The Sanctuary at Tissawewa

Beautiful, well maintained colonial building set in large grounds on the edge of the sacred sites. No traffic noise, lots of birdsong in the morning. Plain and simple but luxurious in an old-fashioned way. Good bathrooms, wi-if OK. Good food, set meal times. Complimentary bicycle loan. Downsides: no alcohol, service rather slow, monkeys in grounds may decide to storm unlocked bedrooms. We loved this place.

I chose this hotel for may last 3 days travelling in Sri Lanka. It is not cheap but the old colonial charm of a repurposed goverrners mansion in a large private park was irrisistsble. On top of that, it is about the only hotel that is actually inside the ancient Buddhist city of Anuradhapura which makes visiting the sites much easier. The rooms are of the epoch so don't expect all the facilities of a modern chain hotel. Rooms are fairly small but with pretty much all you need and of course clean. Beds are with mosquito nets. There are, for me essential, a chair and writing desk and on the wide veranda there are chairs and tables for books from which to appreciate the park with its families of monkeys, peacocks, parrots an a resident eagle. Take binoculars. WIFI is free and available seemingly everywhere even if only advertised in the WIFI Zone in the veranda lounge by the front desk. The staff are helpful and will organise trips to the sites, though I had not required that. There is of course a restaurant with good food served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One niggle I had with the service was waiters pouring my tea. Milk is always poured first , then the tea. They couldn't get the hang of that and not pouring didn't appear to be an option. The front desk were happy to change the large denomination notes served by ATMs into the lower values needed for tipping, riding the tuc-tucs, eating in restaurants, visiting sites etc. An altogether plesent stay.

Very atmospheric

In the middle of a nice park with animals everywhere ! The staff is great and very helpful.

We stayed 3 nights mid April. The grounds are very impressive. The hotel is set back on a hugh front lawn with mature trees and wandering peacocks. Checkin was quick. We had a deluxe king room on the upper floor. There are only 5 rooms on the upper floor. Our room was spacious, had good AC and a decent bathroom with shower. Shower had good pressure and hot water. Towels were okay but not luxury. Bed was comfortable. Furniture dark wood style. Room lighting very good. Breakfast good but coffee was so-so. Sri Lanka is better known for its tea which we had out on the main floor verandah in the afternoon after coming back by tuk tuk from seeing the ancient ruins - just lovely. I would recommend this hotel. The staff are nice. The hotel is in a good location near to the sites. The front desk will arrange a driver or guide if you would like. They arranged for us to do a morning safari to Wilpattu N.P. We would go back.

Proximity to places of interest.excellent service from the staff. The old world charm maintained with a lot of effort

Colonial administrators dwelling now an atmospheric hotel.

We really enjoyed our stay in this old government resthouse. The building felt very authentic and had a nice atmosphere. We stayed in the deluxe rooms on the first floor that were very comfortable. For those wanting luxury and alcohol this isn’t the place to come. It is a bit spartan but in a way this makes it feel more authentic. The grounds are really nice in front of the hotel. In the evening there is often a cricket game. The hotel is well situated next to the sacred city and about 4km from the new city.. overall a memorable experience

This is a well maintained, beautifully restored historic hotel.

This old governor's house is a gem. Long verandas to chills out on and set in gorgeous gardens (with monkeys and peacocks). Food is very good and excellent warm service. Rooms and communal areas full of character and atmosphere. probably due for a refurbishment soon however. Free bike hire great for exploring the historic sites.