This lovely hotel is up a hill behind Kandy lake. On the winding walk up the hill there is a viewing platform with lovely day/night views down to Kandy. We had a family suite, which was clean, comfy and well equipped with two bathrooms, tea/coffee and a fridge. Loved that we could close the door between ours and kids room at night. The beautiful pool on the rooftop was a highlight. We mostly had it to ourselves as the hotel seemed pretty quiet! The views are lovely and at night the lights are pretty around the pool area. We even had a troop of visiting monkeys one late afternoon. Plenty of tuk-tuks to hail down out front- or call Pick-me drivers (app) for (usually) a better price. We visited in the middle of Pilgrimage of Sri Lankan people to visit the Temple of the Tooth by Kandy Lake as Buddhas tooth relic was being displayed for the first time in 16 years (for ten days only in April). Kandy was mayhem! Queues for days (literally) with people all dressed in white and whole families camping out in lines in the street- Queues 5-10km long. That’s dedication! Was a great cultural experience to witness but meant obviously we couldn’t visit that temple and getting close to the lake was difficult. However, the rest of Kandy’s attractions were very quiet as everyone was visiting the Temple. It was good to be up the hill and away from the hustle downtown and our location felt very peaceful.

Breakfast was the most expensive we’ve had on our trip (US $15!) and was okay but had better elsewhere. We had dinner there one night. We weren’t overly impressed as it took 40 minutes to get us four drinks (one came out every 10-15 minutes!) and food was average. Restaurant needs some improvement. There are a couple of other hotel’s restaurants nearby on the hill- or try the restaurants in town centre.

The staff were amazing, the rooms are large and comfortable and the location is fantastic. On booking we expected Serene Kandy to be further from town but on arrival realised it is actually close to the Kandy viewpoint and a short stroll downhill to the market, lake and central city (inclusive of the tooth temple). The staff are amazing in their service from start to end. Arjun was a fantastic host from welcome to departure and really gave a sense of care for us as guests. Our driver in Aruna is an amazing person who really made our travel to Sigriya, the ancient city, Golden temple and cave temple an amazing experience for such a packed program. All the remaining staff we engaged with were friendly, attentive and helpful with any request needed. Getting to and from the town is simple, walk or just ask the amazing staff for a tuk tuk. If you’re headed to the station or on an adventure within the surrounding area or Kandy the staff will arrange everything for you so you truly have a no worries holiday in Kandy. Be sure to swim early to enjoy the morning sunrise or at night when the temple is in full song and drumming in the night sky. A great place and thank you to all of the team there especially Aruna for all of your help and friendly hospitality.

At times the hot water wouldn’t work but the staff were quick to fix this in under a minute when we called them.

Lovely entrance area, and good location, lovely views and room with Balcony. The rooms were very big with two bathrooms. Cleanish, all needed a bit more updating and care. Pool is nice and could swim in evenings. Tuk Tuk arranged by hotel

The service in the restaurant was terrible, slow and not much choice of drinks, no wine by glass and bottle was much more than we had paid elsewhere. Pool was ok but needed a bit of cleaning and pool bar was for show. All in all the hotel just needed a little more care and attention ... the toilet in one of bathrooms had not been cleaned, we did say on check out. Ut bit much done.

Serene Kandy is a lovely boutique hotel. It is conveniently located on Rajapihilla Mawatha, just a short walk from the Kandy viewpoint and a 10-minute tuk-tuk ride from Sri Dalada Maligawa. The staff, from the front desk to the bellhop, were extremely friendly and courteous. They went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. Breakfast was delicious, with traditional Sri Lankan and Western options. Sachintha, our host, did an excellent job addressing our needs and special requests for breakfast. There is also an a la carte menu for lunch and dinner (can be ordered as room service or by the pool). The room and bathroom were spacious and clean, and the shower had excellent water pressure. The room doesn't come with a mini fridge, but they were able to arrange one for us within minutes upon request. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would recommend the hotel to anyone.

