Reviews of The Sanctuary at Tissawewa 2 stars
Old Puttalam Road Old Town, 50000 Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
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Reviewed: 25 April 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewIdeal 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.
Reviewed: 9 March 2025 · Stayed in February 2025
Verified reviewA 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.
Reviewed: 21 December 2024 · Stayed in December 2024
Verified reviewWonderful 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
Reviewed: 9 August 2024 · Stayed in August 2024
Verified reviewHistoric 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.
Reviewed: 11 July 2024 · Stayed in July 2024
Verified reviewfood was good
have to take care of the monkeys. they are dangerous. There were branches on trees that were dead and hanging.
Reviewed: 28 April 2024 · Stayed in April 2024
Verified reviewbeautiful property- great food. team were friendly and helpful.
bathroom was a bit tired
Reviewed: 17 March 2024 · Stayed in March 2024
Verified reviewReviewed: 5 March 2024 · Stayed in December 2023
Verified reviewThis 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.
Dear Valued guest. we thank you for taking the time to share your experience at the hotel which is very encouraging and motivate our staff to de even better
Reviewed: 9 February 2024 · Stayed in February 2024
Verified reviewLarge historic property. Extensive grounds with wildlife. Good food. Helpful staff
Troublesome internet. No pool. Pricey.
Reviewed: 3 January 2024 · Stayed in December 2023
Verified reviewwe were in room 7 , the people above made a lot of noise , moving furniture around so difficult to sleep
Reviewed: 24 December 2023 · Stayed in December 2023
Verified reviewReviewed: 18 October 2023 · Stayed in October 2023
Verified reviewGreat location and easy to see all the sites
Reviewed: 18 August 2023 · Stayed in August 2023
Verified reviewReviewed: 15 August 2023 · Stayed in August 2023
Verified reviewArchitectural 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
Reviewed: 22 April 2023 · Stayed in April 2023
Verified reviewThe 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.
Reviewed: 7 April 2023 · Stayed in April 2023
Verified reviewVery 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.
Reviewed: 28 March 2023 · Stayed in March 2023
Verified reviewGreat 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.
Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to share your experience with us, looking forward to see you the next time you visit Anuradhapura
Reviewed: 13 February 2023 · Stayed in February 2023
Verified reviewThe 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.
Thank you for your positive comments which we have taken in good faith for the betterment of the property, we would certainly look into what you have mentioned and do the necessary rectifications
Reviewed: 7 February 2023 · Stayed in February 2023
Verified reviewThis 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.
Thank you very much for your valuable feed back which would inspire our staff to do better, looking forward to see you on your next visit to Anuradhapura