Hotels Near GIRITHALAE JUNCTION in Polonnaruwa

Another guest was checking out on our first morning at Seyara. She took us aside and said: ”you're in for a real treat here, these people will take amazing care of you.” The Australian lady wasn't wrong. Upali and his team were the most thoughtful hosts we came across in a country full of thoughtful and caring hospitality. The assistance they offered with seeing the sites was exactly that - helping us have a great time without a hint of upselling. We did spend a day with Upali's friend Sugash and his tuk-tuk and couldn't have been in better hands. Seyara's cooking staff are also wonderful. While a western breakfast was available, they also offered us a slightly different Sri Lankan breakfast each day of our stay (hoppers with a curry, plus halape/halapa, vadai etc) - it was delicious every time and something we found a bit hard to find at other hotels. Our room was comfortable and clean (and included a mosquito net but no products other than soap). All up, this hotel is incredible value. *We were also lucky enough to see Malabar pied hornbills sitting on the trees besides the pool - I thought they were toucans, but have now learned I was wrong.

After visiting the ancient city, I checked in to the hotel. It is very close to the scenic area, and it is only a 10-minute walk. 570 / night, outdated facilities, rooms are relatively tide, the price difference between the previous night and the Candara Heritage Hotel is only one hundred, but it can not be compared, the cost performance is extremely low, it is not recommended to stay at all. The hotel is built next to a lake. This lake is said to be the largest lake in Sri Lanka. Before booking, I saw some wild elephants drinking water in the morning near the hotel lake, so I booked it without hesitation. I had imagined sitting on the balcony overlooking the lake and eating the noodles of the motherland, but I opened the balcony door and found that I could not see the lake at all, and was covered by the canopy. I ran to the lake in the evening to wait for the elephant to drink water. , The elephant did not come.

MAGICAL!! it's a pity that we had just 1 night to spend in this resort.... it's a place to detox, disconnect, seek within and go on a soul searching journey to connect within yourself! The entire energy of this place is pure! From the way we were greeted with the temple flowers as we were walked down to our little cottage to the natural fragrance in the room with the fresh flowers decorated in all corners of the room, the bed and the washroom.... everything was charming. Wifi was only in the lounge area/common...so you could not stay cooped up in your place all day...n if you happen to go in Jan/Feb, that's just great coz it will get a little pleasantly chilly at late evenings ...n just breathing in that fresh clean air was amazing! The buffet spread includes live cooking counter and is quite varied...not exceptionally varied for vegetarians but overall a good spread. I would love to go back n just be there a few days n slack in the beauty in that still and clear clean quiet. There is also an ayurvedic centre within the premises for those interested.... I would suggest, it's worth a try and the prices are pretty good too.

The hotel is good in all aspects, the service is very good, breakfast and dinner are very good!

I went to the front desk to check in and couldn't find the order. I couldn't find the check-in voucher. I didn't know what the problem was. I waited for a long time and didn't arrange a room for us before continuing to confirm and verify. Ctrip communicated for a long time and still didn't see it They solved it. The service here is worrisome. I don't know what went wrong. After waiting for more than an hour, I finally arranged to stay first, and then I took the check-in form to sign! Breakfast is ordered, English or Sri Lankan. There are supermarkets and restaurants around the hotel, but it is only a slow order to order food here. I ordered a burger and waited for more than an hour. It was not delicious😓

This is not our first stay at the hotel. This was our 3rd or 4th visit and it is the last for sure due to their poor customer handling and management. I must say that our previous stays were fabulous and i have made positive reviews in TripAdvisor for those. However, this time most of the staff are new to us and not so friendly and caring as the ones who were there earlier starting from the front office. They just don't care, I don't know if its because we are local travellers. On the other hand, the ”amberella” welcome drink is awesome as always. We stayed in a Duplex as there were 4 adults and my 9 month old baby. The rooms were clean and spacious. The living area was giving a calming vibe and had the same look as their other villas we have stayes before. Our baby, husband and I were in the upstair room and when we entered the room is was heated up and the air conditioner was not working properly. It was so uncomfortable so we called the front office and they sent a team to repair. It was taking alot of time so we requested for another room as our baby was feeling tired and needed a nap. Plus, they had adequate rooms vacant and even had Duplex category rooms available too. Still, they refused to shift us to another room so we kept the baby in the ground floor room. The repair took around 2 hours! And then we went to the room and the air conditioner was working. Yet, we were not able to have a nap and relax as we had to go out to Anuradhapura which is the main reason for our visit. So we came back at around 9.30pm and the air conditioner was not working again. Again the same drill, a team came, inspected and told us they need to repair again and it was 11.45pm when they said this. We refused because we were already exhausted as needed to sleep. Also, now, at 11.45 at night they are asking us if we can move to another room (Duplex category). They had vacant Duplex category rooms all this time and in the moddle of the night they are asking us to shift. In my head I was bursting but we were all too tired to keep arguing or leaving the useless place so we stayed in the same Duplex room just till morning. Early morning we left the hotel without breakfast eventhough we had paid for full board. They charged us the whole amount and invoiced for the additional food as well as mini bar (just mentioned this if not someone could think that they must've given a discount or wave-off). So we paid almost 500USD just for one night for this drama. We will never go back to this hotel and not at all recommend. I guess the main issue was poor management of the situation and it shows how poor the hotel management is. We were in Duplex 3 (Kohomba). This hotel staff or management will never care about the customer if something goes wrong and lacks hospitality. Afterall, while we were having our breakfast we got a call from the general manager of the hotel and he apologized but I think it is too late as we have already left their property. On the plus side, t