Outdoor pool, pool umbrellas, pool loungers
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Reviews of The Lakeside Hotel at Nuwarawewa

3 out of 5
The Lakeside Hotel at Nuwarawewa
Dharmapala Mawatha, New Town, Near Old Bus Stand, Anuradhapura, North Central

Reviews

7.2

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 11 out of 40 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 10 out of 40 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 10 out of 40 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 7 out of 40 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 40 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

7.6/10

Staff & service

6.0/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

michael

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
This property offered value for money - it was cheap. In its heyday, it must have been a very nice hotel but maintenance has fallen behind over the years. The common areas are fine but the rooms and exterior/grounds are very tired and badly need to be updated. Perhaps the owners can't afford it - there were only 4 guests booked in on the night we stayed.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022

2/10 Terrible

M Tissa

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
What a joke. Booking was on a quarantine hotel.
Absolutely ugly thing hotel.com has done by booking a hotel which is reserved for quarantine travellers. When we reached hotel, hotel staff didn’t allow us to enter as it’s reserved for quarantine people only. What a stupid joke of a service your company has done. We have been stranded without a hotel. You should have not accepted the booking if the hotel is reserved for quarantine people. I will NOT use your service again.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
Room wasn't ready on time and check out also got delayed as only one person at the Service Desk to attend all guests.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Staff & service
The hotel was quiet and in a peaceful setting. Our rooms were very dark as there was bamboo in front of the windows and the first night a huge cockroach joined me in the bathroom. The front desk didn't seem particularly concerned about this when I complained. Communication with staff generally was very difficult due to poor English, a couple of staff members seemed quite pleasant but a lot were indifferent bordering on sullen. We ate at the restaurant both nights - the vegetarian Sri Lankan curry I had the first night was very good but the other dishes were very disappointing. My husband believes he left a wallet with quite a bit of money in it in our room but it wasn't able to be located.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019
Response from GM on 3 May 2019
Dear Guest, we are concerned on your comment and would have appreciated if you could have brought this to our notice while at the hotel where we could have made you more comfortable, as to a wallet which you have mentioned we have not found anything. our apologies for your uncomfortable stay.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property was not at all what we expected, and not at all as described here on Expedia. I would describe it more as an upgraded hostel. There were no tours or assistance with finding tours, as the brochure in the room stated. The front desk lady way over quoted us for a tuk tuk, then later stated that she didn’t. The food was subpar, and the meal we were served (Sri Lankan curry) was not curry at all. We were not comfortable in the facility and so left after only one day even though we paid for 2 days. I would only suggest this place if you just want a place to lay your head, without any amenities.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from GM on 4 Apr 2019
dear guest we will look into your comment

8/10 Good

James

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019
Response from GM on 25 Feb 2019
Thank you for your response

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hôtel, central, very welcoming, helpful and smiling staff.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from GM on 19 Jan 2019
Thank your for taking your valuable time to share your experience with us

8/10 Good

Regina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Spotless, comfortable with great customer service
we stayed at the hotel on NYE so we partook in the hotel’s special gala dinner. It was a buffet but very well catered with a great variety of Sri Lankan and western food which was freshly made, regularly replenished and delicious. We have loved the local cuisine on our trip but it was a treat to have fresh salads, smoked salmon and readymade flambé desserts. The breakfast was also a buffet. Not your average buffet - everything was fresh and tasty! The room was compact but comfortable. The bathroom was quite small but like the room, spotless and functional. Hot water, ac, good WiFi and very helpful and attentive staff. Great value for money and in a lovely location close to town but next to a lake with peace and quiet.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018
Response from thilini on 4 Jan 2019
We are pleased to know that you had enjoyed your stay at this hotel . Our team takes note of your satisfaction on our service and meals e.t.c . We all welcome you back to spend a few more nights on your next visit to Anuradhapura. Thank you.

