Mahaweli Reach

Sri Lanka , Kandy
KANDY, P.B.A.Weerakoon Mawatha, 35
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

30 Dec 2025

Joseph

Rooms was spacious and clean, staff was excellent and breakfast and dinner was excellent

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Nov 2025

Paul

It was not quite what I expected. It was not 5 star by US standards, but it was ok. The mosquitoes were a bit much- having them in our bedroom and bathroom was annoying, but the staff did their best to help. Overall, it was ok, probably one of the better hotels in Kandy.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Jul 2025

Don

The only negative thing is the bathroom tub. It is quite slippery due to the sloped area right after the sliding door entrance. My wife slipped and fell.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Mar 2025

Katharine

It's a beautiful hotel with lots of character and the bar / dining area is lovely but the rooms are tired

Partner

4/10

Poor

11 Dec 2024

Steve

The same Sri Lankan hospitality and attention to detail we received all over Sri Lanka was not present. Rooms haven’t been updated and bugs and insects everywhere. Meal standard was pretty low

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Oct 2024

Devaka

A family owned hotel with old world charm but with all the modern amenities. Lovely river views. Friendly helpful staff. Great place to stay.

Business Self

4/10

Poor

31 Dec 2023

Nguyet

Disappointing stay!

This is not a 5 star hotel. Porter were not available on arrival to assist with lugguage. Overall, hotel need a refurbishment as it is tired. We were given a accessible room, and when we have a shower the whole toilet was flooded - a plastic curtains was the shower door. Towels were old and smell. Room also smell damp and moulded. We could hear the people in thr next room and anyone walking in the corridor. We checked in at around 4pm amd checked out at 8am - not an inviting hotel that you want to hang around.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

30 Dec 2023

Janelle

Does not live up to its 5* rating but staff very friendly. Buffet only average in terms of quality and choice.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

13 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

Avoid at all costs

Avoid at all costs.

Pros: Service at the spa and restaurant was good.

Cons: Old hotel, old furniture, mattress was hard and has that little ledge on the edges, like your parents mattress from 40yrs ago. Sheets were tired, I felt disgusting lying there and thankful that it was only 1 night. Air con was not effective.

Poor service and communication. When I checked in, I asked for a late checkout, they agreed 12pm and wrote it down. At 11.30 the next day they called, asking why I hadn’t checked out. I told them I had a late check-out which should be in their system, and can they send someone up in 5mins to take my bags. No one came.

When I checked in, I asked would there be a spa menu. They said yes it is in the room. It wasn’t in the room, I called reception, they told me to call the spa, the spa told me to ask reception. Seriously, get your act together guys, I want to spend money at the spa and you don’t even want it.

The guy at reception told me contradictory hours for the spa service times.

Service wise- whenever I had to sign something, they put it in front of me and didn’t say a word- never experienced such rudeness at a hotel.

It was a horrible stay and when I checked out, the lady asked how my stay was. I told her that I was disappointed, and the reasons why.

Then to sort my payment, she directed me to another lady (whom I thought was more senior), who didn’t say a thing or ask how my stay was, simply printed the invoice for signing.

Self

8/10

Excellent

19 Feb 2020

Nihal W.

Good food and great service,

Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

The Mahawell Reach Hotel was a welcome respite after many hours of driving. Large comfortable rooms with all the usual 4 star hotel inclusions. Great bed. The shower was over the bath and quite deep so if you have mobility issues I would recommend asking for a room with separate shower. The breakfast was the usual but nice buffet style (excellent omelette). We stayed two nights and this hotel was good.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

03 May 2019

Verified traveler

The setting overlooking the Mahaweli River is simply beautiful. Lovely sunsets!

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

05 Mar 2019

ARUN

great hotel and location

great hotel and location

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Nice amenities, far from anything fun , okay to chill on the property

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2018

Verified traveler

The staff was very welcoming and helpful, we had our itinerary discussed and we also learned about the places we could visit in a better way.
Cleanliness and maintainance 10/10
Very Polite staff
The menu can be

8/10

Excellent

05 Nov 2018

Verified traveler

lovely staff.... tired hotel but still good

Staff were lovely. Hotel is old. public areas like the pool are gorgeous. rooms are tired but big. Walls are very thin and can hear everything.

Breakfast was mediocre.

Easy to get tuk tuk to town.

Staff are fantastic

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Oct 2018

Pratap

All excellent

Family

8/10

Excellent

05 Oct 2018

Simla

Kandy property not the best but city is awesome 👏

Property is very average and our room had to be changed as the shower was broken .. would not recommend this property to anyone .. they have river cruise which was very depressing :-((

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2018

Mario

Really great service from all the staff.

Family

8/10

Excellent

08 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Great place to stay

Great comfortable stay at this hotel about 3 km outside Kandy but be aware the roads are very busy so can take a while to get into town

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2017

Ahmed

Amazing Hotel & Awesome Staff!

