Cinnamon Lodge

The Cinnamon Lodge,Habarana,Sri Lanka

by nishantha076 about Affordable indulgence in the heart of the Cultural

The Cinnamon lodge is a tranquil location nestled in the heart of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, Just 178 kilometers away from the city of Colombo. It is about 4 hours drive from the Colombo International Airport. Kaudulla wildlife sanctuary, Minneriya wildlife sanctuary, Ritigala cultural site, Polonnaruwa ancient ruins, Anuradhapura ancient ruins, Dambulla cave temple and the Sigiriya ancient ruins which is also considered as the 8th wonder of the world are within close proximity to the hotel.

The Kaudulla & Minneriya sanctuaries are the shelter for hundreds of wild elephants, crocodiles, wild boar, peacocks, fishing cat, sambar, about 150 species of birds including number of endemic species and even the elusive leopards. Sri Lanka Jungle fowl, Malabar Pied Hornbill, White bellied fish eagle, Grey headed fish eagle, and Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill can be seen in Minneriya & Kaudulla sanctuaries. Also these two parks are very famous to see the biggest herd of wild elephants in Sri Lanka.

If you are in the mood, you could try number of holistic therapies (the ancient secrets of Asian beauty) to nourish the soul by using the herbs, leaves and greenery collected from the jungle. The Ayurveda & Wellness centre of the Cinnamon Lodge offers number of stress releasing therapies to celebrate the harmony of transforming the mind, beautifying the body and nurturing the soul.

Some of the very attractive features the Cinnamon Lodge offers are
• Cultural visits to Sigiriya ancient ruins, Ritigala , Polonnaruwa & Anuradhapura ancient ruins
• Elephant safaris around the Habarana lake
• Wildlife safaris to Kaudulla & Minneriya sanctuaries
• Bird trails
• Biking
• Nature trails
• Bullock cart rides
• Participation of Sri Lankan cookery workshops
• Sri Lankan Wedding packages
• Awareness programs of Sri Lankan reptiles by the trained naturalists
• Preparation & serving meals at the excursions
• Picking up your preferred fresh vegetables for your own meal from the organic farm maintained by the hotel With its unique special butler service allows the luxury to the guests to arrange everything on their behalf from the moment they arrives to the hotel or even from the moment they arrives the country till they leaves the hotel or even till they leaves the country.

The hotel boasts with 72 superior rooms, 40 deluxe rooms and 4 Suites set on a 27 acre land ensuring that each guest enjoys the untamed beauty of nature from the privacy of his own space. Each room provides with IDD facilities, Color Satellite TV, in room safe, comprehensive mini bar, and fully individually controlled air conditioning. By hosting a specially designed room for the disabled guests Cinnamon Lodge ensures the interest they have taken to provide the special care for them.

A total of 136 different bird species have been recorded from the hotel premises, belonging to 12 orders & 22 families. An average of 60 species can be observed early morning or during the evening bird walk.

The main open air restaurant ‘EHALA’ offers an exquisite array of dishes with its special Ala Minute menu allowing the guest to select the ingredients at their preference to cook the dish in their presence. You may try your own salad by selecting the ingredients at your choice with your favorite dressings. The ‘Lotus’ restaurant serves a selection of inspired dishes offering both outdoor & indoor seating.

Sinhala & Hindu Avurudu Celbrations at Habarana

by nishantha076

Cinnamon Lodge has arranged special programs from 13th April to 15th April to celebrate the Sinhala-Hindu Newyear. This programs include fancy dress competitions,lots of traditional games etc.

Excellent for Wildlife and Relaxation

by TripAdvisor Member travelharrogate

We have just returned from a holiday in Sri Lanka where we spent 3 nights at the wonderful Cinnamon Lodge (formerly The Lodge) at Habarana. From our first view of the outdoor reception area with it's colonnaded facade we knew that this would be a good place to stay. Accomodation is in lodges dotted around extensive grounds situated adjacent to a lake. We spent the first afternoon lazing by the pool and watching the monkeys frolicking in the trees surrounding the lake. During our stay we were also lucky enough to see a land lizards, water monitors, mongoose and a variety of beautifully coloured birds. The service and staff are wonderful and for those of you who like desserts their is a whole cool room dedicated to those with a sweet tooth.
Also for those of you who like a little culture to go with your wildlife this hotel is a perfect base for visiting the ancient Sri Lankan capital of Anaradhupura and the rock fortress of Sigirya.

Wonderful retreat

by TripAdvisor Member Feeni&Hen

We stayed at the Cinnamon Lodge in Habarana (formerly Habarana Lodge) for three nights in March 2007 and wished that we could stay forever!

