The Sanctuary at Tissawewa

Great atmosphere, great location, lovely staff

This hotel has an incredible potential. It’s in the most beautiful location and is the most incredible building unfortunately it’s a very uncomfortable Hotel with absolutely no amenity. There’s a really great opportunity to turn this Hotel into something special but it was really uncomfortable and really not very well run.

The food was quite poor. The staff whilst really enthusiastic and trying to be helpful couldn’t speak any English and couldn’t help us or organise anything. The room was airless and felt claustrophobic. I’m sorry to sound negative, but it’s such a unique Hotel and with a little bit of tweaking it could be great.

-Où s'arrête le charme d'un bâtiment historique pour laisser place à la vétusté? Cet hôtel est vraiment à la lisière... -Le dîner était très bien, le petit déjeuner délicieux et pantagruelique

-Beaucoup trop cher pour le niveau de confort et d'équipement des chambres. -Ambiance moniacale un peu triste pour un hôtel de vacances. -Staff un peu trop timide et emprunté

The hotel is very centrally located near to all the major archaeological and pilgrimage sites. The breakfast was very good and filling. Provides free food and accommodation for drivers. Loved the staff for their traditional way of greeting and dress.

The lawns are not well lighted and even though the religious sites are open for pilgrimage you cannot go out walking because of darkness around. More lighting is required.

Very friendly and attentive staff, always willing to assist. Beautiful old world charm. Large rooms.

It’s in need of some maintenance and thorough cleaning of rugs, curtains, repainting of walls. Some linen and towels are getting old. There are insufficient/no power sockets for charging of devices, unless you unplug lamps or appliances.

Tout d'abord l'accueil exceptionnel. Il se veut au départ un peu rigide à la mode "Grand Hotel" mais très vite plus détendu et chaleureux. Le personnel est très attentionné. Il m'a été proposé de réaliser secrètement un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon épouse. Non seulement ce gâteau était beau, excellent mais de plus offert par la maison ! Incroyable ! Le cadre exceptionnel dans cette très belle bâtisse. La localisation centrale qui met le site archéologique à portée de vélos qui sont d'ailleurs prêtés et non loués. La chambre à l'étage de prestation bien meilleure que celles du rez-de-chaussée (cf la suite de l'avis). Restauration de très bonne qualité avec des prix très raisonnables.

Le prix très élevé par rapport au standard Sri-Lankais ne se justifie pas pas les prestations. Le climatiseur de notre chambre était manifestement très mal entretenu : fuite au sol, bruit important, voyants LED pendouille au bout de leur fil. L'appareil à rendu l'âme en pleine nuit dans un boucan d'enfer et plutôt surprenant pendant le sommeil. Par contre, il faut reconnaître la réactivité de l'équipe qui nous a relogés dans une chambre à l'étage (de qualité bien supérieure).

The tranquil setting. Old world charm. Exceptional staff. Walk to Miriswetiya at night was special and early morning birdwatching

Bel hôtel, bien situé. Personnel accueillant et attentif. Possibilité de régler en amex.

Charming historic facility. Quiet. Just off the road. Great breakfasts

Rather pricey. Staff did zero cleaning of the room, which we experienced at all other places. Dinner was quite mediocre

Food was okay. Nice dining room. Comfortable bed.

Dirty bathroom. Staff need better training.

Très belle bâtisse Belle chambre au premier étage

Vélo en état très moyen

La beauté de cette demeure, son histoire, l’emplacement

Rien

Ideal situation to cycle around Anuradhapura, bicycles free from the property. Ground floor rooms easy access and most pleasant to sit out on the verandah overlooking the pleasant extensive garden, eating absolutely excellent room service food. Atmospheric old colonial building. Manager very helpful indeed, staff courteous, smiling, and helpful.

Bedroom air conditioning somewhat noisy.

A beautiful old building, full of character with extensive grounds. Kind and helpful staff.

The bedrooms are of uneven quality, and need updating. The hotel requires extensive renovation. Overpriced given the current state of the facilities. Other Sri Lankan hotels at this price are of significantly higher quality.

Wonderful staff. Great service and excellent food. Free use of the bikes made visiting the sacred sites easy

No alcohol and no swimming pool BUT we used the pool and had a beer by the lake at the sister hotel so, all of our needs were met Thank you for a great stay. Not cheap but worth it

Excellent food and varied even on the set menu. Best possible location for Anuradhapura

Historic mansion (ex British governor’s house) from 1907 transformed into hotel. Colonial style. Peaceful hotel. Welcoming is good and staff is kind.

