大象公園飯店(Hotel Elephant Park "Grand Royal Pinnalanda")

Excellent place to view the elephants. Rooms basic.staff very friendly and helpful especially Andrew, the transport manager who went above and beyond to ensure we had a great stay.. I would have liked the menu to have been more varied. We stayed for 5 nights and only ate dinner on 2 of them. Entertainment in the evening was terrible. Otherwise a great choice for seeing the elephants. We would of stayed just one night

We stayed for one night as a family of 4 at the Grand Royal Hotel. We booked 2 rooms facing with balcony facing the river which gave us a brilliant view of the elephants bathing in the river. Hotel staff are friendly and welcoming. Rooms are a well kept and clean however, a little hit and miss with some things not working- TV receiver was not working in one room, remote control was missing from the other room. The housekeeping staff work very hard to keep the rooms clean and front of house is very helpful and friendly. Cons: You have to buy a ticket to the elephant park orphanage to check into your room as the hotel is located near the river where the elephants bathe. This is cleverly timed so that when you check in you will not be told that you have missed the feeding time at the orphanage and the tickets are only valid on the day of purchase. Therefore, if you do want to visit the orphanage the next day, you will have to purchase another ticket. As it is, the hotel gives you access to view the elephant bathing in the river. The hotel has very little control over this as the hotel is not affiliated with the elephant orphanage, which is government run. Perhaps asking for the alternative access route to the hotel may be worth investigating! Some elephant feeding happens here at the river, beware of receiving fruit to feed the elephants from kind strangers as they will then hold you ransom demanding money for the fruit after. My children were upset by the way the elephants were treated. Tourists were climbing on the elephants while they were bathing in the river and there some of them were chained- we were told this was for safety. Having viewed these beautiful creatures in the wild it was quite underwhelming and cruel to see them in this environment. If you would like the unique experience of waking up to elephants in the river from the comfort of your hotel and being close up then this is for you. There is nothing to do in Pinnawala after 4pm. Otherwise you would be better off doing a safari and watching elephants in the wild.

I had an exceptional stay at this hotel! The staff, especially Andrew, went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. From exploring a traditional wedding to bathing with elephants, the experiences offered were unforgettable. The breakfast variety was impressive, the WiFi reliable, and the rooms were spotless.

Con Andrew, tourist coordinator del hotel, el éxito está asegurado . Llegamos y después de hacer el check in nos ofreció hacer un village tour. Alrededor de dos horas al atardecer estuvimos con él visitando los arrozales, la casa del hermano del dueño, el templo budista y recorriendo los caminos. Una persona super agradable, con mucha predisposición que hizo que nuestros primeros momentos fueran inolvidables. La cena y el desayuno riquísimos y con un personal muy atento y agradable. Y por supuesto la ubicación inmejorable para ver los elefantes desde la piscina y disfrutar.

Family holiday and big birthday celebration. A real treat to be able to see the elephants bathing and having breakfast at the same time as you get to enjoy your breakfast. Not forgetting the amazing scenery, bats at sunset filling the sky was a surprise. The most friendly and welcoming people you could ever wish to meet. Most importantly Andrew the tour coordinator who took us on the city tour and allowed us to see the main sites but also a glimpse of village life, local foods and culture. This we can't thank him enough for, it made our stay even better we will definitely be back!

Un hotel muy antiguo y en mal estado de conservación. Habitaciones no muy grandes, con balcón. Limpieza por debajo de la media de Sri Lanka. Sim nevera Con TV y wifi muy deficiente. Muy mala insonorizada, se oía todo lo de alrededor. Cama correcta Baño deficiente. Desayuno tipo bufé con vistas al río y a los elefantes, lo único positivo del hotel. Parking gratis.

Great location for viewing the elephants - totally amazing actually. Nice, clean basic property. Staff super friendly and nothing is too much trouble. Would definitely recommend a stay here, food was great as well.

Rooms and bathrooms are new and comfortable but the rest of the hotel is pretty ugly, looks like an example of north-korean concrete architecture. Dinner was pretty scary, you sit in this dark place (walls are painted black) with a light pointed in your face. Breakfast also nothing special. We had to clean the pool by ourselves and pool itself is located just below the street level and next to it, so passers-by the just stop and stare at you. If you want to see elephants I recommend a nice safri, it is much better and the poor animals are left free,

We absolutely LOVE this hotel! You can enjoy breathtaking views of the Elephants bathing in the Maha Oya. The rooms are large, airy and clean and waking up to the sound of the river was pure bliss. It was such a relaxing holiday and I can’t wait to go back. Tip: Get a river view room in the upper floors - They have a lovely view of the river and surrounding hills. Many thanks to Ms Shalika for assisting us in booking the rooms and making sure our stay was comfortable 😊