We asked for a room on a high floor , quiet room and a bath? 1st room was scruffy, no bath and next to the kids? swimming pool, eventually we ended up in a suite on the second floor , it was quiet, no views, pity, and had a whirlpool bath. It was clean and the bed comfortable. Food is great if you like curry which my husband does and enjoyed very much. I had been ill on my journey and staff were kind enough to let me have a cheese omellette. Staff are really good at their jobs. We went on the hotels elephant ride which as it progressed we hated with a passion as the elephant was bullied into going where it didnt want to . The man in charge of the elephant hit it with a wooded stick and the poor beast quviered. This animal was being exploited the other end of the stick had a medieval metal spike which he jabbed under the elephants chin so that it would pose for pictures.

We stayed here 2 nights 26th and 26th oif Decemeber

Our rooms were fine and the beds comfy but the sheer size of the hotel off putting.When you went in the dining room it was like and aircraft hanger Massive and had nothing special about it.The noise and kids running round were awful.

Food was buffett and not bad but the servce was dreadful.Badly trained staff hanging round talking and not working!

The setting was amazing and having a shower while monkeys watched you was the "boot on the other foot"

The design of the hotel was a Bawa one and intresting.The front desk staff were very sweet and helpful.

A Tip lock the room door and check it as the Monkeys trashed our room and took shoes ,pills and suntan lotion! So if you go there and see a monkey with red shoes and a great sex drive its that one that stole my HRT!

We checked twice by phone that they had accommodation for a driver and guide. When we arrived with a female guide they advised us that they only had male accommodation (we did not have this problem in other hotels). We were asked to pay full price for a double room plus the season supplement (even though they had empty rooms) for our guide!!!!!!!!! This was about 8pm so we had no option but pay though we did get a bit of discount when the duty manager phoned the general manager in Colombo!!!!

We had read so many good things about the Kandalama Hotel that we were expecting an elegant experience. The hotel itself is actually a little disappointing given all of the build up. The suite that we had provided a comfortable bed for us, but a poor quality roll away bed for our son. He ended up moving the thin matress to the floor in order to be more comfortable. The sitting room had two couches, but neither was particularly comfortable to sit on.

The scenery and environment surrounding the hotel is splendid. It is truly a remarkable experience to shower or bathe at the Kandalama. The bathroom is constructed with a wall of glass overlooking the tank. Macaque monkeys suddenly wonder in front of the window as if you are the exhibit at the zoo. The macaques are everywhere. If you are not on your guard, they will stroll up to your table on the verrandah and steal your food (this happened to my wife).

My real problem with the Kandalama is that it is a larger hotel than I like on a vacation - this is my problem, not the hotel's. The impact of the size, however, was felt in the dining. The main dining room is a cavernous room in which only buffets are served. It is noisy, smokey (especially when they are grilling food) and incredibly crowded. At breakfast, it felt as though dozens of tour buses had pulled up and deposited their passengers at the buffet. I don't enjoy buffets as all of the food is prepared in industrial proportions. Accordingly, it tends to lack any subtelty. There is a fine dining alternative for dinner, which we did opt for on one evening. While the food at the fine dining restaurant was actually very good, the service was painfully slow. It took us over three hours to be served a three course meal.

Overall, it is worth going to see the hotel, but I think I would prefer to stay elsewhere next time.