Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo

Naveen is a most welcoming doorman, makes everyone feel welcome and enhances the experience. I hope you get to meet him

Our wedding at Cinnamon Lakeside was meant to be one of the most special days of our lives. Sadly, due to extremely poor coordination and unprofessional behavior from the assigned banquet sales executive, it turned into one of the most stressful and disappointing experiences we’ve ever had.

My wife and I planned this wedding with so much effort, especially since I live in Canada and had to coordinate everything remotely. We chose this hotel because it holds personal value to me, I t’s where I started my career in hospitality. That made this experience even more upsetting.

From the very beginning, the banquet coordinator assigned to us, Daham Wijayatunga was highly unprofessional. Communication was extremely poor. Messages and calls were ignored for days, sometimes completely unanswered. There was no sense of urgency, no friendliness, and no willingness to cooperate. As someone who has over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I can confidently say this was far below acceptable standards.

Whenever my wife met him in person with vendors, he was dismissive and uncooperative. Almost every request was met with resistance. Even our vendors struggled to work with him due to his attitude.

One of the most critical issues was the table arrangement. We submitted our finalized guest list well in advance and repeatedly requested the table allocation so we could inform our guests. Despite multiple follow-ups, he failed to provide it until the day before the wedding, and only after we pressured him.

Even worse, on the wedding day morning, the entire table setup was incorrect. The banquet operations team confirmed that they had not received the correct arrangement from him. With only hours left before guests arrived, my friends and wedding planner had to manually rearrange the entire setup. This is absolutely unacceptable for a professional venue.

After the wedding, the situation became even worse. Our refundable deposit was not processed within the promised time. There was zero communication from Daham. I had to personally follow up multiple times over two months. He claimed the delay was due to the accounts department, but when I contacted them directly, they confirmed that he had not even submitted the necessary documents. This clearly shows a lack of accountability and honesty, as he attempted to shift blame to another department.

This entire experience was incredibly frustrating and disappointing. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and due to his negligence, unnecessary stress was added to what should have been a joyful occasion.

I would not recommend working with this coordinator under any circumstances. If you are planning a wedding at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, I strongly advise you to request a different coordinator.

This was, without a doubt, the most unprofessional experience I have ever had in hospitality and it deeply affected our dream day.

Lovely place, beautiful garden, biggest delicious buffet, fantastic friendly service Mohammed Rizwan

Had to pay in cash or card for any extras at the hotel. Or leave a deposit at the desk. All they had to do was ask for Credit Card at check in. I was also asked to pay for a bottle of wine which I had already paid for in the hotel. When I told them this they stonewalled me despite me telling them that I was unable to book anything up to my room and had paid cash or card for everything else during my 2 night stay. I would not recommend this Hotel. The saving grace for my 2 stars was the quality of the food and most of the staff in the restaurant. We were travelling in a group of 5 but were told twice by staff in the restaurant that we could not be accomodated at a table for 5, 2nd time I had to ask for the Manager who at first said no until I pressed for that

Best beautiful guest service mohammed Rizwan he is recommended rizwan

Best management, beautiful garden and beautiful place restaurant,lovely smile and great guest service mohammed rizwan

Great place, best five star hotels, very nice clean , always giving best excellent guests service mohammed rizwan

One of the best red velvet cakes I’ve ever had.Highly recommend.Thank you Nethma Perera.She did wonderful service 😍

Swimming pool clean and beautiful 😍
Pool lifeguard are kind & good service

Beautiful hotel, nice welcome and welcome drinks service front office staff, biggest buffet, very food, always nice smil nicely service mohammed rizwan

Best biggest buffet very delicious food best excellent service Mohammad Rizwan

Very friendly mohammed rizwan he is recommend , chef makings evry food very delicious

Great hotel with all the facilities, great buffet, superb ambiance, great view of the lake, lively lobby. Great staff

Was planning on staying for 1 week, yet extended for 2 additional weeks due the low flights due to the unstable situation in the gulf region. Yet the hotel provided me a great service with housekeeping, room service and food and beverages. Gayan Peris provided a reasonable extenssion rate.

High tea biggest buffet chef making everything very very delicious, Mr Mohammed rizwan he is very experience and friendly service.

I stayed here during an official visit to Sri Lanka from 23rd to 28th March 2026, and had a truly pleasant experience overall.

The staff were exceptionally friendly and welcoming, which made the stay even more comfortable. The rooms were quiet, well-maintained, and offered a beautiful city skyscraper view. Both the in-room and washroom amenities were thoughtfully arranged and met all expectations.

One of the highlights was definitely the food. The Sri Lankan corner stood out in particular, speak to the person in charge of that section. They guide you through the best food combinations to try for an authentic local experience, and it’s absolutely worth it. Once you try it, you’ll keep going back for more!

The in-house spa was another great feature. I opted for a foot reflexology massage, which was incredibly relaxing. While the pricing is on the higher side, it felt completely worth it, especially after walking around 12 km in the heat.

Overall, I would definitely return to level up my CINNAMON experience.

Ms. Deena Herath Executive - Event Sales
Cinnamon Lake Side
Dear Deena,
Thank you for the excellent manner in which you handled our event today ( Australian University Fair 2026). Everything was coordinated so smoothly and professionally and contributed immensely to the success of the event—it was truly a pleasure working with you. We genuinely appreciate your dedication, care and personal attention to every detail. Looking forward to working with you again very soon!
Warm Regards
Senaka Rajapakse
DGM - Marketing
Ceylinco General Insurance

Lovely fantastic service mohammed rizwan he is all time giving best customer service.

Serene experience! Mr. Gayan and his team are customer centric and outstanding service. Cleanliness, food taste and mattress is comfy.

I have been working in the hospitality industry for seven years and I am currently an expatriate Assistant General Manager at one of the largest hotels in the country. I had to travel to Colombo for a few matters, and staying at Cinnamon Lakeside for these three days initially seemed like a good idea.

From the moment I arrived, everything started to go wrong. I checked in at midnight after a long and exhausting journey, and when I entered the room I had been assigned (having booked a Superior King Room for one person), I could not believe what I saw. I was placed in what seemed to be the furthest room on the second floor, with three beds squeezed into a small space where there was barely any room left even for a suitcase. The room was unbearably hot, the air conditioning was not turned on, and there was an incredibly strong smell of tobacco.

Not understanding why I had been given more than one bed for a single occupancy, and concerned about the poor condition of the room and the handling of the situation by reception, I decided to call and report the issue. I was told that someone would come to guide me to a “new” assigned room.

However, the alternative offered by reception was arguably even worse. I was relocated to the sixth floor, with views over what appeared to be a nightclub, with absolutely no soundproofing. Additionally, my room was located directly opposite a staff service area, where I had to endure constant noise throughout the night: carts, trays, voices, as well as loud music and bass coming from outside.

It was a complete nightmare for someone checking in at midnight simply hoping to rest.

To make matters worse, the bathroom is advertised as having a wonderful bathtub, yet the drain stopper does not function properly and cannot seal, causing the water to continuously drain out. Everything became a struggle in what is supposed to be a 5-star hotel.

Given the current circumstances, where regional instability has significantly reduced tourism in the country and hotel occupancy has declined, the most sensible approach would be for staff to focus on and prioritize the guests they do have in-house and not create further inconvenience.

Poor judgment, poor room allocation, and poor problem resolution.

I will never return to this hotel again in my life, and I sincerely hope to be able to check out tomorrow.