8/10 Good

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Good mid-range choice
Great pool and nice surroundings. Breakfast very good but leftovers are clearly used for lunch and dinner. Much better choices away from the hotel to eat however hotel itself fine for bed and breakfast.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018
Response from GM on 26 Dec 2018
Dear Valued Guest, we appreciate you valuable comments however we wish to state that we do not recycle our food, this is a policy that we maintain. we are happy to hear that you have enjoyed your stay with us.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Free bikes
We stayed a couple of nights and enjoyed using the hotel’s free bikes to cycle round the old town. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was okay, nothing spectacular. Room was good.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from GM on 9 Aug 2018
we are happy that you have enjoyed your stay at the hotel

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Formal, professional, courteous welcome
Very warm and formal Sri Lankan welcome. Staff very friendly and eager to please. We had booked one room, a triple, pre-paid through Hotels.com, but another person joined us late in our trip planning, so we had to book a whole second room. (Son's new girlriend.) Rate was higher for that second room, but not obscenely more, which was nice. (And the staff was very apologetic for this.) Advantages: Hotel provides driver accommodation. Food (the breakfast buffet with Sri Lankan and Western choices) is outstanding. Pool shows its age, but it clean and pleasant. Free use of bikes to ride around the sacred sites in Anuradhapura or along the nicely graveled bank of the wewa (artificial lake/tank) on which hotel is situated. We did this at sunset and it was lovely. Disadvantages: extremely poor wi-fi. We were happy by and large to be out of touch with the rest of the world, but one does need to check things from time to time, or obtain information about, e.g., restaurants or sightseeing. It was a primitive web-login based system that frequently disconnected and got slower the longer you were connected until connection to pages timed out. The hotel should fix this. Also, shower water took 15 minutes to warm up. That's not a deal-breaker, by any means, as the rooms were pleasant and the whole experience nice. Because of its formal professionalism amongst the staff, the hotel has a "colonial" feel even if the decor reminded my of the 1970s.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018
Response from GM on 19 Mar 2018
Dear Guest, We thank you for taking your valuable time in sharing your experience at the hotel. we are pleased that you have enjoyed our services apart from the WI-FI. we are upgrading the wifi system and before the end of this month the new system would be up and running

6/10 Okay

Jonathan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great Value, Great Staff, Excellent Food
Great staff, excellent food, decent accommodations. Wifi Awful!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2018
Response from Jan on 7 Mar 2018
Dear Guest we are happy that you have enjoyed the services of our hotel

6/10 Okay

prabash, sri lanka

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Good, but one who manage the room shairing is not done her job perfect. other than that is ok.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Response from NW on 10 Jan 2018
Thank you for taking your time to share your experience with us, we will make sure that we will put things right ASAP

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Good Hotel
Overall good, but please make sure to ask for clean towels. They have given us very dirty looking towels.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017
Response from Manager on 12 Dec 2017
Dear Valued guest, we are sorry that you had being given discoloured towels, we ensure that this will not happen again Regards Jan

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Way too expensive for the experience
A decidedly mixed experience. Comfortable room, friendly staff, great food, and arranged an excellent tour of the ancient city. But hot water was out two days and the safari they arranged for us was very disappointing: the tracker spoke almost no English and seemed pretty disinterested in looking for animals. On top of that there was a band playing so loud one afternoon, the room windows were rattling. Multiple requests to turn down the vilume were ignored.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2017
Dear Guest we are extremely sorry that you were not happy with the safari, which we have taken note of the vehicle you used, we have taken all measures that there will be no noise pollution regards Jan

4/10 Poor

Danielle

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dinner Buffet Food Was Cold
The hotel was fine, I guess, but we cut our stay early. The pool was nothing special, the rooms weren't as clean as they could be, and all the food (even the things that are normally served hot) were cold. We won't be going back.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2017
Dear valued Guest, we regret that you were not happy of the services provided, if it would have being that you had informed us which at the hotel we could have made the change in making your stay comfortable. we apologize for the inconvenience caused. regards Jan

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Phenomenal service, excellent food, and a lovely hotel.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2017
Dear Valued guest, we that you for taking the trouble to write some inspiring notes of the hotel which I am sure would boost the moral of the staff, looking forward to see you one again at the hotel. regards Jan

