The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Old Puttalam Road, Old Town, Anuradhapura 50000 Sri Lanka
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About
#23 of 309 hotels in Anuradhapura
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Charming Colonial hotel dating back to 1907, Built with luxury, the only hotel within the Sacred city of Anuradhapura. nestled in a 14 acre block of land which is a home to many species of birds and not forgetting the monkeys.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free internet
Free breakfast
Bicycle rental
Airport transportation
Foot massage
Currency exchange
Outdoor furniture
Secured parking
Public wifi
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast in the room
Car hire
Full body massage
Hand massage
Head massage
Massage
Neck massage
Picnic area
Sun umbrellas
Laundry service
Ironing service
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Room features
Air conditioning
Safe
Bottled water
Iron
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Charming
Location
Old Puttalam Road, Old Town, Anuradhapura 50000 Sri Lanka
Getting there
Car HireSee all Anuradhapura car hire
337Reviews0Q+A70Room tips
ReviewsWe perform checks on reviews.Tripadvisor’s approach to reviewsBefore posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
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We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
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A lovely 2 nights at the Sanctuary. A beautiful old colonial building in huge private grounds, and there are two things we particularly liked about it. The first are the very friendly and caring staff. The second is the fact that you can walk to some of the key sites from here, which to do so in the evening is really special.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 16 Sept 2023
Dear Valued guest. we are very happy that you have enjoyed your stay at our property and further taking the time to share your experience with us Best regards Jan
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
+1
This was our 3rd time here. As always, the staff were super helpful and polite. The location is amazing if you wish to see the temple. It’s built in old colonial style, which is cute. However, I feel it’s gone from authentic/rustic old charm to just tired and run down. My biggest disappointment was the level of cleanliness: the bathroom area was not very clean and our fridge was covered in mould on the inside and around the seal. I had to clean before use. We were made to think about breakfast at dinner and dinner at breakfast so to pre order. Not major but I may have made different choices otherwise. Plates were being rushed away as soon as your fork was down and whilst others in the group were still eating. It felt hurried always. Food choice is very limited but very nice, and no alcohol is allowed due to the hotel being so close to the temple. I felt saddened by the change in the place, such a shame and so much potential too! All that said, we still appreciated the staffs efforts. …
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 16 Sept 2023
Dear Valued Guest. we thank you for taking your valuable time in sharing your experience with us, however we have taken serious note of the negative side very seriously and will take all measures to put things right. Best regards Jan
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Avoid at all costs!! Made a reservation via their website and as I didn’t receive a email confirmation I called the hotel , then they confirmed the booking. We checked in in the hotel around 5 pm with no issues and then once went out and came back to hotel around 11 and then they were saying that there is no booking and asked for cash payment. We have paid to them via their website and showed the payment confirmation as well, however they treated us as who are thieves who were trying to stay at their place without paying. How can we pay cash while we have already made the payment via card, very unprofessional and highly disappointing. Their manager was saying that the price of the double room was 17,000 but it was clearly mentioned in their website as 15,450 as you seen in the screenshot. Luckily there was another hotel, rajarata who accepted us at mid night and we were able to check in their.…
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 16 Sept 2023
Dear Guest. we thank you for your response as at that moment there was no payment which was informed to your farther and we requested him to pay the amount and by any chance if the money came into the bank we would refund in full. however your farther decided that he would move out which he did. there are many guest who book through our web site and we had no issues uptodate. Best Regards Jan
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
A fantastic property in the heart of the sacred city (walking distance to the Sri Maha Bodhi). The hotel is housed in a beautiful colonial building surrounded by a large property where monkeys and peacocks roam. Lovely for strolling or biking (in the bicycles provided for free by the hotel). We stayed in Room 8 which is a family room on the ground floor of the main building. The room was clean and very comfortable and the long verandah outside, overlooking the garden is perfect for reading or an afternoon snooze on the comfy armchairs. The food (both Western and Eastern options) was delicious and well prepared. The service was truly exceptional with Lal (Manager), Sriya, Nadun, Shantha and the others taking great pains to ensure that our holiday in Anuradhapura was enjoyable and that we got the most out of our stay. Our every whim was graciously catered to! We really felt at home here. Will certainly visit again.…
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Date of stay: September 2022
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip: The main building has the best rooms
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
A lovely little "sanctuary" to stay in as a base for seeing the historical sites. We entered to a peacock with it's tail open for us and monkeys roaming around which was a delight for our children. The rooms were comfortable but the best thing was the breakfast by the lovely friendly man who seemed to be the head chef. (sorry I forgot his name as it was a long trip) It was the first and best traditional Sri Lankan breakfast we had on our visit!