But hotel is a bit oldish, dusty (rooms were not neat nor 100% clean), and could be more animated to take care of clients. Prices are far too high for thé prestation.

food was good

have to take care of the monkeys. they are dangerous. There were branches on trees that were dead and hanging.

beautiful property- great food. team were friendly and helpful.

bathroom was a bit tired

This was the best food we had on the trip- definitely recommend both breakfast and dinner!

This was exactly as advertised- an atmospheric colonial-era guesthouse.

Large historic property. Extensive grounds with wildlife. Good food. Helpful staff

Troublesome internet. No pool. Pricey.

we were in room 7 , the people above made a lot of noise , moving furniture around so difficult to sleep

Great location and easy to see all the sites

Architectural structure, restaurant staff

Price vs quality is 100% unbalanced Dirty room, dirty and moldy bathroom Everything is neglected Service is incredibly slow and not efficient at all

The colonial building is just amazing, the room was cosy and clean. The garden around the property is so lush and full of animal life: we saw monkeys and a huge monitor lizard. The food was really good for both breakfast and dinner.

The do not serve alchool at the restaurant. The door of the room locks itself when you close it from outside, we left the key inside twice in less then 24 hours.

Very nice staff manning a beautiful facility at a slightly remote location. Exquisitely quiet.

IU was th one ly guest on one night, so no one to talk with.

Great location - beautiful old building! We could walk to many of the sites. And the grounds of the hotel are very quiet. It is also great value for the money.

Service and comfort could be upgraded - although we didn't really have any issues. The hotel has an old world charm. The service is similar.

The building is beautiful and the position in a large garden with peacock and parakeet and monkeys is lovely.

The property needs a bit of care and attention to detail as well as some improvements to make it aesthetically as pleasing as one would expect. The dining room is really dull/ugly. Some indoor plants, paintings, music, cushions for the sofa chairs could go a long way in making the space a little more friendly and comfortable. The magnificent upstairs terrace is totally neglected.

This property was the Colonial Governor's house until Independence. Indeed, allegedly, QE II stayed here while on tour in 1954. It retains it's original charm and the welcome is very warm. The rooms are comfortable and clean. The staff are friendly and helpful. Being inside The Sacred City boundaries, all of the sites to be visited can easily be reached by bicycle. The food is good. Hardly surprisingly, the Sri Lankan dishes are much better than Western. The breakfast is a feast. This really is a Sanctuary although The Sacred City is a deeply calm and spiritual place. It important to be correctly dressed and to be respectful. Overall, our visit was a great joy.

The dining area is a bit soulless and functional.

Very quiet when we stayed so lacking atmosphere, particularly in the the restaurant. The service in the restaurant was excellent but reception was less helpful, except the lady who seemed to be the manager. Room was nice but could easily be updated to a much higher standard. Lots of monkeys, and they get up close, we quite enjoyed watching on our veranda but others might be put off by.

Beautiful, well maintained colonial mansion in large, tree-filled grounds, close to archaeological museum and sacred sites. No traffic noise, plenty of birdsong. Furnishings appropriate to period. Plain and simple but quite luxurious in an old-fashioned way. Very helpful staff. Good but limited menu. No alcohol. Nearest shops in new town a couple of kilometres away. If you like old-fashioned, you will love it.

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.

L'hôtel est situé dans un grand parc près des principaux sites. Accueil chaleureux. La chambre était propre, mais la salle de bain un peu vieillote. Peu de choix pour le dinner, mais correct. Petit déjeuner copieux.

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.

The hotel was quite nice as it was an converted old colonial building.

Every thing was ok but just realised that I was charged twice. I was charged on my card but at checkout the reception said there was no payment. Paid cash after receiving my cred card bill noticed I was charged!! I wrote to hotels.com but no response! Very disappointed!!

歴史があり落ち着いた雰囲気。 リゾート感覚を味わえます。

A property which has great potential. Location is great. Minor upgrades needed. Toilet door could not be locked and needs to be upgraded. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Comfortable bed.

고대도시 숲속에 있어 특별한 느낌을 주는 호텔입니다. 아침에 호텔주변을 산책하는 중 키가 작은 원숭이 무리, 공작새 등 여러 종류의 새를 볼 수 있었습니다. 직원들이 굉장히 친절하고 세심하게 배려해 주었고, 식당도 고급 레스토랑 수준의 맛과 서비스를 제공하면서도 적당한 가격이었습니다. 주변에 유적지들이 가까이 있어 둘러보기 좋습니다.

Muy buen sitio de paso. Excelentes habitaciones, excelente servicio y un entorno maravilloso. Recomendado. Cuidado con los macacos

Stay 2 nights. First night everything was great. Second night, noise neighbor, no hot water, safe box doesnt work, and bath floor mat was dirty. First night 4.5 out or 5. Second night 3 out of 5.

