Hotel Elephant Bay

Very nice pool with nice view. Friendly staff. Don’t go to the Elephant orphanage - it’s unethical. You can see the elephants from your room.

Got the wrong room and only noticed it a couple of hours after we arrived. We paid for the elephant bath view and we were literally on the opposite side. We went to tell the receptionist after dinner and they didn't do anything. We had to go back at the reception the following morning and had to argue with the restaurant manager (it seems) because the actual manager was nowhere to be found. We paid for a deluxe room with ELEPHANT BATH VIEW and we got the river view. The whole point that we booked this room was to see the elephants. Anyway, after a LONG TIME arguing with them, they did decide to give us a little discount but that was not enough for us.
The room had stains on towels and sheets. The bathroom was not cleaned (sink had bugs and the shower had 2 spiders in it and we found a cockroach !!!).
The food is not good, tasted frozen (had the cheeseburger). Also had the carbonara, it smelled really weird and the chef put chicken that had been boiled ?? (The waiter told us that because we complained about it)
The food is expensive for what you get. 250 rupees for a bottle of water !!!
Breakfast was included and well I'm glad because there was almost nothing on the tables. There were brioche buns etc not good at all, were definitely frozen.
Plus the tv was not working, we had to ask them to come and fix it.
Overall a bad experience.
Go somewhere else !!

Unsure about how I feel... we had an incredible view from the balcony and it was incredibly exciting when the elephants first appeared in the river about 100 yards away. The excitement disappeared a bit as the “handlers” brought the elephants closer and we realized they had chains on their necks and were eventually chained to the ground to stay in place so that the tourists were free to gawk and take photos.

The Elephant experience (seeing them bathed and up close) was A++. The hotel is fine and the service is good. Food was just OK. Particularly at night, it is a beautiful facility - outdoors with the lighting in the pool area and the sound of the river rushing by. Unfortunately, the place next door had loud thumping trance club music blaring from about noon until 2AM on the one day/night we were there. It really almost ruined what should have been a more peaceful stay. They said it was just that one time (local holiday or something). Everyone was complaining and management definitely got the message. I would ask about it before I book again. But the Elephants!! The animals were so captivating that I found myself able to tune out the hideous music most of the time.

Good area to view the elephants but could do with some TLC. Very dusty and seemed like it has been let go. River was in flood so elephants could not go to the river while we were there. Check on river heights before you book.

The only thing about the hotel is that the view is beautiful. The room was very poor in all it’s aspects. The property needs refurbishment especially the rooms.

It was very good location and it’s unique experience watching parade of almost 50 elephants and then bathing and doing lots of mischief in the river for two hours.
Negative side of the stay - breakfast was very poor. Shower pressure in the bathroom was absolutely poor.
Overall I will say that if you are nature lover then you will definitely enjoy this place.

Well positioned hotel, nice room but,
As documented elsewhere you can not even go to the hotel before 4pm, The entrance lane is guarded and they will not let you past.This is a blatant tactic to force you to visit the elephant orphanage which is very very expensive.There is little else to do locally whilst you wait. Check in was very slow.The So called honeymoon suite was nothing special.The food was poor, the waiter spoke no English, even basic menu items. The most annoying was the on-site restaurant music, well thumping resonating bass line which started at 7am and could be heard through the hotel, Why ??
Once the elephants come to the river it is a great view from the hotel but overall I feel they could do much much better with what should be a fabulous property.

A great hotel right on the bay where the elephants bathe from the Pinnawala Orphanage. My second time booking here, and I was quite glad to be back.

This is a fantastic hotel in a fabulous natural location.Dozens of Fruit bats fly out of the trees across the river at dusk every night. The elephants from the orphanage bath in the river below several times a day. The grounds, garden and swimming pool are all beautiful and well maintained. Our room was huge with a wrap around balcony with beautiful views of the river and elephants bathing. The room was clean. The king size bed was very comfortable, the bed linen and towels were good quality and changed daily. Afternoon tea and cake was provided free every afternoon. You must check in after 4 p.m, which is not the hotels fault, but the Elephant Orphanage’s fault as they charge an entrance fee up to 4 p.m. After 4p.m it is free to enter the area.
The staff are friendly and extremely helpful and the food was really good. There are a few steps as the hotel runs down to the rivers edge. I would recommend this hotel.