6/10 Okay

Emily, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Ok place to stay when you're templed out
This hotel is perfectly decent for a night or two. The room was comfortable although the water pressure was a bit variable. The pool is nice and you can see the lake from the poolside. Staff were polite and helpful. My partner left her watch at a previous hotel and the lady on reception rang a couple of places and arranged to have it sent on to our next place. They could do with someone meeting you on arrival and there are were lots of little flies on the food at the buffet. If I stayed again I'd probably eat out but all in all a decent place to stay when you've seen enough temples and stupas!
Response from Manager on 17 Feb 2017
Many thanks Emily for taking the time to write your experience with surely when your next back your suggestions will be in place

10/10 Excellent

Anne-Marie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

Annette

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Convenient, comfortable
A pleasant and comfortable hotel. Pool fine, massage good. Little English spoken, no local area information given. Alacarte restaurant for lunch, buffet breakfast and dinner. Food fine.
Response from General Manager on 17 Feb 2017
we thank you for taking the time to give us your feed back and we are happy that you were happy with what we had to offer

10/10 Excellent

anthony, sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
comfortable stay
excellent hotel sad we had only one day. easy reach of town centre, ancient temples and royal ruins
Response from GM on 17 Feb 2017
We are happy that you have enjoyed your stay with us

8/10 Good

kez

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Well worth a visit
Excellent staff and service, a lovely atmosphere and amazing food. Room was good, could of been a bit cleaner. The balcony over looking the grounds was lovely. My only complaint was the strange goings on, on the lane adjacent to the hotel and lake and the same 4 songs playing on repeat the whole stay Apart from that highly recommended
Response from GM on 19 Feb 2017
we thank you for taking the trouble to write your review of what you have experienced and would take all necessary measure to look into the music

8/10 Good

Suzanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Would Recommend
Good location. Friendly, helpful staff and a good restaurant. Also a pleasant swimming pool

10/10 Excellent

Nicholas, Norwich, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Really comfortable and excellent food
Excellent food, grateful waiting staff. Wine naturally expensive but good I understand hotel updated, lovely rooms (nice curtains)

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Room not ready on arrival. Didn't have our confirmation from hotels. Reservation. Our room was not stocked with enough towels, soap, etc. Also, very bad mosquito infestation in lobby area. Had to request spray& mosquito coil to deter. Finally had to leave area. Unfortunately lobby was only place to access wifi.

8/10 Good

Karim

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
En demi-teinte
Chambre peu lumineuse, piscine pas nettoyée, salle de bain sans eau froide, pas de couette ou couverture d’appoint en chambre... ce sont les points négatifs. Néanmoins, les vélos gratuits sont un gros plus, le restaurant est excellent, le personnel est très agréable et à l’écoute, l’emplacement au bord d’un lac est calme, mais aussi juste à côtés des bus vers Negombo/Colombo et du petit centre-ville ville avec quelques boutiques et restaurants tout en restant à une dizaine distance raisonnable des ruines et temples... Donc plus qu’acceptable pour une courte durée.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from GM on 24 Apr 2019
We thank you for taking the time to update us on our shortcomings which we will take all measures to see that nothing of this nature happens in the future

10/10 Excellent

Eddine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018
Response from gm on 19 Jan 2019
Thank you for your response

8/10 Good

skategirl

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
お手頃価格の2つ星ながら必要最低限は揃っており滞在には問題ないです。南部へのインターシティバスターミナルにも一番近いホテルでその点も便利。 ただ排水溝が全て下水直結なのか、蓋が開いた状態だと臭います。プッシュ式で開閉出来るので排水の必要がない時は閉めておきましょう。
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

2/10 Terrible

Sai-hung

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
差劣的接待
這是我經歷接待最差的酒店，事源訂了三間雙人房，但酒店告訴只是單人房，並要求以門市價錢補償，比訂房價更高（訂房 USD 40,要補償 USD 70）我們要求可否以網上價錢補償，但受到堅決拒絕。唯有要求和他們經理商量，但這位先生態度極端惡劣，拒絕彈性處理更指責我們是存心欺騙，我們十分憤怒並要求道歉，他知道自己說錯了願意只需補償 USD 18，事情終於解決，但心中不快仍揮之不去。
Response from Gm on 2 May 2018
Dear Guest, this seems to be very unfortunate as the booking that you had made was for 3 single rooms as was mentioned in the Voucher. but you had insisted that it should have being doubles which was not what you had booked for. as agreed with all booking engines we are unable to offer the published the published rates over the counter which the gentleman had quite rightly done. therefore i do not think that there was anything wrong in the rates offered.

