The Riverston Grand

We had a wonderful stay at Riverston Grand Hotel in Sri Lanka. We stayed in the 360 View Room, which was absolutely perfect — offering breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Watching the sunset from there was a truly magical experience. The food was delicious and the overall atmosphere was calm and peaceful. A great place to unwind and enjoy nature. Highly recommended for a relaxing getaway!

The name alone promises a Grand Old style hotel, but the pictures already show that it’s relatively new. It looks like a private mansion converted to a hotel in the last 10 years, nothing bad with that. The location is as stunning as Knuckles can be; climbing the stairs to the free Sky Bridge platform (telescope was sadly out of order) gives views of many miles. And if you have luck with the meals and rooms it could be a fantastic experience, equalling similar Knuckles hotels like Hunas Falls or Stratishla. Apparently we were not that lucky, or maybe more critical than some tourists. The fact that in a corner of the restaurant one can consume Shisha already was a warning sign, but there is far more worrying. The room types are quite messy. The normal ‘deluxe’ room that half of our family had was actually basically a suite, with separate sitting room and large balcony. The ‘180 degrees suite’ however was despite the size a letdown: 5 beds hence more a family room, not a real sitting area, no balcony, and a lot of wasted space like a separate coat rack room with space for a suitcase and 50+ coats. And even a nice small meditation room. No experience with the ‘360 degrees’ suites in the Sky bridge tower, except that as the hotel is on a mountain slope the views are more also 180 degrees nowhere near 360’. So this confusion with rooms makes it a Frankenstein-like experience; a family room is not a suite and should not be called that, and a normal room with 2 parts can be called a suite. Breakfast (1 x Western 3 x Lankan) was excellent. Dinner however was a huge shame, and another part of the Frankenstein-risks. We needed 1 Western veggie; not on the menu but waiters agreed to make it pasta with veggies, egg and cheese. And 3 Lankan dinners, and the menu did contain all kinds of weird stuff but not a standard rice & curry. So in the end we ordered a mix of Lankan food (with toasted bread instead of rice) and mashed potatoes and chicken. Well guess it, the cook delivered pure completely tasteless pasta without anything extra, with veggies to the side; and then the Lankan/mashed mixture. He apologised later that the waiters had not told him about the cheese and eggs, and delivered at least a small bowl of hot and not too spicy tomato sauce. The waiters however had their own part to play in the mess: while we were eating the soup they started bringing mains, and 5 minutes later and our mouths full they came asking for the dessert order. Need total retraining at the hotel school, sorry to say. Bottom line: currently far too many issues to recommend; there are hotels in the Knuckles that have a lovely garden and a pool for the same price level, so avoid the Grand until they fix their many issues.

Hotel is clean and feels like staying in a tree house. Meals are delicious specially the French cuisine that chef Ananda prepares. The hotel is located very close to transmission tower hike. Staff is always eager to help. Overall, beautiful hotel in a stunning location.