Mount Lavinia Hotel

The worst hotel I have ever stayed in! That’s not a stay; I checked out within 2 hours of checking in due to the unbearable smell of mould in the rooms and corridors! This is one of the worst hotels — so-called hotels! Butlers escorted guests through those musty, mouldy corridors without hesitation. Even the picture frames were covered in fungi! Towels and bed sheets were stained. No proper lighting; some lights were broken. The room was extremely stinky. No water was provided despite three calls to the front desk! The hot water was broken. We couldn’t tolerate the smell and felt nauseous. I asked for a room change or an upgrade with extra payment, but they didn’t bother to care. So we checked out immediately, even without asking for a refund. Never, ever try this hotel!

I stayed at Mount Lavinia Hotel from July 17–20, 2026. The room was spacious, well-equipped, and the breakfast was excellent. However, the check-in was delayed until about 3:30 PM despite the 2:00 PM check-in time. Overall, it was a comfortable stay with great dining, but a faster check-in process would make the experience much better.

Desk staff unhelpful. Arrived 2pm, check in time but still not received keys an hour later. Shocking service.

DO NOT GO. This is the worst hotel we have ever been to. We were booked for 3 nights and left after the first. No towels, no hot water, air conditioning and t.v not working and pretty dirty. We requested help 5 times and no one came. Unfortunately what was once a grand hotel is now terrible.

What you see, is noting compared to what you get!”
We booked Mount Lavinia because of its rich heriftage. The hotel promotes itself beautifully on social media but it is no where even close to a 5star resort. I would rate it as a 3star overall. We checked in late at about 9pm and were made to wait as the receptionist informed us that the hotel had run short of room keys. The first room we got was a garden facing where I had paid for a sea facing. The rooms are in the most horrendous conditions, there was fresh urine stains on the pot. The tiles in the room were broken and covered with a dirty carpet. The front desk changed our room to another room which was equally dirty. Finally after an hour of waiting and been shuffled around, we asked for a manager who immediately upgraded us to a suite. The suite was comfortable but I was unable to trust the hotel where it came to cleanliness. The only plus point to the hotel was the breakfast. It had a marvelous spread of a variety of cuisines. Overall Mount Lavinia is beautiful but very poorly maintained. The staff seem to be struggling to work with what they have. As we were not the only guest complaining that the hotel seems to hoodwinking people on being a 5star where it just about qualifies as a 3. I wouldnt recommend this hotel purely based on the cleanliness factor.

I went to Hotel Mount Lavinia with my family. We are members of Club Mahindra for the last 12years and have stayed in various properties of Club Mahindra as well as associate resort. This Hotel just boasts of history but cannot honor the basic comfort to its partnered hotel. This was the first time we had such a pitiful experience. The rooms given to the CM members were the worst ones , poorly maintained and in pitiful state. inspite of paying a high amount on associate fees. There was mildew in the rooms and the walls were full of humidity . The mirrors and floor tiles was all spoilt. Even the lawns outside the CM rooms were not maintained whereas the rest of the property was better.Also the restaurant of the hotel charged double to the CM members for all meals. While their own direct guests enjoyed meals at a much cheaper price and enjoyed good rooms on a good floor. CM members are given side rooms with poor maintaince and bad service. I put up alot of complaints whislt in the hotel itself but neither the hotel nor CM helped or did anything to ease my discomfort at the hotel property. PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR HOLIDAY INVENTORY NOR PAY THE FEE FOR THIS VERY BOGUS HOTEL.

Absolutely horrible place, not even a 1 star hotel, booking.com are misadvertising this as a 5 star. We booked through booking.com as the photos make it look great. The place is dirty, dated and falling to bits. We were not given the rooms described in our booking from booking.com. We had to leave and not stay, we would not refund and i need to contact booking.com. Booking.com are not refunding even through thet misrepresnted the description saying it was a third party booking which makes no sense. DONT STAY HERE.

Absolutely disgusting place. Dirty rooms, filthy linen, and extremely unprofessional and rude staff.

There was no water in the room, and instead of fixing the issue, we were simply told to leave. No effort was made to resolve the problem or support guests in any way.

We were left with no proper assistance and are still waiting for a refund, with complete lack of responsibility from the property.

