Serene Kandy

Sri Lanka , Kandy
KANDY, No. 103, Rajapihilla Mawatha
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20 reviews shown

8/10

Excellent

05 Apr 2026

christopher

The hotel was nice for us as a family. The hotel itself is ok not amazing but it had a nice pool (NOT the 8 pools advertised on expedia) but we could see from pics this seemed unlikely. The view from our room was really poor of other hotels or a derelict housing area which as on a massive hill is a shame. Staff lovely as per normal. The rooms were a little old but ok. The breakfast was not buffet as not enough people staying there. Which is fair enough but we could order what we wanted and it was ok.

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

11 Sep 2025

Grady

Great place to stay in Kandy! Rooms are clean, comfortable, and shower is great. Staff are true professionals and definitely want you to have a great stay. Hotel is perched atop hill just outside of town. Plenty of nice restaurants nearby and the town is a nice 20 stroll down the hill. Staff hooked us up with a great driver for day trip to Sigiriya. Great place to stay!

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Jun 2025

Trenton

Recommended - Serene Kandy

Enjoyed out stay at Serene Kandy.
The hotel was quiet and the rooms don't really have a view (or at least our didn't). Here are the positives - super friendly and welcoming staff. Spacious and comfortable room. Great pool area. Universal power points and plenty of them. Delicious and quality breakfast.
Some opportunities for improvement - ironing boards in the room, more water for guests and the cost of the breakfast is a little on the expensive side.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

01 Oct 2024

keith

Lovely hotel with a fantastic view of Kandy. The staff and food were excellent and the rooms were great. Highly recommended.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Sep 2024

Ganesh

Good location, rooftop pool and bar area is brilliant. Restaurant and chef are top

Business Friends

10/10

Exceptional

24 Mar 2024

Barry

Excellent hotel, staff couldn’t do enough for us. Good value too as when booking I understood it was a room only deal but it turned out to also include breakfast and evening meal so it worked out at just £35/night each.
Would definitely stay here again! 👍👍👍

6/10

Pleasant

31 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Unwelcome, down the road and someone has a key!

We booked Serene Kandy despite some of the reviews on here. We are aware that we are travelling in low season and hotels are not at capacity.

We had booked a room in the East Wing and so arrived there. There was a reception, closed, and a security guard who told our driver that we were not expected and to go away. We had not realised from booking that the East Wing is an entirely separate building down the road. We persisted and went to main hotel reception, where again they told us they had not got a booking for us. Finally they gave us a room, back in the east wing, which wasn't ready.
We did not get any information - wifi password, bottled water etc.

Dinner, breakfast and the pool were in the main wing, a 3 minute walk down a very dark, windy road where traffic goes fast. It gets dark at 6pm and we felt uncomfortable. They reluctantly offered to pick us up in a tuk tuk (heavy rain) but this service was not offered again.

We had booked dinner and it must be said, food was amazing. However, be aware that drinks (including water) are extra - they kept bringing us more and then charged us.

We accepted all of this, however, at 1.30am on our final night we were awoken by a very large party in the lobby of our wing. After a while, our door was unlocked from the outside. Fortunately, we had the security chain across, but it is unacceptable that someone else was given a key to our room, potentially putting two solo females at risk.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

Recommend

Good hotel and in hilly area of Kandy. Restaurant was also good.
Road was busy enough that we could just hail a tuk tuk for 300rup into Kandy Center.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

Needs improvement in room maintenance. Telephone not working, set top box not working, remote not working

2/10

Poor

01 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Not a 4 star hotel..very disappointed

My partner and I stayed at the hotel for 2 nights and we were very disappointed as it is not a 4 star hotel as stated and not close to any attractions. In our opinion it is a basic b&b place which we would probably rate a 2 star. The hotel is situated quite high up the hill so it is not as close to the temple of tooth or the lake or Kandy town. The bathroom was all clogged up and it was the same in another room we were moved to on our second day. Bedside mats were towels which looked like they were not cleaned. The drivers who work for the hotel are utterly expensive so don't be fooled to book tours with them. Breakfast was basic but dinner wasn't great at all. Staff are very friendly and helpful.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

30 Jan 2018

Ajit

Take Care to avoid injury

As soon after checking in,we were guided to our room and on entering through the Doorway, I knocked my Leg .on the corner of the Bed ,which is quite sharp edged,resulting in my skin coming off.
The cause of this happening is because the Mattress is about 6\" shorter on the Left side,Right side and from the Foot of the Bed.
The Hotel should warn the guests accordingly or fit out the Beds with Mattress to fit the framework.
The Manager and Staff immediately got me Ice to apply on the wound and thereafter rendered First Aid.

