Thisara Guest House

The room was very clean and comfortable. The food was absolutely delicious and tasty. The location is very convenient and peaceful. It takes only a few minutes to reach the city. The surroundings are beautiful and relaxing. Overall, we had a wonderful and enjoyable stay!

Ruhige Lage in der Natur mit Blick auf das Reisfeld. Schon beim Frühstück kann man diverse exotische Vögel beobachten. Zweckmäßige Zimmer. Sehr gutes Preis- Leistungsverhältnis. Die Gastgeber sind sehr zuvorkommend und liebenswert. Sie haben uns jeden Wunsch von den Augen abgelesen. Sie kochen großartig und sehr günstig lokale Spezialitäten. Die Safari, die sie uns vermittelt haben war super.

Keine Moskitonetze.

Staff was really amazing, helped us with the laundry and booking the safari (by the way amazing guide and experience, we totally recommend). Meals were great and they were so nice. Also the hotel was not too far away but you need tuk tuk to move around. It was so nice having breakfast or dinner looking at the rice fields. You have AC but you don't have sheets to cover you, only a thin scarf/blanket so keep that in mind.

The only bad thing to say was that the room was dirtier than expected. We understand this is a hotel in the countryside but we found lots of ants, cockroaches, spiderwebs at the side of the bed, etc it was really uncomfortable as we found a dead cockroach under the bed at night time and another one alive in the toilet.

Good price and clean

La cena e la colazione spettacolari con vista sulle risaie

Il nostro bagno era pieno di formiche , e gechi e credo qualche pupu di geco

L’attenzione della signora La colazione con vista L’utilizzo dei tavoli esterni Il balcone

A beautiful and very clean guest house surrounded by peaceful paddy fields. The rooms were super clean, comfortable, and the air conditioning worked perfectly. We enjoyed delicious breakfast and dinner, lovingly prepared by Samila. Thank you, Samila! We explored Polonnaruwa by bicycle and had a wonderful evening boat ride, which made our stay even more memorable. Samila and her husband are friendly and welcoming hosts. We highly recommend this guest house to anyone visiting Polonnaruwa.

Nothing ,

Aardige mensen, goed eten, leuke uitstapjes en een prima locatie. We waren zowat de enigen dus tijdens ons bezoek miste de sfeer. Wasje draaien werd gratis voor ons gedaan.

Veel ongedierte. Een klamboe is wel noodzakelijk. De kamer is ook wat gedateerd al is de badkamer erg mooi. Wel overal in de kamer wat kleine spinnewebben, toen we de bedden uit elkaar trokken lag er een dikke hoop zand. Werd wel direct opgeruimd. De banken die voor ons huisje stonden, waren oud en stonken naar natte hond.

Shimala and her family wer such kind and welcoming hosts. They brought me a welcome sri lankan tea shortly after I arrived and enjoyed sitting on the patio outside of my room looking out at the rice Paddy fields. It's such a peaceful setting away from the main road. Shimala also cooked a wonderful dinner that night and the following morning they spoiled me with MANY different and delicious breakfast items that were all delicious. They also had a bike for me to use in the park. Definitely recommend Thisara and hope to return one day when I have more time. Thanks AGAIN FOR A LOVELY STAY SHIMALA!!

The surroundings were too good for my family and me. Also the people were nice there

L'emplacement, la gentillesse du personnel, les repas incroyables

La chambre (rez-de-chaussée) était trop humide. Des filtres anti-moustiques aux fenêtres seraient une bonne idée

Goede locatie. Supervriendelijke uitbaters en heerlijk eten. Aanrader.

Niets

Bardzo dobre i obfite śniadanie i kolacja. Bardzo nam się podobało. Dobra lokalizacja. Miła obsługa.

Un accueil très chaleureux, d’excellents et copieux repas ( petits déjeuners et dîners).

Rien

Très bon accueil, Excellent petit déjeuner et dîner. Adresse recommandée

Rien !

Mooie plek, dichtbij t stadje. Prachtige tuin en geweldig uitzicht over de rijstvelden. De mensen zijn heel lief en behulpzaam. Het eten was echt geweldig! De eigenaar heeft een boottour voor ons geregeld en we hebben twee fietsen meegekregen om de oude stad te bekijken.

Het wordt ‘s nachts vochtig, het lekkerste is een raam openen, maar pas op; er zijn veel muggen.