This hotel is poorly managed, careless, and has zero respect for guests. I strongly warn others not to book here unless you want a terrible experience.

Unacceptable 6-Hour Total Water Outage – Zero Communication or Basic SanitationI attended an event at this hotel yesterday, and the experience was a health and safety nightmare. From 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM, the entire hotel suffered a total water outage. There was absolutely no running water anywhere—including the event space and the guest room washrooms.Worse than the breakdown itself was the management’s complete failure to communicate. Guests were never informed of the situation, no updates were provided, and no emergency bottled water was distributed for basic hygiene or handwashing. For a hotel claiming a 4-star classification, operating a commercial function and booking rooms with zero operational plumbing for 6 hours is completely unacceptable and a massive public health violation.The compliance and management teams have shown zero accountability for this disaster. I highly advise against booking this venue for any major function or overnight stay until they fix their failing backup infrastructure and learn the basics of guest communication.

Thank you so much for the wonderful hotel accommodations and for all the perfect arrangements throughout our wedding. Everything was beautifully organized, and every detail was thoughtfully planned. We truly appreciate all your hard work, kindness, and support in making our special day so memorable. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Special thanks for Mr. Shamal & Ms. Ishani of the Hotel Service team for their outstanding support, professionalism, and dedication. Their commitment to delivering excellent service, attention to detail, and warm hospitality greatly contributed to our positive experience. We are truly grateful for their assistance and extend our heartfelt thanks for their exceptional service.

The Mount Lavinia hotel presents a sad case of a truly unique and historic property not given the respect and upkeep it deserves. The hotel’s location on the sea can’t be beat, but it’s clear the ownership is not investing in the property, resulting in a poor guest experience.

The most difficult part of this is that the kind and attentive staff are not given the resources to attend to the guests in a meaningful way. The stars I’ve given are for the staff, many of whom have given their careers to this hotel. I can only hope the ownership changes for the better to give this special piece of Sri Lanka the attention and dedication it deserves before it is beyond repair. Most importantly, I hope the dedicated service teams are honored for their tireless dedication.

Over the past 20+ years, I've written several reviews praising Mount Lavinia Hotel and the wonderful experiences I've had there, which makes it particularly disappointing to write this review.

In the past, it was easy to overlook some of the property's shortcomings because of its charm, character & lovely staff. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. During my recent stay, the room was unclean, the air conditioning was not functioning properly, the bedding and towels were stained, drains were blocked, and the food quality was poor, I could go on. To make matters worse, the buffet stations appeared dirty and unhygienic, creating what felt like a genuine health concern.

I take no pleasure in writing this, as Mount Lavinia Hotel has always held a special place for me. However, I sincerely hope the management takes these issues seriously and invests in the improvements needed to restore the hotel to its former standards. I would genuinely love to return and be able to recommend it again in the future.

The property is absolutely stunning and full of charm — but sadly, the service and facilities let it down significantly.

We booked 2 rooms and encountered multiple issues during our stay:

— No water bottles in one of the rooms at check-in
— Telephone and AC remote/display were not working
— No tea bags, creamer, or iron in the room (ironing board was there but no iron!) — had to ask for basic amenities
— Booked 2 rooms for 2 adults each, but breakfast was only arranged for 2 people total instead of per room
— Lifts were not working throughout our stay

We have stayed at several 4-star properties and this experience was honestly one of the most disappointing in terms of service and room readiness. The hotel has so much potential given how beautiful the property is — it's a shame the basics weren't in place. Hoping management takes note and raises the bar for future guests.

The only thing amazing about the place is the location. Unbeatable. The property is magnificent.

Disrepair & lack of maintainence is destroying it.
The bathroom was leaking. Literally water droplets falling and the water was invading the bedroom. Making both the bedroom & bathroom slippery & dangerous apart from the entire feeling of what is the source of water ...& dirty feeling.
When we checked in we were not provided with towels or coffee sachets. Incidently we weren't provided with coffee till the end.
Noone ever answered the phone not from the front desk not from house keeping. Multiple trips had to be made to the front desk. And on informing them we got the pat answer that they had informed the concerned department.
The TV wasn't working. Our complaints fell to deaf ears.
I had requested airport pickup & early checkin. Supposedly the message for airport pickup wasn't passed on even though we had received a confirmation. We had requested an early checkin because our flight was landing at 5.30am. We had agreed to pay the extra charge. On reaching there we were informed that they were fully booked so no early check in. We finally checked in at 1pm.
The food was mediocre at best.