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Date of stay: March 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Jan Dirckze, General Manager at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 12 Apr 2022
Dear Valued Guest. let me first thank you for taking your valuable time to share your experience on TripAdvisor which would help other travellers when booking our hotel. we are glad that you have being very happy of what we had to offer, we hope that if your do come back to Sri Lanka you would visit us again. "Stay Safe"
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lovely old building, comfortable rooms with a shady veranda and lovely grounds to stroll around. As with most hotels in Sri Lanka at the moment it had few guests so felt a bit soulless. However the staff were friendly and the food was good so it served our purpose as a base for exploring the temples.
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Date of stay: February 2022
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: First floor best with views over the grounds fro the veranda
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 26 Mar 2022
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for taking time to review on our hotel. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay and have had a comfortable stay. Looking forward to see you back for few more nights on your next visit.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We visited the hotel, which is in a colonial building, for dinner and was treated to a delightful meal. Although the hotel was quiet we were made to feel very welcome. The service was excellent. We had rice and curry and lake fish with vegetables which were both beautifully presented and perfectly cooked. Dessert was a sri lankan favourite of Watalappan ( type of creme caramel with juggery) and enormous portion buffalo yoghurt and treacle ( kitul pani). The hotel is about 10mins by tuk tuk from the centre
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Date of stay: February 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: To appreciate the setting arrive before sunset.
Note alcohol is not served as it is in a sacred...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
This hotel is very close to Anuradhapura, so very convenient for visiting. We enjoyed our stay very much. The customer service was superb from everyone in the hotel, and staff were very welcoming and always friendlyand polite. The food was good, tasty and fresh. Our room was simple in decor, decorated in Colonial style. Very clean, bed was comfortable. The gardens were nice, lots of wildlife.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Homely but luxurious hotel… i like the well maintained 14 acre garden… so beautifully maintained… over 100 years old Governers house converted to hotel.. excellent staff.. personalized service… food was awesome.. Flexible with everything… you must stay in a upper floor for a better experience…
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Date of stay: October 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip: If you visit the ancient places please use the guide the hotel has … his name is Kith..
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 9 Nov 2021
Dear Ushaana, we are happy to hear that you have enjoyed of what we had to offer, and believe that you would share your experiance with others. looking forward to see you once again when you come to Anuradhapura
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lovely quiet oasis in the middle of the ancient city. The dinner menu was a little sparse but this was difficult as we were the only guests and they had only just opened. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Rooms were comfortable and the hotel was full of character
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Date of stay: October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Response from Quickshaws Pvt Ltd, Guest Services / Front Office at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Responded 9 Nov 2021
Dear Alisonr, we are gald that you have happy during your stay with us and enjoyed your stay at the hotel, we are looking forward to see you once again if you do happen to come to Anuradhapura
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
PRICE RANGE
US$167 - US$168 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
tissawewa resthouse anuradhapura
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Tissawewa Resthouse
LOCATION
Sri LankaNorth Central ProvinceAnuradhapura
NUMBER OF ROOMS
21
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Frequently Asked Questions about The Sanctuary At Tissawewa
Which popular attractions are close to The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Nearby attractions include Ruwanwelisaya (1.1 km), Jethawanaramaya Stupa (3.2 km), and Sri Maha Boodhi Temple (0.8 km).
What are some of the property amenities at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and free parking.
What food & drink options are available at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast and an on-site restaurant during their stay.
Is parking available at The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Yes, free parking and secured parking are available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Conveniently located restaurants include Little Paradise Anuradhapura, Bamboo Restaurant Juice Bar, and Palhena Restaurant.
Does The Sanctuary At Tissawewa have airport transportation?
Yes, The Sanctuary At Tissawewa offers airport transportation for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Are there any historical sites close to The Sanctuary At Tissawewa?
Many travellers enjoy visiting The Royal Palace (Vijayabahu Maligaya) (1.9 km), Short Handed Statue (3.2 km), and Wessagiriya (2.4 km).
Is The Sanctuary At Tissawewa accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.