De gastvrouw zorgde heel goed voor ons..mooie locatie..super ontbijt en ‘s avonds daar heel lekker gegeten..een aanrader..

Niks

This was an exceptional stay. We were very comfortable and loved the breakfasts looking over the rice fields. Dinner was great and good value. An amazing place for watching birds. A super friendly and relaxing stay.

Nothing to dislike.

Très bon accueil, chambre avec belle vue sur le jardin et les rizières, salle de bain parfaite, location de vélo sur place et à 5min en vélo du musée. Très bon cuisine homemade. Bonne adresse.

Les moustiques (protection indispensable) et route passante à proximité.

Flexible and friendly service

Staying here truly felt like being at home. From the very first moment, I was welcomed with a big smile and a delicious fresh mango juice — the perfect start after a long journey. The hosts went above and beyond to help me organise everything: excursions, bicycles, and even tuk-tuk rides, always with great recommendations and genuine care. Nothing ever felt like a hassle. Warm, kind, and attentive, this homestay offers much more than just a place to sleep — it gives you a real taste of Sri Lankan hospitality. I would absolutely stay here again and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a truly local and heartfelt experience.

An incredible find! While the room was modest in size, it was clean and very fairly priced for the value provided. ​The Food: The breakfast was the absolute highlight—delicious and truly fit for a king. ​The Service: Exceptional. The staff provided a perfect mix of warmth and professional care

The breakfast is fantastic - so much food - we made up a packed lunch for our bike trip round the ancient ruined city. We arranged bike hire through the guest house. We had a lot of fun cycling round the archaeological sites. The garden looks out over the paddy fields, great for bird watching. There is a nightly fruit bat exodus overhead and large insect eating bats at the corners of the garden that catch insects by the lights and are fun to watch.

Nothing

We had a very pleasant stay. The room was clean and very spacious, and extra linens were thoughtfully provided. The host was welcoming, caring, and attentive, and the staff were excellent throughout our stay. A perfect place for a peaceful and comfortable stay. Highly recommended.

A peaceful and comfortable place to stay, perfect for resting after long hours of traveling. The rooms are clean and well-equipped, the service is excellent, and the paddy field view adds a calm, relaxing atmosphere. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a quiet and pleasant stay.The meals are also pretty good 👍🏻

There's nothing much that I didn't like, because the rooms and the service just exceeded my expectations on Stay while traveling.

Posizione comoda, colazione buona e abbondante, possibilità di prendere le bici

Camera non pulita, bici che non andava bene

Decent sized room with windows and a view over rice paddies. Set back from the road so nice and quiet. The owner helped us organise a tuk tuk tour of the ancient city and if the weather is good they have bikes. I had a medical issue during my stay and the host went above and beyond transporting me to hospital and helping me navigate the health system. Truly grateful.

The staff was really friendly and helpful. Breakfast was tasty and big. The location was easy and comfortable. Silent place with good view and close to the center. They brought a Wi-Fi router to our room to make it work better.And it worked good.

The room was a little dirty. The floor was dirty, and the towels were crumbling and leaving a lot of lint on the body. But overall it was clean.

The breakfast was one of the best in Sri Lanka. Well-located, a 2-minute ride to the entrance of Polonnaruwa. The possibility to rent a bike for a reasonable price to visit the ruins. Bed was fine. Friendly staff, the asked me if I was well after the Sri Lankan floods in November 2025.

The no option to have lunch (when it was storming outside) , but it was a minor issue.

La chambre est confortable avec un grand lit. Une grande baie vitrée donne sur un jardin qui longe, plus loin, les rizières.

Un accueil trés chaleureux de la part de nos hôtes. Ils ont toujours été à notre écoute. Gentils, serviables , souriants. Et de plus, bons cuisiniers . Petits-déjeuners et dîners (no spicy) délicieux Chambres spacieuses avec jolie déco. Et aérées quand elles sont libres Trio français

Néant

Výborná klidná lokalita nedaleko centra. V ubytování možnost pronájmu kol, které pro pohyb po památkách v tomto městě jsou zásadní výhodou. Paní domácí je velice příjemná a ochotná, s její pomocí jsme zorganizovali výlet na Safari. Zvláštní ocenění zaslouží řidič Jeepu, který po ukončení výletu opravil chybné informace o životě slonů poskytnuté oficiálním průvodcem.

The location is very pretty, particularly eating breakfast looking out over the fields. The owners and staff are lovely and very helpful.