We absolutely love this hotel! The hotel itself if amazing and the staff were exceptional. Ask for Damith, he is an amazing person with a lot of attention to detail. We strongly recommend this hotel to everyone. We stayed here one night only and we should have booked at least two nights. Wonderful hotel, amazing food selection between all the hotels we stayed at in Sri Lanka. Very well done, good job to everyone!

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2017

Ross

Beautiful gardens and swimming pool. Fantastic food. Attentive, friendly staff.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Apr 2017

Richard

Good location on the river

Lovely location on the river, a little away from the centre of Kandy but only a short tuc tuc ride so no real problem.
Very good buffet breakfast & evening meal. Pity there was no beer over the New Year period!

10/10

Exceptional

15 Apr 2017

Ijaz

5 star hotel by the longest river in Sri Lanka

Hotel located in a scenic area (had some time locating it as decided to drive on my own) but wouldn't be a problem if one hires a local taxi. Hotel staff were very courteous right from the reception till the house keeping / engineering staff.

Food was awesome (at least to me) as I gorged myself on Sri Lankan food - sea food, hoppers, rotis, sambols, etc simply put a wide variety of international and Sri Lankan food.

Lots of things to do - boat rides, swim in the pool, visit the historical botanical gardens located a few kilometres away, visit the heritage sites (Dalada Maligawa - Lord Buddha's relics are kept and venerated by the Buddhists) and lots more.

Certainly was a change from the humid weather one found in Colombo and the towns we visited on the coast - Galle, Kalutara etc.

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to all my friends.

Keep up the good work of and all the best,

Regards Ijaz

2/10

Poor

27 Jan 2017

Howard

Refused to honor reservation

Would not let us through the gate. We had paid in full through Orbitz. They couldn't find it. We asked if they had a room. They said yes but we could not have it because all arrangements had to go through Colombo. We had driven 4 hours from Kandy and they left us without a place to stay. AND THEY HAD A ROOM!@!!

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jan 2017

gurhan33

Paradise

Although i checkek all reviews i was not expecting sort of warm welcome and kind servie shown during our stay
From the reception to house keeping,from the bar to resturant, feom the concierge to spa bali massage all excelent left there with good
Memories thank you all

4/10

Poor

16 Nov 2016

G L F

Older hotel needs renovation. Beds are very hard. Lots of Asian tour groups and large weddings take over hotel. Too far from town. Expensive food and drink. Service ok, but very slow. Spa was excellent but expensive. Beautiful flowers around pool. Would stay somewhere else next time.

4/10

Poor

15 Nov 2016

DLMR

Let down

Nice hotel- beautiful landscape. Focused on Asian tour groups. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for our stay and we were forced to eat in their conference center for breakfast and dinner. Construction noise at pool during day. All that dampened our stay. Hotel is far from Kandy center. would choose another hotel next time.

8/10

Excellent

02 Oct 2016

Verified traveler

Good, but no view
The bathroom was not clean
Bedsheet not clean

8/10

Excellent

14 Jun 2016

Verified traveler

Excellent hotel in Kandy (not in downtown),

Good hotel on the river with a good restaurant. The fitness center was a bit run down, but the rest of the hotel and the staff was excellent. Good price.

8/10

Excellent

02 Mar 2016

Michael

Remedy was forthcoming.

Had a very uncomfortable first night but for the next the room was upgraded which solved the problems. Pity they didn't fix the aircon and hot water in the room before giving it to me on arrival

Partner

4/10

Poor

09 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

Overpriced and falling apart!

for the price this hotel is exorbitant and does not meet the standards expected of even a 3 star hotel. the bed linen had holes and the walls and the beadings were all falling apart. The wifi worked only outside in the swimming pool area. I have enough pictures to support this.

Overall, I would select this hotel if i had no other choice which happened to be the case in point for us.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

14 Jan 2016

Anthony

A little far from everything

The hotel is to far from all the attractions that Kandy has to offer. Even though the other hotels are not as nice, they would be better for time management. My girlfriend and I both got food poisoning from the restaurant at lunch time and that ruined the night and most of the next day. I'm sure that doesn't happen often but when it does it is not good.

6/10

Pleasant

30 Dec 2015

Chen

Don't like the services

The place is well located near the river in a quiet location - far from the city centre. The services are terrible though

Family

6/10

Pleasant

28 Dec 2015

Steve

Old colonial charm with nice staff but dirty

This is my fist time to Sri Lanka and you are not sure what to expect. However, you do expect a room to be clean and tidy and in good repair. This is a hotel with lots of staff and there are lots of good points that should be noted. Kandy is in the centre of Sri Lanka and a good spot to stay, the hotel has 11 employed drivers which can safely take you on excursions. If you like classic cars there are lots on display to look at. The Ceylon Spa is very good. The breakfast and diner good. The hotel did get taken over by a huge wedding, which on one side was nice to see, but did overrun the hotel. The rooms were also quite large. The hotel has lots of old charm and hospitality but the rooms were not clean and the hotel needs to be refurbished about 10 years ago. An annoying thing is that you ask one memeber of staff and you get one answer, ask another and you get another. You end up having to ask lots of people to try and work out what is correct. I wish the staff would simply say that they don't know the answer rather than giving you their opinion !!

