We have just returned from a holiday in Sri Lanka where we spent 3 nights at the wonderful Cinnamon Lodge (formerly The Lodge) at Habarana. From our first view of the outdoor reception area with it's colonnaded facade we knew that this would be a good place to stay. Accomodation is in lodges dotted around extensive grounds situated adjacent to a lake. We spent the first afternoon lazing by the pool and watching the monkeys frolicking in the trees surrounding the lake. During our stay we were also lucky enough to see a land lizards, water monitors, mongoose and a variety of beautifully coloured birds. The service and staff are wonderful and for those of you who like desserts their is a whole cool room dedicated to those with a sweet tooth.
Also for those of you who like a little culture to go with your wildlife this hotel is a perfect base for visiting the ancient Sri Lankan capital of Anaradhupura and the rock fortress of Sigirya.

Three generations of our family stayed at the Habarana Lodge last Easter, and there was something magical there for all of us. Grandma loved the peace and serenity, the birds and the beautiful vista across the lake. The kids loved the elephants, monkeys in the trees, and the brilliant pool. My husband and I just felt it was a really special place, it reminded us of colonial Africa, oddly enough!
The service was excellent, the food was great, the accommodation was lovely, especially having a duplex colonial villa just for us. Each morning we ventured out for an excursion, the Sigiriya Rock is utterly sensational, and then every afternoon we just chilled by the pool. We would return to Sri lanka just to go back there.

I had stayed 2 nights at the Habarana Lodge 10 years ago as part of a tour of Sri Lanka, and it was one of the highlights then. Well, it didn't disappoint when I went back this year!

It feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, the rooms are in little buildings (our room covered the entire top floor of the two storey building, with terraces on both sides, and there was another room below us), it's so quiet and peaceful, the bar is lovely, the buffet fantastic (apart from the usual "Western" food, there is a fine selection of local Sri Lankan food - of course toned down for us delicate Westerners but still faaantastic!). I really can't fault it.

The rooms are huge, they have aircon, a mini-bar (we had to order the key from reception - maybe they'd seen us coming..!), a TV, seating area. All very pretty. The bathroom is clean and normal-sized.

When we went in September 2006 a whole section (incl where I stayed in 1996) was closed off for refurbishment, but we heard no building noise (mind you, we were out most of the day). Don't know when it will be finished or whether there are certain rooms that might be affected by noise - might be worth checking. Also, we were told by one of the bar staff that the hotel will reopen with a different name in the future - I think he said Cinnamon Lodge or something like that. As long as it remains as pretty, peaceful and pleasant, I'll certainly be back.

Stayed at this hotel for 2 nights whilst touring around Sri Lanka. This was the 1st hotel on our tour and we weren't disappointed. The grounds of this hotel are lovely and the lodge style rooms are equally as nice. The rooms were big and clean and staff in the hotel were very friendly and always willing to help. If you aren't a fan of creepy crawlies then this probably isn't the hotel for you. There is a fair amount of wildlife at this hotel due to the grounds it is set in compared to other hotels we stayed in. It was a common occurance to have monitor lizards sitting outside the rooms, monkeys around the pool and the odd snake slithering past you on the pavement but we feel this added to the hotel's charm. The evening buffet was really nice serving traditional food as well as western style cooking and then after dinner there was a nice cozy bar downstairs to relax in. If i ever went back to Habaranna i would definitely stay in this hotel again as opposed to any others we saw in the area.