All in all a pathetic experience, unresponsive staff... a property going to waste.

Beautiful location. Friendly staff.

Horrible service no air condition working food was ok except the dessert. In rooms not maintained, Lift not functioning properly.
I got married in 1996 December and it was a great place back then

Hotel review for Mount Lavinia Hotel

I was extremely disappointed with my stay at this hotel. While the property may once have had charm, it is now in a seriously poor state of repair and does not reflect the images advertised online.

The room had daily cockroach issues, mould throughout the bathroom, and persistent damp conditions. Even after housekeeping serviced the room, the sheets still felt damp. The air-conditioning was ineffective for the entire stay — despite being set to 18°C and running continuously on high for three days, the room temperature never dropped below 26.5°C. The unit was also extremely loud (over 60db), with visible mould inside the vent grilles.

The building itself appears heavily derelict in many areas. The day spa looked more like an abandoned outhouse than a luxury facility, and the gym was below standard and not air-conditioned.

Positives were limited to the friendly staff, decent food, a comfortable large bed, and a pool area with nice views. However, even basic hospitality was lacking, as staff did not ask once about how our stay was during checkout.

The “ocean view” was also very limited and not as advertised.

Having travelled extensively across more than 40 countries, this is honestly one of the worst hotels I have stayed in. I would strongly caution anyone considering booking here. The online photos are not an accurate representation of the hotel’s current condition.

After touring Sri Lanka for 27 days and staying in some amazing lodges and small hotels we were looking forward to 6 nights at the highly historic Mount Lavinia Hotel to just relax on the beach and recuperate. We arrived late in the evening and shown to the ocean front suite. Being tired all that was noticed was the poor condition of the toilet seat and the badly hung bathroom door that scraped the tiled floor when open and shut. In the morning the dirty linen was noticed. The pillow cases had dirty scuff marks and the duvet cover had dried blood stains. It was then found that the safe door, although left open, had been locked by the previous guests so couldn't be used. All these issues were reported to front desk before heading to the beach. The beach is beautiful however the towels have seen better days and where the stripes should've been blue and white they were blue and grey. Upon returning to the room at midday the keys would not work. Eventually someone came with a manual key to open the door, saying there was an issue with the electronics and they would try to fix it. This didn't happen, nor was the room cleaned or linen changed because of this problem and neither was the safe unlocked so we insisted on changing rooms. We were given the same suite one floor above but advised that the air conditioning was working quite as it should. It was a little warmer than preferred but it was passable. However there was no drinking water provided in the room and was only received after asking 5 times and also being told the hotel had run out of bottled water!! After showering and too late to do anything about it, it was found that the 2 towels provided were dirty and stained but as these were essential there was no choice but to use them. It took 4 requests to receive clean towels. The following morning we realised there was a big hole in the bedsheet. After making a request with the front desk this was changed. The next day there was no hot water. Again front desk notified. At midday this still hadn't been fixed so complained again to front desk only to be told they had just fixed it. This was a lie as it was checked before going straight to front desk. It was fixed by the evening. Water was dripping from one of the bathroom lights and the bathroom ceiling looked like it was about to fall down. These were not reported as by then we just couldn't be bothered. The toiletries were not restocked, we had to find a cleaner to ask for more and the Internet strength was weak and kept dropping which meant using unnecessary personal data allowance.
We managed to have an audience with the hotel CEO where all these above concerns were voiced. He didn't seem at all surprised by any of this but promised to do something for us. We never heard from him again. The staff lack any urgency in getting anything resolved and don't appear to be concerned about guests experience. The whole place needs closing down and refurbished before allowing future guests. So if you are thinking of booking this think very carefully. We would not recommend anyone stay here.

If you want the perfect hotel experience: don’t come. Full stop.
If you are up for some history, stunning views and don’t mind the occasional wtf? then this could be for you. It was for me and I would recommend the hotel to a friend on that basis.

Beautiful hotel great location standards are slipping