Hotel Review: Cinnamon Lodge in Habarana, Sri Lanka

Habarana should be your base if you plan to tour the religious and historical circuit of Sri Lanka comprising the ancient towns of Anuradhapura, Polunuara, Sigiriya and Dogamba. History buffs that we are, we stationed ourselves for 3 nights and 2 days in Habarana’s luxury resort, Cinnamon, to see the towns thorough…

As I said, a luxury resort, Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana,  is set in sprawling grounds, with cottages spread across the entire property. On our first morning there, I went out for a run and found the perimeter to be close to 4kilometers. With marshes in the periphery, a big natural pond in the middle of the resort that had fishes and turtles, and many many trees, the place offers a wonderful opportunity to relax and shed your city-life stress. There is also the pool, of course, if you like to ‘wash away your stress’, much what the husband and the daughter prefers… 🙂 I am content though with a book, or simply gazing at the landscape and studying the vegetation 🙂

The cottages at the Cinnamon are extremely well appointed, with all the basic facilities and classy pieces of furniture and upholstery. And fresh flowers too. The house-keeping staff are warm and eager to make your stay comfortable and pleasant.

Food at the Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana, was one of the best in our entire Sri Lanka road trip! Our package included breakfast and dinner for every day of our stay there. They have a massive restaurant with the option of reserving your table by the poolside, and every member of the staff takes personal care to see that they serve you the food you want to have. In our case, we wanted local Sri Lankan food. And we got to taste a wide variety of Sri Lankan dishes and specialities here, be it the Spring Hoppers, Plain/egg/spinach hoppers, Sri Lankan desserts. It’s a buffet both for breakfast and dinner, mind you. So, there is no way you will not get the food of your choice. Their live station churns out some very good meats and fries and soups. I had a ball at the salad counter where I made my own plate with a whole lot of ingredients from nuts to leaves to fruits to dressings. And oh by the way, they have a separate room for desserts. Yup, a separate room! And the spread they keep there will make you long for a separate stomach!

All in all, although an extremely expensive resort, Cinnamon lives up to your expectations. We absolutely loved our stay here….and once again, the food was to kill for…