The Grand Kandyan

The bed was comfy. The view was amazing. The staff were very friendly. The location is very close to downtown but up a hill so very very quiet. The food is good, EXCEPT the mutton biryani. Don't order the Mutton Biryani it was just tough fatty meat that you couldn't chew unless you want to feel like you're chewing on an old piece of gum.

What a view during morning

As you enter the hotel you know everything about this place is just very grand, big, and shining gold. Big hall, big golden chairs , big windows and big golden blue decorative peacocks as a central show piece. As we waited to get us checked in a smiling gentleman approached, “ would you like to have another round of welcome drink?”, we were too embarrassed to tell him that we were not even offered one so far so we sheepishly accepted the drinks. The rooms were big, again nice and grand, the bathroom equally specious and we got a room from where we can see the white Buddha statue near the famous Kandy lake. The first day dinner was again a surprise. We were told that the hotel has less than 25 guests so we have to choose from a set menu. One starter, one main meal and one dessert. All this against a paid buffet dinner. The seats we got in the restaurant was just stuffy and very hot. We both were sweating. We spoke the person in the restaurant and were informed that another family was having dinner and they have asked to switch off the Aircon. We really felt quite unwanted. Next day onwards our good stay started since we were attended by the manager Mr Anuradha. He is ever smiling and ever helpful person. Next day we ordered some dish for our lunch but didn’t liked the taste, Mr Anuradha quickly got it replaced with another dish of our choice without any extra cost. Frankly Anuradha was the person who made our stay comfortable and enjoyable. The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool, a great bar. The location is just five six minutes away from the Kandy lake and exactly eight minutes drive to the Kandy railway station. I think they have the best of the location. The breakfast on next two days was just wonderful, again attended by Mr Anuradha we were taken good care of. The checkout process was more efficient than the check in. I can only say that Grand Kandyan is a superbly located and built hotel, but the complicated processes needs to be more customers friendly (we asked the tea bags at reception because the room service was constantly busy but the tea bags did not reach us till next three hours till I called room service again and they delivered it promptly). My humble suggestion would be that being big and grand is not enough for a good business, a little bit of soul will do the magic.

Stayed in this hotel for 7 days and couldnt fault it staff are amazing they really make u feel special food is unreal so tasty and fresh different options evey night fresh fruit and chocolates delivered every day to your room.But I must say a massive thank you to Hilary who was amazing and really made are stay just fabulous 100% 5 star to all the staff, will deffo return and I highly recommend anyone to this hotel if looking to stay in Kandy

We stayed at the Grand Kandyan for 7 nights as a family of 5 (2 x kids 9 & 14, parents and Nan). People were surprised that we were staying in Kandy for 7 days however we loved every moment, especially staying at the hotel. The staff absolutely make the stay- they are all so happy, helpful and kind. They could not do enough to make our stay enjoyable and relaxing. The pool attendants were so friendly, always up for a chat and a laugh. The staff in the dining room were so lovely, always asking if they can get us anything. The food was beautiful, good mix of traditional and western foods. When we left, they gave us a gift- just a lovely touch. All up, we could have stayed for another 7 days!

We stayed here for 2 nights on our 8-day tour of Sri Lanka for our honeymoon. On arrival, the staff were friendly and the interiors of the hotel is breathtaking. We were able to check in early, and had a beautiful room with a great view. They restocked our water when we asked for it and we had room service which was also good. The switch has tripped when we arrived and someone came immediately to sort this problem. Nothing was too much for the staff. The only reason we gave 4 stars is simply because we felt some of the cleanliness could be improved; there were many stained chairs in the restaurant upstairs and they moved a lot when sat on them. The bathroom tiles were also not cleaned after 1 of our nights and we noticed the bath hadn’t been cleaned or our towels replenished. We went up to the roof terrace and felt that this was also quite outdated and needed some renovations and changes in the furniture. It is a lovely space but all seems quite old. The chefs were accommodating when asked for extra support to know which foods to avoid to cater to my severe nut & coconut allergy. They were very good with this. Overall we had a great stay!