Our Lodge (64) was luxuriously furnished with extras like CD/DVD player, candles, canapes, bath robes etc.

The setting was perfect with all lodges set on 28 acres of grounds at the side of a peaceful lake. The bird life was amazing and we spent a couple of hours every morning wandering by the lake, binoculars in hand!

Everywhere was spotless including the pool which is just at the side of the restaurant and a huge pond with turtles & a big Water Monitor Lizard!

We were on half board and the food in the restaurant was the best we had in Sri Lanka.

The hotel is perfectly located for trips to Dambulla cave temples, Sigiriya Rock Fortress (an absolute must do - go in the afternoon at about 3pm for best views) and Polonnaruwa.

Staff at the hotel couldn't do enough for us throughout our stay.

We highly recommend that you stay here!

Paradise

by TripAdvisor Member EWinfor

I had stayed 2 nights at the Habarana Lodge 10 years ago as part of a tour of Sri Lanka, and it was one of the highlights then. Well, it didn't disappoint when I went back this year!

It feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, the rooms are in little buildings (our room covered the entire top floor of the two storey building, with terraces on both sides, and there was another room below us), it's so quiet and peaceful, the bar is lovely, the buffet fantastic (apart from the usual "Western" food, there is a fine selection of local Sri Lankan food - of course toned down for us delicate Westerners but still faaantastic!). I really can't fault it.

The rooms are huge, they have aircon, a mini-bar (we had to order the key from reception - maybe they'd seen us coming..!), a TV, seating area. All very pretty. The bathroom is clean and normal-sized.

When we went in September 2006 a whole section (incl where I stayed in 1996) was closed off for refurbishment, but we heard no building noise (mind you, we were out most of the day). Don't know when it will be finished or whether there are certain rooms that might be affected by noise - might be worth checking. Also, we were told by one of the bar staff that the hotel will reopen with a different name in the future - I think he said Cinnamon Lodge or something like that. As long as it remains as pretty, peaceful and pleasant, I'll certainly be back.

Great sunsets

by TripAdvisor Member Planenut

We stayed here as or original booking to the Kandalama Hotel nearby was cancelled because of building work. Although that was a disappointment The Lodge was an excellent substitute. The rooms are one or two level buildings around the grounds and are well appointed and finished to a high standard. Not all the rooms have good views but all are only a short walk to the lake (tank) shore where there are hides and viewing points to watch the large amount of wildlife that visits, particularly good at sunset. The restaurant is good with a wide selection of food available from the large buffet and a separate glass walled chilled room for the desserts! The grounds are well maintained and there are nature walks and guides available. The hotel has its own pig farm nearby which recycles and even produces gas for the hotel, very environmentally friendly. The staff are keen to show you around and explain what is there. The elephant trek is good fun and well worth the money.

Not bad... but

by A TripAdvisor Member

I agree with most people that the grounds are nice and it's great to see some wildlife; monkeys, birds by the lake. My main problem with the hotel is the buffet. I think you either love or hate buffets. Personally when I go on holiday I want to sit down and be served a meal with complementing foods instead of a hotch potch of food. Don't bother with the Lotus restaurant or any meals that cost extra. They're geared up for buffets, getting a large volume of food out there that isn't that great.

This place seems to attract older people on bus tours that might just stay one night. Next time I will stay at the Kandalama.

Lovely Hotel

by TripAdvisor Member pippippooray

This was the nicest hotel we stayed in on our tour. The lodge rooms were comfortable and large, the food was great (most of the places we stayed served a buffet, and this was the best range of food of any of them, lots of local dishes and plenty of veggie options). The bar in the evenings was friendly and the Lodge Special cocktail was very nice :-). The open plan, open air feel of the bar and restaurant was lovely and the hotel grounds very nice, with lots of monkeys running around. The elephant safari nearby was lovely, we thought it would be a bit naff and touristy but actually it was a really great experience, and the guide pointed out lots of the local flora and fauna as we traipsed. The elephants certainly seemed to be well cared for and happy.

Great Hotel

by TripAdvisor Member LauMonk

Stayed at this hotel for 2 nights whilst touring around Sri Lanka. This was the 1st hotel on our tour and we weren't disappointed. The grounds of this hotel are lovely and the lodge style rooms are equally as nice. The rooms were big and clean and staff in the hotel were very friendly and always willing to help. If you aren't a fan of creepy crawlies then this probably isn't the hotel for you. There is a fair amount of wildlife at this hotel due to the grounds it is set in compared to other hotels we stayed in. It was a common occurance to have monitor lizards sitting outside the rooms, monkeys around the pool and the odd snake slithering past you on the pavement but we feel this added to the hotel's charm. The evening buffet was really nice serving traditional food as well as western style cooking and then after dinner there was a nice cozy bar downstairs to relax in. If i ever went back to Habaranna i would definitely stay in this hotel again as opposed to any others we saw in the area.