10/10

Exceptional

28 Dec 2015

Traveler

Great outdoor area to relax

Definitely more than 4 stars, it's better than another hotel I stayed in that is 4.5 stars. Rooms are extremely spacious. Location is very relaxing.

10/10

Exceptional

15 Oct 2015

Ryan

Would stay again

Beautiful hotel with grand rooms. Great pool. Very attentive and polite staff. Gay friendly. Not a cookie cutter franchise.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Aug 2015

dee

Nice hotel but pool was freezing

Nice setting and hotel
Service needs improving , waited 45 mins for a drink! In the end cancelled it! Pool is freezing!

10/10

Exceptional

05 Aug 2015

Hassan

nice hotel

very nice hotel, service was excellent, hotel amenities are great. highly recommend it

Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jul 2015

Mary Lee

Last night, luxury

We stayed at Mahaweli Reach the last night of our 10 day trip and it was fantastic to have a little luxury after staying in smaller guest houses in more remote parts of Sri Lanka. The staff was, however, just as personable as the hosts of the guest houses in hill country. I love Sri Lanka!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2015

Verified traveler

clan and comfort room

Nice hotel and very Findlay staff .

Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jul 2015

Malcolm

Wish we could have stayed longer

Beautiful colonial style hotel with friendly staff, large spotless rooms.Lovely setting. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Partner

2/10

Poor

03 Jul 2015

Nizar

Disappointing

Not recommended at all... worst experience...
to start by the positive point, the stuff are friendly buy the don't understand English well and non professional at all, they don't even know what time they serve the breakfast, and if you have a request every employee will transfer you to second one till you get bored.
The worst thing that the room we got is totally different than we have seen and booked on expedia, when we asked why they did down grade, they said you booked deluxe deluxe room and this they call deluxe room.
Food is terrible..

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jul 2015

Shelley

Great place to stay while visiting Kandy

We were a bit travel weary when we arrived at Mahaweli Reach in the late afternoon. From the moment we arrived my travel companions and I were treated with such welcoming hospitality that our spirits were lifted. We were escorted to our room by a member of the front desk staff and our bags arrived shortly afterwards. Our driver had nice accommodations as well. After seeing the Kandian drummers and dance performance at the cultural center we chose to eat our dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Each of our choices were beautifully prepared, presented and absolutely delicious. We returned to our room to find the beds turned down, slippers placed near our beds, a lovely bookmark and small bouquet of flowers on our pillows- a lovely touch of hospitality.

It was nice to see that this older established hotel had both local clientele and travelers from other parts of Sri Lanka as well as foreign travelers. The hotel grounds are beautifully maintained and if you choose to wander through their gardens you will notice many of the trees and plants have botanical labels for identification. The area around the pool simply invites you to sit and have some type of refreshment and take a dip to cool you down after a hot day of sight seeing.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2015

Stephen

Quality hotel and dining

We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel. The room was spacious and well-appointed. The food was delicious. There was a daily breakfast buffet with Sri Lankan foods,as well as international selections. The pool was large and very clean. It was so refreshing to take a swim after sightseeing each day. The staff was helpful and friendly. They arranged drivers for all our excursions.I would definitely stay there again.

Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Feb 2015

Flake

Hotel staff pleasant, helpful, and the food good.

Our experience at the hotel was good, and the staff were very nice, and very helpful. We had a massage, which was very poor. Not clean, mosquitos, and an old dirty fan, no music, and a hard bed used for the massage, and no towel to cover you. Also they are doing some work for a new spa, so it was very noisy as well.

4/10

Poor

19 Jan 2015

Verified traveler

A DEFINITE NO NO

This hotel is terrible.Being so high up in the mountains,it has absolutely no character at all.The bathrooms are dire need of a clean up and renovation.In fact the entire hotel is in dire need of a renovation and revamp.The spa is a hot smelly dungeon,which is overpriced actually this hotel is by far overpriced.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Dec 2014

Raju

Excellent

Excellent hotel with brilliant ambience. Really friendly staff very proffesionally run.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

10 Dec 2014

honey

Nice location

Attractive looking hotel, room looked a bit tired, grubby stained rug in room, bathroom needed updating, balcony needed a lick of paint, unable to open balcony doors, woken at the crack of dawn with staff letting off rockets to get rid of the monkeys, fridge in room very noisy had to turn it off, the mini bar was a disgrace, the chocolate and drink looked like it had been in there years, hotel front desk staff very helpful, too many staff in the dinning room,who were all the men in suits, they looked liked bodyguards, were they really nescessary, hotel buffet was very nice, but meals were very bland and boring, did not like staff telling you where to sit, given no choice. Swimming pool was lovely but the recliners were filthy. Overall first impression the hotel looked very nice, but once there you began to see all the flaws, this is not a 5 star hotel,

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Dec 2014

Laura

Wonderful stay.

Nice staff, great food, perfect location on the beach. Rooms are spacious and clean.

Partner