Hotel Topaz
On top of a hill overlooking the town, Topaz has 75 rooms, most with air-con...
On top of a hill overlooking the town, Topaz has 75 rooms, most with air-con...
A massive, mostly package-tour resort beside the Mahaweli Ganga, 5km west of the town centre, the Citade...
Hats off to the architects for making the most of Amaya Hills’ perfect location...
A five-minute walk off Peradeniya Rd, the Hilltop has 81 colourful rooms, great views over the town and ...
There are no lake views at this modern guest house up the road from the train station, but the rooms are...
Designer chic rooms in chocolate tones and grey slate incorporate a riverside location with a breezy lobby and poolside bar at one of Kandy’s nicest package-tour resorts.
With a breezy, colonial style, lots of period furniture, and pristine black-and-white art deco bathrooms, the Stonehouse Lodge has the refined ambience of a members-only private club.
One of the cluster of good guest houses up Saranankara Rd, Lakshmi is a slightly cheaper option from the owners of Palm Garden.
Lots of potted plants, balconies with views and the opportunity to share the living areas with the guest-house owners give Expeditor a cosy bed-and-breakfast feel. It’s a good contact for trekking.
Dotted with antiques, and with stunning views over a secluded arc of the Mahaweli River, Villa Rosa is the kind of place you’d build if you moved to Sri Lanka.
This new hilltop place may look like an overdesigned apartment building, but the spacious rooms still have that crisp and clean ‘just been built’ ambience. This is the tropics though, so it is to be seen how long it would last.
This spot could easily charge loads more for the stupendous lake views. Instead they focus on a relaxed family atmosphere, spotless rooms and perhaps Kandy’s best balcony for the essential end-of-the-day combination: a good book and a cold drink.
The Pink House is a throwback to the old days of overland travel. Tony Wheeler actually stayed here when he was researching the first Lonely Planet Sri Lanka guide.
Well located near the lake and town centre, the local YMBA offers 32 basic rooms (only six with attached bathroom) in a three-storey building. There's a small, inexpensive cafeteria on the premises.
Golden View Rest. This large, multistoreyed family-owned house offers nine very clean, quiet rooms, Chinese food, email access, a quaint Ayurveda treatment room and even a piano for guest use.
Ambience and location are the key reasons for checking in here. The Queens Hotel has an array of old-school rooms with charming floral decor, shiny polished floorboards, and a lobby that’s big enough for a one-day cricket match.
This former pilgrims’ guest house, still the cheapest place to stay in Kandy, has six basic rooms downstairs with shared bathrooms – no running showers, just small plastic buckets.
It’s not quite the ‘highest view’ – that honour probably goes to the McLeod Inn – but the views are pretty good. Pastel-coloured rooms, quiet shared areas, and a spacious restaurant and bar add up to a good choice on winding Saranankara Rd.
Down a quiet lane and with lake views, this guest house is run by a Sri Lankan-Japanese husband-and-wife team. Bring your diary up to date in the spacious lounge area before retiring to the spotless rooms.
One of Kandy’s longest established guest houses and still one of the best. Excellent views, art deco styling, and nine scrupulously clean rooms decorated with Sri Lankan arts and crafts add up to a relaxing place to stay.
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