Lovely atmospheric rooms - we were on the first floor which has just a few rooms. This was the British Governor's house. The hotel is perhaps the only one located in the old city in the middle of the ruins and many sites are just a walk/cycle ride away. The hotel offers old but complimentary bicycles to ride around Anuradhapura. It's a pity there's no swimming pool. The restaurant has a limited selection which is nice for a couple of meals but gets tiring thereafter.

Lovely, calm setting and a delight to return after a day in the sun touring around the historical sights. Beautiful grounds. Helpful staff. Great food. Wifi doesn't work in Annex rooms, but no hardship to sit on the gracious balcony drinking mocktails and checking emails.

Staff very interested and informative. Free bike hire. Close to ancient temples etc. Close to the lake. Good dinner and very good breakfast. A lot of wildlife. Spacious grounds

This is a lovely hotel in a great location for exploring the Sacred City and ruins. Staff are attentive and very helpful. The only reason for the lower rating is the hotel’s inability to serve alcohol. The reasons are understandable but this is not mentioned anywhere on this site or the hotel’s website. The guest should have the information in order to make an informed decision. Nothing like a cold beer after a day of cycling!

Levede ikke op til forventning bla. pga. urene håndklæder og lav kvalitet af menuen.

The Sanctuary is an old style hotel that has seen better days. The staff generally wee keen to please, but communication was sometimes a problem. Food was OK, but we were disappointed we couldn't have wine with dinner there. While understanding it is in a sacred precinct, guide books had lead us to believe we could BYO. Drinking in one's room is not much fun. Anuradhapura is very hot at times and a pool would have been welcome. The best feature is the beautiful gardens.

Nice, convenient location within the sacred area. An old government rest house, not a modern hotel, but clean and spacious rooms, good food and very friendly and helpful staff. Colonial style building in spacious and tranquil grounds. Highly recommended for a relaxing stay. We enjoyed exploring the area using bicycles provided free of charge. Call hotel for directions as Google maps doesn't show the correct location.

Im alten Palast des englischen Stattshalters lässt sich auch heute gut leben. Gute und für unsere Verhältnisse preiswerte Küche. Von dem Palast aus lassen sich alle Sehenswürdigkeiten gut erreichen.

Probably a luxury hotel by Sri Lankan standards, it was a perfect way to spend our last couple of days in Sri Lanka. The spacious grounds had langurs and macaques playing, hornbills in the trees and many other birds. The whole place had a very relaxed vibe. My wife and daughter used the onsite spa facilities and were very impressed. Bikes are available to ride around the historic sites. The room was large with a modern bathroom. The food was delicious. A special thank you to the manager who gave us great advice, helped with some transportation issues, and allowed us a little longer in our room. We would definitely stay here again.

wonderful place, great location, great rooms, veranda, very friendly staff

Hotel plein de charme d'antan, si vous rechercher la tranquillité et un hotel hors des hordes de touristes...c'est ici. Tout près de tous les sites. Restaurant simple mais tres correct. Beau parc.

A three wheeler, car or bike is needed to go anywhere. Lovely place but it lacked atmosphere. Dining room completely silent, no ambience and slow service.

hotel calme, style anglais, de nombreux animaux dans le grand parc de l'hotel mais attention aux singes qui sont parfois agressifs. bon petit dejeuner de style sri lankais.

The Sanctuary @ Tissawewa was originally one of the many government ‘Rest Houses’ that dotted the island. Always fairly basic but clean and well run they provided authentic Sri Lankan cuisine and ‘a nice hot cup of tea’. The Sanctuary, set in large grounds, has good sized rooms that are comfortable and clean and still provides good food. In the grounds you see any amount of peacocks and monkeys of course. There are also push bikes to help get you around the area if you’re feeling energetic! From there it is easy to access the shrines and ancient ruins of Anuradhapura. During our stay we experienced obliging, helpful friendly staff. The Sanctuary is not a ‘resort’ experience but rather more simple and a taste of bygone days.

Ottima soluzione per visitare la città antica. Hotel fantastico stile coloniale.

Étape d’une nuit, hôtel très agréable et repas délicieux. Spectacle des singes qui jouent dans le parc matin et soir... Promenade aux alentours très agréable (Dagoba). Seul point négatif : 2 cafards dans la chambre :(

Truly authentic colonial house. The property is not perfect, but the location is wonderful. Antique feeling, comfortable amd spacius room. Worth thw money if you are tired of meaningless home stays without personality. Immersed in nature and right in the middle of the archeological site. Lovely monkeys around the hotel.