Sri Lanka

by chizz

"Sri Lanka"

Travelled to Sri Lanka in February/March, 2009 with Red Dot Tours which organised our hotels and driver for our 10 day tour to the main tourist sights. Here's our itinerary:
20 Feb - Flew from Sharjah, UAE, to Colombo, Sri Lanka with Air Arabia. Flight was an hour late taking off but it was quite good for a budget airline.
21 Feb - Arrived in Colombo at 03.30 and were met by our driver, Punchi. We were then driven to Negombo, a 20-30 minute drive away to our accommodation at Sea Shells Hotel. Checked in early and retired to bed for a rest to the sound of the ocean outside our room! Awoke to see the beach and sea from our balcony which was lovely and met our driver for a short tour of Negombo. Then we strolled the 10-15 minutes into town to eat at a local restaurant and looked around some of the small shops. In the evening we ate at the hotel restaurant.
22 Feb - Time to leave Negombo. After breakfast we drove 3 hours to the Millennium Elephant Foundation where I took a 15 elephant ride, scrubbed the elephant with a coconut shell in the river and had the "elephant shower". This involved me sitting on the elephants back in the river while it squirted water over me with its trunk!!! They also have a small museum which has various elephant related exhibits.
From here we drove a short distance to Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage where we watched the elephants being bottle fed and also their journey to the river for their bathing. It was nice to sit in the restaurant overlooking the river as the elephants bathed.
From here we drove one and a half hours to Dambulla to see the Cave Temples and then on to our Accommodation at Kassapa Lions Rock. Dinner was a BBQ at the hotel.
Feb 23 - After breakfast, we drove 30 minutes to Sigiriya to climb the Lions Rock and see the cave paintings. The climb took around one and a half hours with lots of steps to climb and a spiral staircase up the cave paintings.
From here, we drove one and a half hours to Polannaruwa to see the ruins there and then called at Cinnamon Lodge in Habarana for something to eat. Returned to our accommodation at Kassapa Lions Rock.
Feb 24 - Today we drove to Kandy and stopped off at a wood carving factory that made traditional masks and other handicrafts, as well as furniture. After here, we drove a short distance to an ayurvedic medicine centre where we were given a talk about the various plants and could buy gifts from the shop there. Arrived in Kandy at midday and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Suisse which was by the central lake.
Walked 15 minutes into the town for something to eat before taking a tuk-tuk to the Botanical Gardens where we looked around while our tuk-tuk driver waited. At 5pm our driver took us to the traditional dancing show, before we headed to the Temple of the Tooth to see the drumming ceremony.
Feb 25 - Drove 4 hours to Ella today and stopped at Mackwoods Tea Factory on the way. Did a small guided tour of the factory before sampling the tea in the cafe. Also managed to take photos of the tea pluckers on the hills.

Stopped briefly in the town of Nuwara Eliya to use the bank and buy some supplies in the supermarket. Had dinner at Bandarawela Hotel on our way back to the hotel at Ella.
Feb 26 - Drove two and a half hours to Horton Plains National Park today to do some walking and see the falls and World's End. The walk took around 4 hours and was quite tricky in parts due to rocks and boulders.
Drove back to Bandarawela Hotel for dinner, before heading back to the hotel at Ella.
Feb 27 - Drove 3 hours to Uda Walawe National Park to our accommodation at Kalu's Hideaway (owned by the famous Sri Lankan cricketer, Romesh Kaluwitharana). Had lunch and then hired ajeep to take us into Uda Walawe National Park for a 2 and a half hour safari. Saw lots of elephants, jakal, deer, buffalo, etc. BBQ for dinner at the hotel.
Feb 28 - Left early after breakfast to drive to Hikkaduwa. Stopped on the way to take photos at Mirissa Beach and the stilt fishermen at Koggala before stopping at Galle for lunch. Looked at the Dutch Church there and the fort walls before heading on to our hotel at Hikkaduwa, Cinnamon Gardens.
Swam in the sea before walking into town for dinner at Refresh Restaurant.
Mar 01 - Last day in Sri Lanka so took it easy!! Slept and walked into the town for something to eat before heading to the airport at Colombo which was a 3 hour drive.
Mar 02 - Arrived back in Sharjah early morning. Took a cab back to Dubai.
GREAT TRIP!!!