Propreté des chambres. Repas délicieux. Amabilité extrême de l'hôtesse. Lcation de vélos pour les visites et de van pour Jaffna

Ras

Shamila and Mahesh were wonderful hosts and made us feel very welcome..Great location a short walk from the Polonaruwa clock tower. It's very easy to get to the sites especially on bicycle. Food was delicious Sri Lankan evening meal and a great array of things for breakfast which kept us going well into the day. The view over the harvested paddy was still lovely and plenty of interesting birds and butterflies were seen in the garden and from the breakfast area. Our hosts were delightful practical and very helpful. Bikes were ready as per our request at the time of our arrival. They also organized our departure and delivery to our next stop in Sigiriya via Minneriya national park where we saw huge herds of elephants from newborns to elderly lone bull elephants. Shira was our driver and did an amazing job navigating to the best spots in order for the elephants to come to us rather than us impose. He was knowledgeable about the bird life also. We would highly recommend this friendly and good value for money guesthouse.

The hotel was located next to a paddy field, and lots of birds and other animals were in the garden. Close to the city center.

There were a lot of insects and mosquitoes in the room. The dining area should have been a bit cleaner.

De gastvrijheid van de eigenaresse. Ze kookte heerlijk en hielp ons met het huren van fietsen en het vervoer. De bootsafari is een echte aanrader. De lokatie is ook top. Heerlijk rustig

Emplacement : proche à pied de la clock tower de old Town et situé juste devant une magnifique rizière aux verts exquis… Repas succulents: rice and curry du soir délicieux et petit déjeuner très complet et bien garni! Mangez ici! Rapport qualité / prix très correct Petit cadeau de départ bien appréciable…. Merci pour le souvenir! Possibilité de payer en carte (même si +3%)

Nous avons été un peu surpris et étonnés de voir que nous étions les seuls touristes pendant 3 jours en ce lieu agréable… La Présence De chiens dans la cour ( et au pied de votre table pendant les repas) est quand même pénible même s’ils n’ont pas l’air méchants… on n’était pas rassuré quand même… (désolé pour notre réaction d’occidentaux vis à vis des chiens!) Beaucoup beaucoup de moustiques (dans la salle de bains il faudrait pouvoir fermer la fenêtre donnant sur l’extérieur car ils rentrent par là) et pas de moustiquaires sur les lits…

Owners were friendly and supportive. A Calm and quiet place. Nice location not far from the city.

Nothing

Owners were friendly and supportive. A Calm and quiet place. Nice location not far from the city.

Nothing

Owners were friendly and supportive . A Calm and quiet place. Nice location not far from the city.

Nothing

Good customer service. Nice view.

There is no proper ventilation in the room.

Good location for exploring the ancient ruins nearby. Lovely large garden. Quiet and peaceful location. Clean upgraded rooms upstairs.

Cheaper older rooms hadnt been maintained for a while. Disturbed a wasps nest booking into this room and got bitten badly 3 times. Moved upstairs to better room. Lady owner does try to onsell tours and dining a bit too much.

Location close to Old town. Kind host. You can rent bicycles in accomodation. Very nice view and sitting / dining in garden and next to rice field - but this means also lot of mosquitoes 🙁 You can pay with card = 3% fee.

Some bedsheets were looking dirty - not white.

Very good location: some minutes from ruins and bus stop. The breakfast was very rich. Personal tried to help and explain everything.

I don't know

Our host was incredibly welcoming, helpful, and accommodating. The family room was spotless, and the grounds were immaculate and well-kept. Excellent value for the price!

We found the family room a little small and missed having some chairs. Also, the AC remote was a bit tricky to use.

Owners let us feel at home plus breakfast and diner were fantastic.

Nothing.

We enjoyed two nights here. Well looked after by great hosts. They organised bikes for us to ride around the ancient city and we also enjoyed their Sri Lankan breakfast and dinner. They also organised a driver for us to our next stop. Very helpful.

Lovely location. Food is delicious and served in a covered patio overlooking a rice paddy. Rooms were small but fully functional and clean This place is extraordinary value for money.

There can be no complaints for this price

Our host was amazing and helped us with everything. The food was super, and we've got way more than we could eat. The hotel is located right around the corner of the sacred city, and we rented bikes to explore it easily.

Nothing

Beautiful gardens excellent location very helpful host Very nice surroundings with paddy fields view

The rooms were bit rundown . Need to do some updates as the sink tap loose brackets are loose

Very accomodating, and they are very helpful.

