Grand Oriental Hotel

I don't understand all the negative reviews. Yes, the Grand Oriental Hotel has seen better days and everything is quite aged and out of date. It needs a little love and lots of renovations. But given the price you pay to stay in this historical colonial building, I'd say it's very good value. You can't expect Hilton standards for 33$ a night. I stayed in room 306, which is truly more of a suite when you consider its size. Yes, the furniture is old and the bathroom is straight out of the 80s, but there is a lot of charm and history here. AC was a little loud, though. Bed was comfortable and the wifi worked well throughout the hotel. The staff was always nice and polite. The restaurant on the 4th floor was good value, especially the buffet breakfast. The hotel is a 10-minute walk or a short tuktuk ride from the train station. Glad I stayed here.

The location was great. The port view from the restaurant was nice. The breakfast buffet was tasty. The building is massive and really cool, especially if you like old colonial architecture. Value for money was right on. I got exactly what I expected from reading the description here and reviews from other guests.

This is a fine, old-fashioned hotel, conveniently situated near Pettah. My room was very large, with colonial-style furniture. It had an individual a/c unit. There is a restaurant on the top floor which has a good breakfast buffet. The lobby is large and very pleasant.

We like the location of the hotel. It was in the center place. Many attractions are at walking distance. The famous Pettah market was located at 10 minutes walk. Dutch Hospital and Port city were also at 7 to 10 minutes walk. There is a small food joint just opposite of the hotel at ground floor at the corner of the opposite building. Where we get the water, tea/coffee, snacks and packed lunch etc. That was opened on every day between 8 AM to 6.30 PM. Tuk tuk stand was just outside of the hotel.

Lovely staff especially at reception and in the dining room, fabulous, diverse breakfast with view of busy port, good air-conditioning. The whole experience was one of cultural immersion. Its an authentic old hotel with none of the global homogenising of larger, flashier places. Queen Elizabeth stayed here and you can feel what the hotel was once like. We arrived straight from the airport, first time in Sri Lanka and it was a great introduction to Sri Lankan people. If you want a joyful, culinary experience and don't mind about the room facilities so much come here. We'll be back.