reservoir Airport

Castlereigh Reservoir Waterdrome

Bandaranaike International Airport

Hotel Pinnalanda

Pinnawala

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

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.

Hotel with grate view

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.

Great Views & Staff!

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. 

Iconic start to our Sri Lankan holiday. 

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 !

Magical Place

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.

July 2022, 1 night stay

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

Just dont

Good location and very inexpensive. Bring your own shampoo however as they only provide basic bars of soap. Room has air-con and small balconies. Bathroom was neat and modern-ish. Comfortable and reasonable. The Sri Lankan breakfast is a must. I'd stay here again if I need a basic but clean well appointed room for 1-2 nights.

Good basic, inexpensive hotel

We spent one night at the Hotel Pinnalanda, Pinnawala. It is a family-friendly hotel with the essentials. Whilst the facility is rather basic, it is easy to overlook this with the amazing view of the elephants that the hotels offer their guests. The view of the river and the elephants in the morning was breathtaking - all this from the comfort of your balcony in the hotel room. The staff were extremely welcoming and hospitable and while the dinner options in the restaurant were limited, the staff were accommodating and willing to prepare something special (not on the menu). We were unable to use to the pool due to ongoing renovations at the time of our stay, however, from what we observed, the pool offered a breathtaking view of the elephants in the river - this would most certainly be an incredible alternative to viewing the elephants from your balcony. In summary, a pleasant family-friendly basic hotel that provides a fantastic elephant viewing experience at Pinnawala.

Note: we were somewhat displeased to see some of the elephants at Pinnawala with chains on their feet. On inquiring about this, we were told that these were elephants that were in the process of being domesticated and that the chains would be removed after a few months. The accuracy of this statement is unverified; however, we did see a significant number of wild elephants (without chains) bathing in the river.

Amazing view of elephants by the river

I have stayed there a few times; the Staff was friendly and good enough. The rooms and bathroom were clean, and the bed is comfortable So I can recommend this to you! Few steps to Pinnawala elephant orphanage and zoo.
My rating 9/10

Great, can recommend for you

It is very clean and nice room, washrooms also very clean. Well maintained. Foods are also ok. 

This is situated in front of pinnawala elephant orphanage. Staff also friendly. You will have a buffet at ground flow resturant, with few varieties. 

Hotel Pinnalanda

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