Nice hotel with an outstanding view of the elephant bathing area. Comfortable with great service, Priyantha was especially helpful and demonstrated great initiative. Access to the hotel is blocked during elephant bathing times unless you purchase a ticket to the elephant orphanage but the view was amazing!

We planned to stay here for one night, but ended up booking another after experiencing an incredible stay! The free breakfast was really lovely- a real variety compared to most places! The elephants can be seen throughout the day at different times- make sure if you are planning to go to the orphanage that you don’t end up just going back into your hotel like we did! You don’t need a ticket when the vast majority is on your doorstep! We would definitely recommend and stay here again, should we find ourselves in Pinawalla!

The location is amazing. Seeing the elephants from your room is amazing.
But service was poor. The daily housekeeping didn't exist and when we enquired about our 2 free bottles of water per day we were made to feel like we were lying. One man in the restaurant went out of his way to treat us poorly. It was very disappointing.

hotel was good but could do with a bit of work. the bathroom window wouldn't shut properly so we had to make sure bathroom door was shut to stop the mosquitoes getting in during the night. we tried to go into the hotel before check in but we weren't allowed. you can see the elephants in the morning from the hotel though. check in and out was easy. there is also spice gardens nearby which you can visit along the way. we had dinner at the hotel which was a new buffet. veggie options weren't great buy they did have some, it wasn't the best and a lot more expensive than local restaurants but there isn't much choice round there that's nearby. breakfast was ok but fruit was covered in flies so just had eggs on toast and the hot food that was covered. elephants on the safari tour in kadulla was much better!

Check in only from 4pm onwards, that much is mentioned in the add; what is not mentioned is that if you arrive early you have to pay 2500lkr (around 13€) per person to even walk to the hotel. This is because of this elephant stuff going on there. We just wanted to sit down in the lobby, at least drop off the luggage or such to wait until we could get into the room, so this was, especially for Sri Lankan proportions, incredibly expensive. Not to say annoying and tedious at our arrival after over 24h of travel. This information should be included on the add!!!
Wifi was only in common areas and not very good.

Aside from a slightly grungy bathroom, this place was beautiful. You can sit on the balcony and watch the elephants from the nearby orphanage. BIG HOWEVER: the orphanage has caught on that people are sometimes staying in the hotel and watching the elephants, not paying the price to go to the orphanage. If you're like me and weren't planning to make a stop there they charge you a ticket to enter the area where your hotel is, 2500 rupees each person, more than half of what I paid for the room. I ended up not being charged the full amount because I've got a permanent resident's visa, but anyone here as a tourist will be expected to eat this surcharge. The hotel board person there said they're negotiating to get it changed, but no luck yet.

I stayed here for three nights and was very happy with the hotel, its surroundings, the staff and the elephants. My room overlooked the river and the elephant bath. Breakfast was fine perhaps a little samey but generally OK. The staff were unobtrusive but helpful when needed...especially Priantha who with his cheerful countenance made my stay more enjoyable.

There are only 3 hotels in the area and of them this is the best. All 3 are built on the banks of the river and overlook the elephants bathing but this has the best food. While there is not much to write home about in terms of choice ( given that this is a small town) at least here the food is fresh. There's a very small town feel to this hotel but the staff is earnest and warm. Remember, you are in Pinnawalla not for the hospitality or cosmopolitan liveliness of the place but for the elephants and the views from the balcony rooms are amazing. It's also probably the only hotel in the area that has a "Pool"...... It's tiny but for whatever it is worth, it's pretty cool to sit in a pool and watch the elephants bathe. There's no wifi on the top floor room with the master balcony.

It was a great experience and the staff was very friendly and helpful.enjoyed watching elephants and the sunset#love the place

We payed $260 Australia for a driver that the hotel booked. The car broke down twice and to make matters worst the airconditioning stopped working after 2 hours!

I'm really fed up of paying up front when experiences and services don't live up to expectations. I would like some sort of refund or reimbursement !!