This hotel is incredible and a must stay if you’re in Kandy. We only stayed for 1 night but wish it had been more. Really good value for money considering the luxury provided. Immaculate, stylish hotel with beautiful rooms and stand out staff! The staff were beyond helpful and accommodating and went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable. The staff organised us an early breakfast as we had to leave the hotel at 7am, we were so grateful for this. Only a short drive down the hill to the city centre, but located beautifully so that you can relax in the amazing root top pool & bar overlooking the city after a long day.

Nothing at all.

Staff were very helpful and full of local advice (we were even bought avocados from the front office managers home town as he felt we were ripped off from the local market!). Room was comfortable enough and the pool was a great temperature. Good location, easy walk to town (good to get a tuktuk up).

A little more cleaning would have been useful in the bathroom. Bathroom not airconditioned. Food at breakfast was NOT good and was very pricey (thankfully we had not paid in advance). We did not venture there for dinner...

The staff at the Serene Kandy were so helpful and kind. We had a bit of a drama with train tickets we'd booked on the wrong day, and one of the team literally went to the train station to try and get us new tickets. Everyone who we met and/or spoke or messaged with was so wonderful. The Hotel is clean and elegant and efficient. The reception team helped us by organising a taxi to Colombo (as train tickets weren't available when we required). Tuk Tuks were summoned as and when we needed, to pop into the markets or out to dinner. We liked being slightly up above the centre of Kandy, and loved that there was a monkey on our balcony for a few minutes! When we arrived tired and hungry in the late afternoon, the friendly chef cooked up a delicious meal for the four of us, and came out to chat to us, and see how we liked it, which was lovely.

The price is a little high compared to other places, but we booked last minute, which might explain that.

Hotel very nice fantastically located on a hill overlooking the whole city and Buddha temples .Clean. Spacious room with two bathrooms Very tasty breakfasts - Sri Lankan or European style, very plentiful. Great manager who helped us arrange transport to Ambuluwawa Tower. The same manager helped us with arranging transport to Colombo providing a talk about the realities of life in Sri Lanka. I wanted to thank him warmly for his help. Unfortunately I did not remember his name but he was born in a town near Nuwara Elija. If he is reading this review I would like him to know that thanks to people like him the perception of Sri Lanka is very positive and I am grateful to him for his full professionalism and time. ඔයාට ස්තූතියි

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We just loved our stay at Serene Kandy, a brilliant introduction to our fortnight in SL. The hotel is luxurious but good value for money, with a fantastic communal roof terrace including a breathtaking infinity pool with views on to the valley leading to Kandy city centre - beautiful whether first thing in the morning, to cool off in the heat of the day, or to linger in at dusk. The rooms were lovely - spacious, good air con, well equipped, comfortable beds and with small terraces giving on to pleasant green views. And we really appreciated the chef Karu and his team on site - best SL breakfast of our stay, truly a feast, but also a great evening meal brought by room service and even an improvised (and excellent) packed lunch for us when we were running late for an activity. Excellent location, walkable into town via Arthur's Seat viewpoint and the lovely shady Royal Palace Park - or a Rs 500 tuktuk ride in either direction. The hotel staff were so lovely and supportive, including the duty manager and a colleague running us down to the railway station in their own tuktuks on the morning of our departure as commercial tuktuks weren't to hand. Overall a truly wonderful place to stay.

Breakfast was both delicious and copious, though at $12 per person not as good value as other meals and snacks offered à la carte in Rs.

My mom and I travelled to Kandy during the month of April and we chose to stay at Serene Kandy. They provided accommodation and food for our drivers at no additional cost which I'm very grateful t for! The room was pretty good. Comfortable and clean. Nice view. The shower was fantastic. Icing on the cake was the kind chef who prepared excellent food for us as per our request. He especially prepared a delicious stack of pancakes for me and it heavenly! He was very curtious and did a really great job with the food. The waiters at the restaurant were really nice. We had a late check out and they accommodated that for us with great difficulty and it is highly appreciated. Overall, a very pleasant stay! 😊 Will come back!

None! Wish I could have stayed for another day.