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jan 2018

Raman

Serene grand

Awesome. Great location. Scenic view. Nice comfy rooms

Family

8/10

Excellent

06 Jan 2018

Nick

Nice hotel

Charged for beers from mini bar that weren't there to begin with

8/10

Excellent

24 Nov 2017

Michael

Good stay in Kandy

Attentive staff, good food

Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Nov 2017

Traveller

Not as bright as 4 stars, but good for a night

he hotel definitely should be categorized as three-star. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but completely outdated. I stayed in a deluxe double room and it was nothing fancy. The walls, ceilings, and floors are not soundproofed. You can hear EVERYTHING from other guests, the restaurant, and staff. It seemed like they were constantly moving furniture above me and you hear the regular slamming of doors. I had a mountain view of the building next-door under construction. The rooms aren't sealed very well. There was a large gap under my room door (I put a towel to block bugs coming in) and gaps in the sliding glass doors. They don’t provide face or hand towels. I had to request when I first arrived and only got one in the two nights that I stayed. They don’t have duvets or comforters. You’re only left to cover with the bedsheets. I agree with the previous guests, the layout is bazaar.

On the plus side, the breakfast and dinner buffets are good. However, the food is only warm and not hot. And the staff is friendly enough.

8/10

Excellent

20 Oct 2017

Scott

Fairly priced hotel with mountain view of Kandy ci

My wife and I stayed here for two nights. We were not sure what to expect, but it ended up being a great place to stay. The staff and the manager did everything they could to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable. They also provided an awesome driver who made it very easy for us to visit all of the sites/activities that we hoped to see.
If I had to suggest one thing that I think could be a bit better, I would say the food. It was certainly not bad, but it could be better. About the same as other places I have stayed in Sri Lanka.
Overall, I feel good about the room and the service we received. I think the hotel is reasonably priced and it is worth a stay if you are staying in Kandy for a couple days.

4/10

Poor

10 May 2017

Chris

Dreadful service!!!!

I stayed in seven different hotels during my time in Sri Lanka and the Serene Grand was the worst. The bathroom was crawling with ants when we arrived meaning the overall cleanliness was poor. The service was even worse. The internet in the hotel was down so i asked at 8am if it could be checked, by 3pm it was still down and i was told it would be back up in half an hour. An hour later it was still down and it took another hour for them to deliver me a dongle. I was told my laundry would be ready in the morning and again at 3pm I had to ask where this was (the reaction suggested they had completely forgot about it). I was told it would be ready by 4pm but again when i asked i got a surprised look. I came back from dinner at 8pm and the laundry still hadn't been done.

If you ask for the staff here to help then you will be completely forgotten about within minutes (and the hotel wasn't even busy).

Partner

4/10

Poor

23 Feb 2017

Andrew

Disappointing stay due to overbooking by the hotel

The hotel and room itself was lovely and couldn't be faulted. However, on arrival we were told they only had 1 room left despite having confirmed and paid for two. This meant two of our party were relocated to the Serene Garden down the road. Not a good experience when travelling together. The room at the Serene Gardens was foisty and dingy / not st all what we had booked. Their staff were also unlesssnt and quite rude. Such a shame!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2017

Kathy

Recommend for your stay in Kandy

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Serene Grand Hotel. We had a balcony to the front and each morning the monkeys would come to visit. The bed was comfortable, room was large and clean, and the location was convenient. I would recommend this hotel for your stay in Kandy.

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2017

Ranadeep

Amazing hotel. Best location n view

It was an amazing stay at Serene grand. Simply Awesome

Partner