Hundreds of years ago, the people of Sri Lanka used to build lakes. Whether they liked it or were forced to like it or were paid to like it – King Dutugemunu had a budget - is another thing but they did.
Their ancestors tend to prefer more leisurely lake-related activities. I, being one of those people, can’t take issue with the preference – our lakes are spectacular, gigantic bodies of water and, as you lie next to it with a Rockland Red Rum and ginger beer, you can’t help but say “Thanks, great-great-great granddad for working so hard to give me something so nice to watch at sunset!”
(small joke paraphrased from Bennett Cerf: German Guy 1: “Sri Lankans have great lakes!” German Guy 2: “They have also the big bosoms!”)
Tissamaharama has one of the best tanks and the Tissa Resthouse occupies a prime position there. But, notwithstanding ongoing refurbishments, the rooms have seen better days. Much, much better days. And, because of the Kataragama pilgrim traffic, it’s mostly full.
So, when we visited Tissa recently, we hit up the Hit Ad for a cheap alternative. What came up was the Waterfront Hotel. The ad was not promising – a cheap looking clip art lobster promises a 1 kilo seafood platter (with lobster!) if you book on full board. Neither was the gravel road – you go past the courthouse
The road was not as bad as it could be. And, true to the usual premise - the worse the road the better the hotel - the hotel turned out not to be as bad as we expected. Actually, it was good. And cheap. More importantly, it’s smack dab on the bund of the Tissa Weva.
The rooms open up to a little verandah with a view of the pool. They need refurbishment but not that badly and they have some nice design-y touches. The toilets are similar but clean. There is no lake view from the rooms like at the Tissa Resthouse but they are nicer.
Should you need some lake watching, however, you can hang out in the infinity-ish pool where you can view some spectacular sunsets or play billiards on the only outdoor table I’ve ever seen.
The food – we ordered off the a la carte menu – was decent – they have a really good club sandwich with plenty of bacon. Mmm, bacon.
If we were on an unlimited budget, maybe we wouldn’t have stayed here. But – I’ve stayed at the nicer but lake view lacking Priyankara Hotel as well as the not as nice but lake view having Tissa Resthouse – that would have been a mistake. While Waterfront seems to be one of the lower priced hotels in Tissa, its location is great and the rooms are better than what we would have expected for the price. Not a resounding recommendation, I guess, but hey, what are you going to do?
Name: Water Front Hotel
Address: 15 Tissawewa Road, Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka
Rate: LKR 3,000 room only, LKR 6,500 full board
Phone: +94 47 2237287 / +94 77 3292217
Email: wfronthotel@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.waterfronthoteltissa.com
(Click here for more posts about hotels in Sri Lanka)
It’s a horrible place and don’t ever think to stay in this hotel.. rooms are so bad and very bad smelling and bathroom is so unclean and smelling. No service and very lousy place…… pictures are nice but when you go there reality not like the picture on the website… also no packing…..
ReplyDeleteYour comment is appreciated.Save genuine holiday makers booking a hotel and wasting the whole holiday.
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