EKHO Lake House - From Colonial Bungalow to Royal Retreat

We stayed two nights in the royal suite in December 2025. The suite (where the young Queen Elizabeth stayed in the 1950s, when the hotel was basically a colonial-era hunting lodge) was very large, luxurious and comfortable. The spacious bathroom still has the queen's bathtub ("Made in England")! There's a lovely waterside private garden/terrace with a large jacuzzi, from which the ruins of an ancient stone pavilion are visible just a few hundred meters away. The views across the tank included elephants wandering along the far shore; in the evening the sky filled with thousands of flying foxes heading toward the mango groves beyond the tank. From the hotel we could walk into the unforgettable Polonnaruwa ruins in less than five minutes.

It's funny, but one of us was reading a Sri Lankan novel from the 1980s in which the main character comes to stay at this very same hotel and complains about the poor food. And I would say exactly the same thing in 2025. The dining room itself is gorgeious, and the breakfast was fine, largely because it included a Sri Lankan breakfast option. The dinner, alas (we ate there twice), did not offer this possibility, and the Western-style food wasn't very good. My advice to management would be to let the chef cook Sri Lankan cuisine. The wait staff was very attentive, and cannot be held responsible for this shortcoming. It's no surprise that we were the only diners in the restaurant on both evenings.

The manager chef and all the staff. Always ready to please nothing was too hard for them. Service with a smile always! Their kindness was second to none A beautiful location calm and serene.

None

Perhaps the best food we had in Sri Lanka! The kitchen and restaurant staff are incredible. Loved our room and the location. What a beautiful place to watch the sunset plus flying foxes gliding over the lake at dusk. Amazing!

The staff was exceptional, pointed out elephants in the distance during breakfast and were super helpful in general. Food was some of the best we had in Sri Lanla

Bit of wear and tear. Not enough attention to detail for the price point

Very comfortable. Beautiful position. Sweet friendly but relatively untrained staff. Food good. Menu unimaginative . v slow service. Wine list good but first two choices not in stock. 3rd choice ran out after 1 bottle. Laundry service did not return as promised on same day. These are perhaps small things but while location and comfort 6 star service etc just 4. But we had two happy nights here.

Upon arrival, one of the wet face towels offered by the reception was stained black. We were also given a bad room by the reception upon arrival. The room carpet was stained and looked ugly. When we requested a cancellation for the second night, we were given another room with a clean carpet and a nice lake view. However, the hot water did not work properly in the second room. After being informed, the receptionist told us there was a repair and that hot water would be back in 10 min; however, it did not return until we checked out the following day. The shower bath drained slowly. The hotel needs new towels and bath mats which looked old. The room boy was great and attentive. The room was very clean. Food was fine.

The rooms are old and stained carpets

Location was excellent on the edge of the lake Parakrama Samudraya. Rooms were very good and extremely clean. Service was excellent particularly the restaurant staff.

Magnifique, les chambres sont de grande qualité de même que le petit déjeuner.

Pas de transat pour la piscine Location de vélo en état très médiocre