Hotel colonial bonito y agradable. Muy bien situado para visitar Anuradapura, se puede hacer andando desde el hotel.

This is a relatively good hotel but you want a little bit more for your money. Breakfast was good and the vegetable curries are nice for dinner, but stay away from the reformed chicken sandwiches and burgers. Dessert is also best avoided as the ice cream was probably thawed and refrozen many times. They do not serve alcohol at the hotel but have some really good mocktails. The staff is friendly and really want to please but they could use some more hospitality training. The front desk was good and quick with safaris, tuktuk and taxis. The hotel is in a garden where you can spot langurs and macaques in the morning. It is also close to paddy fields and two lakes where you can spot lots of different birds of prey, kingfishers, waders, cormorants etc.

Great service here. The premises are a little dated and there are a fair bit of mosquitoes. Staff is super friendly and helpful.

tranquil and in beautiful park setting, including monkeys, lizards, birds etc. ideal for building the Buddhist Temple and ruins

The colonial period building set in a large Arboretum is a delight and you should go here just to experience that. Our room was OK but dated and had clearly been sprayed with DDT before our Arrival. There is no alcohol and unfortunately although they had a mock tail menu none were available...so lime soda. We ate standard Sri Lankan curry there one night, it was OK, but the delightful dining room is badly furnished and the staff seemed inexperienced at dealing with foreigners. Breakfast took half an hour to deliver some awful boiled fatty bacon with an egg. Overall this hotel has a wonderful asset in its building but requires some investment but perhaps more important some improved management to create a great experience in this wonderful setting.

Excellent service, very welcoming spa and beautiful building. Very atmospheric and perfectly located for the old city. Don't expect international slickness but if you want an atmospheric experience with genuine warmth, this is your place.

There are many simple things that this ex-Governor's Residence can do that would make it so much better, but I for one would be happy that it remained untouched. Granted the staff don't quite know how to meet the expectations of travellers used to the standards of modern resort-style hotels - indeed one American guest told us at breakfast that she absolutely hated the hotel! And the food too isn't worth writing home about, although you'd have more than enough time to do so while waiting for it to arrive at your table. Nevertheless, at the end of our wonderful two week trip to Sri Lanka we voted the Sanctuary our favourite hotel. It has a dishevelled elegance that isn't found in soulless modern resorts, bags of character and a nostalgic authenticity that could never be created by designers. So perhaps even the Fawlty Towers level of service just adds to the overall charm of this grand old house. It's a long way from being perfect which could be why it nearly is.

Fantastic location to visit Anuradhapura, but the hotel was pretty simple. The restaurant served a decent dinner, but service was extremely slow. There was wifi, but it barely worked even in the lobby. Overall, a solid hotel if guests manage their expectations.

The Hotel is beautiful and in such a great location. The gardens and wildlife are wonderful.The rooms are clean and very comfortable and the food, particularly the rice and curry, was superb. We had a great stay.

The hotel was well located, in a natural setting near all the historic sites. Hotel staff was very helpful, getting us bikes to go to the sites, fixed wifi when it wasn't working, etc. The breakfast in the restaurant was good, but the 1 dinner we had there was a disappointment. The rooms were not as luxurious as we hoped for, based on the cost vs other options in the area, but it was functional.

The Sanctuary is on the edge of architectural areas some 2.5Km from main town. Very peaceful location, good restaurant and verandas for chilling. Hotel quite laid back & doesn't try to upsell. Religious services at nearby temple can be heard in distance at 5am. Bike hire available 500 rupees per day highly recommended to explore sights. You need $US25 ticket to enter historic zones are this is strictly enforced and valid single day only so plan where to visit & in what order - bikes or tuktuk. The Tissa Wewa reservoir begin hotel worth a visit with bike.

Great hotel as a base for sightseeing. Superb location. Wifi doesn't work in the rooms. Make sure you get a room on the first floor.

The Sanctuary is in a historic building and that gives it its amazing charm but accounts for its lack of creature comforts that Americans in particular are accustomed to. The rooms are tastefully renovated including air conditioning. I love that the lobby and dining room are open to the outdoors, with ceiling fans whirring to keep a breeze going. Some may miss air conditioning there, but I suspect that people who are not interested in the history will not be visiting this part of Sri Lanka anyway. The accommodating staff made up for any lack of modern conveniences. The dining room is nice with local tradition on the menu, but BYOB because it's alcohol free. Read Village in the Jungle by Leonard Woolf to get a real look at colonial Sri Lanka before you go and have a great trip!