Lovely stay here. Location was perfect for us. We hired bicycles. Staff were lovely, helpful and friendly

All of it

We had breakfast only at the facility and it was beyond our expectations & delicious.

The property need some tidying up.

The dinner and breakfast at this place were truly delicious, especially the Sri Lankan breakfast, which was a wonderful experience. While the price was a little high, the quality of the food and the care put into each meal made it a special part of my stay.

Loved the home cooked dinners and breakfasts. Lovely location overlooking rice paddy field and within easy reach of the nearby historical sites.

Very good value for this price. Staff, breakfast, view and location - perfect. Everythjng you need for one stay in Polonnaruwa is there. It is Also possible to rent bikes - best way to visit the old city.

There was no wifi in the room

location

The best place to stay if you are visiting the Polonnaruwa area...the hospitality is excellent. Thank you very much for providing the highest level of service with very clean and comfortable rooms. 🇱🇰

No Eny One

The best place to stay if you are visiting the Polonnaruwa area...the hospitality is excellent. Thank you very much for providing the highest level of service with very clean and comfortable rooms.

The best place to stay if you are visiting the Polonnaruwa area...the hospitality is excellent. Thank you very much for providing the highest level of service with very clean and comfortable rooms.

A very welcoming and helpfull guesthouse,

The welcome and location.

The guesthouse is located close to the City(10mn on foot). Just near rice fields. Beautiful!!!. The persons are very nice. Foods very good also… it’s a very nice and quiet place. Good bicycle to rent. A good place to stay !!!!

Nothing

Friendly staff very accommodating. Very attentive and helpful.

We had few issues with one of the 5rooms we booked but they attended very quickly.

Location

Room and bed

Very friendly staff with some of the best fried rice in Sri Lanka. Clean room.

Good breakfast, we can easily find it on the map, nice terrace.

Location was great, meals were available and Shamila was an amazing host. She organised a wonderful wildlife park tour for us, meals and bikes for our visit to Polonnaruwa.

The host was very nice. We could rent bike to visit the ancient city. Very good lunch and nice place with view on rice fields. Close to the center and activities!

The food!!!

We stayed for two nights in the first floor rooms overlooking the rice padi. The rooms share a narrow balcony and are a good size, they have fans and aircon. On the second morning a worn tap in our bathroom broke off its fitting and despite the distractions of The Wake the damaged plumbing was repaired quickly. The location of The Thisara is very convenient for the Ancient City.

When we arrived (in a violent thunderstorm) our hard working host Shamila was very distracted by a family bereavement. This affected the stay and made us feel like we were intruding on a private family gathering. We found the facilities disappointing, the rooms were clean but very basic. It was cash only.

Beautiful place facing rice fields with a super host that love to advice and organize activities for her guests. Very much advised the abundant and delicious breakfast and the bike rent!! Few minutes away on foot from the clock tower (main bus stop)

Thisara Guest House is ideally placed nearby Polonnaruwa monuments. The hosts will provide bicycles which are very very useful. In addition, the dinner and breakfast are really a great must (Sri lankan specials absolutely delicious).

So nice welcoming! The place is beautiful and authentic and the owners so helpful and nice! We felt like queens ..,

Nothing

cleanliness, comfort , location

no meal facilities , should provide on request, they should hire staff for this

Clean rooms and bathrooms. Beautiful property. There are paddy fields adjacent to the property where peacocks and other birds come. Nice dining hall. Breakfast and dinner were good. The hosts were friendly and helpful.

Cupboards in the rooms would be a nice-to-have.

lovely owners who served excellent vast breakfasts. Mahesh. also drove us to Anuradhapura at the end of our visit, At end of season food options in Polonnaruwa very limited (eg Dineth's in town - basically a cafe that does curry and rice) so might want to arrange evening meals at Thisara.

We had an amazing stay

Confy room, great surroundings with the rice plantation view and meals were awesome. Very friendly nice staff.

Room smelled like it was a bit humid but turning fans on would already improve the feeling

I enjoyed the breakfast view over rice fields. Staff were helpful and it was good value for money.

Great Sri Lankan breakfast. No other food is prepared. It's difficult to find a restaurant in the city. Not as far to the museum as it seems.

Payment in cash LKR (or dollars, but +5-10$). Although the price in the booking is fixed in dollars.