10/10 Excellent

Michel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018
Response from gm on 19 Mar 2018
Thanks for your comment

8/10 Good

W.

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nicht Superior-Zimmmer buchen!
Die uns vor Ort gezeigten Superior-Zimmer lagen im Souterrain, waren dunkel und hatten unmittelbar vor dem Fenster eine Stützmauer. Nach Zahlung eines Aufpreises konnten wir dann ein schönes Zimmer beziehen.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Jan on 7 Mar 2018
Dear Guest, we are happy at the end of the day you were happy with the room upgrade.

10/10 Excellent

Reinhard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sehr angenehmer Aufenthalt
Uns hat alles sehr gut gefallen. Ich verstehe die teilweise zurückhaltenden Kritiken nicht. Wir waren 4 Nächte sehr gerne dort und würden gerne wiederkommen.
Response from Jan on 7 Mar 2018
Dear Guest, we are happy to hear that you have being happy of what we had to offer you, we trust that the next time when you visit Sri Lanka you would stay with us.

10/10 Excellent

Fabio, Torino

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pulito e confortevole
L'hotel è ben situato, le camere sono pulite funzionali e ben equipaggiate. La colazione è ricca e il personale è gentile e disponibile
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Jan on 7 Mar 2018
Dear Guest, we thank you for taking he time to share your experience you had in the hotel and we are looking forward to see you once again when you visit Sri Lanka

6/10 Okay

Masaki

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Renting a bike and getting around
hotel is just acceptable. Buffet(breakfast/lunch) are just fine. Facility is a bit old but close to the lake as it's said in the hotel name and renting a bike and riding along the lake is super nice. Almost forgot to say that wifi network is very week in the room.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018
Response from GM on 24 Jan 2018
Dear Guest we thank you for taking the time to share your experience at the hotel and will take necessary steps to put things right GM

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
バスルームがとても生臭く、部屋の中にヤモリがいて、宿泊場所を変更しようかと思うほどでした。 掲載されている写真はかなりよく写っています。実際は清潔感がありませんでした。 朝食は美味しく、スタッフはフレンドリーでその点はよかったです。また、駅とバスターナルから近く、立地は良いです。
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Response from NW on 10 Jan 2018
Dear Guest, we thank you for taking the time to let us know your experience in the hotel, we have taken note of your comments and would rectify all shortcommings

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Très simple et peut mieux faire
Beau cadre et staff "gentil" mais les points positifs s'arrêtent là. Hotel des années 60 à bout de souffle. Propre mais tout fait vieillot. Petit dej peu appétissant.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Dear Guest, we thank you for taking the time to share your experience at the hotel

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
湖畔の高級ホテル
値段は高いが、バス停からの立地は良い。。。。、 部屋はやや狭め。。。。。 対応は普通。 このクオリティならもう少し安くしてほしいと思いました。。。 湖畔から近く、あさは散歩をしました。 朝食は西洋スタイル。 夜8時までプールに入れました。

10/10 Excellent

Gerben

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Locatie goed voor fietstocht, eten goed
Goed westers eten, locatie perfect voor fietstocht Anuradhapura Sacred City!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
清潔なホテル
とても快適に過ごせました。汗だくでホテルについた時には、冷たいジュースをいただき本当においしく感じました。
Response from General Manager on 17 Feb 2017
we thank you for you valuable comments which is always helpful to us for further improvements

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unhappy stuff, dated interior. Not well maintained at all. Breakfast is meager unless there is a group. Room was it cleaned until asked.