Hotel Elephant Park - New Deal! Half Off Airport Pickups Available

Incredible experience in terms of why we came here. The only reason we wanted to come was due to the elephants, I did a lot a research beforehand and found this hotel was well recommended. The room view was amazing, as described. The room was good, clean, comfortable bed, bathroom was as described with a hot shower. The breakfast was nice offering a wide range from western food to local. The evening food, not as good. We were recommended a local dish by the staff which wasn’t very nice, very spicy for my taste. It was expensive as well. We did think things would be expensive in this area as you’re here for the view and the elephant experience there isn’t much else here so as expected the prices were higher. I would recommend this hotel for the experience alone, but just prepare yourself for higher prices. The elephants come down to the river three times a day, in different groups. They start from 9am where about 6 males come then the bigger herd of 25/30 females and babies come they normally stay between and hour or two. You don’t want to leave the hotel as you’ll miss this experience. They play and roam which is amazing to see. They are with handlers/keepers but they have to be walked through the street and across the road they are semi wild as they have been rescued. It was great to see them interacting together and playing in the water. It’s an experience I will always remember.

Why is this just 4 stars? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to stay in a beautiful hotel on the river's edge, with an entire majestic herd of magnificent elephants strolling past twice a day to bathe and enjoy themselves in as natural an environment as you could hope to see. I felt privileged to be able to watch these creatures and slightly troubled that these great beasts have been so close to extinction. We were lucky enough to have a table in the first floor restaurant right on the edge of the hotel, so we could watch the elephants, as well as heron, other river birds, and my wife saw what she took to be fruit bats in the evening (while I did not). The food was fantastic -if you do visit, you must have their hot cashew nuts appetiser - fabulous! The hotel seems to have regular live music which was local and/or funky and better than we have experienced in other places. Our room was good. Staff very friendly, attentive - excellent.

Very short version ... nearly perfect , ok starting with the negatives ... terrible coffee with breakfast , that's it , every other thing perfect , seriously a fantastic 3 days , elephant watching from the balcony was amazing , food great , staff go above and beyond. For the coffee addict head up the road away from the river turn left walk 30 metres and there is an amazing cafe with great coffee.

For locality this hotel is fab ..its right over the river ...however....it needs a revamp ..on arrival we found out tgat the road is blocked from 8.30am till 4pm ...for us to get to the hotel we were exoected to buy tickets for the elephant orphanage at 15 dollars each + ...we were not intending to vusit the orphanage during our stay just to watch them bathing in the river ...we had to waste a day because we did not think it fare to charge us when we were booked into the hotel ...if you have mobility probs this hotel is all stairs ...the rooms are dated and we had a broken balcony doir which was not fixed before we left ...food was ok we were half board but for veggies there is only 2 items on the menu ...it takes a long time to get food and drink the staff are lovely but not very organised the do not tend to you immediately somebody was cleaning ouside our room at 6.45am ..mozzies are rife here by the river

I had an exceptional stay at this hotel! The staff, especially Andrew, went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. From exploring a traditional wedding to bathing with elephants, the experiences offered were unforgettable. The breakfast variety was impressive, the WiFi reliable, and the rooms were spotless.

We stayed for one night as a family of 4 at the Grand Royal Hotel. We booked 2 rooms facing with balcony facing the river which gave us a brilliant view of the elephants bathing in the river. Hotel staff are friendly and welcoming. Rooms are a well kept and clean however, a little hit and miss with some things not working- TV receiver was not working in one room, remote control was missing from the other room. The housekeeping staff work very hard to keep the rooms clean and front of house is very helpful and friendly. Cons: You have to buy a ticket to the elephant park orphanage to check into your room as the hotel is located near the river where the elephants bathe. This is cleverly timed so that when you check in you will not be told that you have missed the feeding time at the orphanage and the tickets are only valid on the day of purchase. Therefore, if you do want to visit the orphanage the next day, you will have to purchase another ticket. As it is, the hotel gives you access to view the elephant bathing in the river. The hotel has very little control over this as the hotel is not affiliated with the elephant orphanage, which is government run. Perhaps asking for the alternative access route to the hotel may be worth investigating! Some elephant feeding happens here at the river, beware of receiving fruit to feed the elephants from kind strangers as they will then hold you ransom demanding money for the fruit after. My children were upset by the way the elephants were treated. Tourists were climbing on the elephants while they were bathing in the river and there some of them were chained- we were told this was for safety. Having viewed these beautiful creatures in the wild it was quite underwhelming and cruel to see them in this environment. If you would like the unique experience of waking up to elephants in the river from the comfort of your hotel and being close up then this is for you. There is nothing to do in Pinnawala after 4pm. Otherwise you would be better off doing a safari and watching elephants in the wild.