Livinya Holiday Resort

The location is close to Kiri Wehera and other attractions, and the staff are very friendly. The food and services are excellent.

It's a large old hotel, centrally located, catering to the many pilgrims who travel through Kataragama. But they were very welcoming to we Western tourists! The building (as with many in Sri Lanka because of decades of political trouble) is past its best days, but is still very comfortable. We took a room with a private balcony, but it was a claustrophobic small area out the back, the large shared terrace at front was much more attractive. Because they are not catering to Westerners, the price is very good value. The food however is quite expensive, and the dishes we had were not the best quality. Being a non-tourist town there is a dearth of restaurants so really nowhere else to eat. As everywhere, the staff were so kind, helpful and welcoming, in spite of little English being spoken. Good points: Very kind and helpful staff. There is also a pool! (though we didn't use it). Bad points: Overpriced food. Not worth paying for a balcony, just use the shared terrace.

I am not a first-time visitor to Livinya and I have also referred several others to Livinya through recommendation but I am disappointed during my most recent visit in December. As always, the location, the rooms, parking and the attitude of the staff were great but there are some matters relating to food and hygiene that need attention (also highlighted by several other recent reviewers). Pros * Genuine caring staff always on the lookout for how they can help * Spacious, clean and well maintained rooms - likely the best inside Kataragama city close to the Kirivehera (there are better ones on the route from Tissa to Kataragama but that is a different need). * Clean pool for those who wish to use it * Clearly a large investment has been made in building as well as updating the premises (since my last visit at least) although the poor management reduces the value that it delivers. Cons * Unhygienic toilets with accumulated soap scum and smell including blocked/slow drains * Genuine staff but lack of direction and training make their service below * Overpriced yet dismal meals (eg: smelly, old oil used for Fries that should have been long discarded) The hotel overall is well designed and the rooms as well as public areas (except the rear exterior of the rooms; here it is smelling with flies, so they have locked the doors) are kept clean. It is clear a significant investment has been made for the construction and furnishing of the hotel, the rooms and even the bathrooms. The hotel has caring and helpful staff who try to do their best to help but there seems to lack of organization overall on day to day and on what they emphasize. For example, - we were told that kettles which were earlier there in rooms (as a result of which we didn’t bring our own for the pooja items preparation) were now removed as guests steal them (really?) and we can request hot water. Requesting from reception and then subsequently two reminders via phone didn’t bring them and after a while, I had to go wait near the reception until they got it. - The un-scrubbed and smelling bathrooms with soap scum were another factor which was a change since the last visit during Covid times even though the hotel was busy at that time similar to the time we visited recently. (It seems some fittings have been changed for better ones but still the bathroom is not clean). - Also, the bathroom was slow to drain and one has to stand in an inch of water (or close the tap for 2 minutes for every minute of use). The smell also was not one of a clean bathroom. - The food was overpriced yet dismal, I am well aware that better food; both with regard to quality, variety (especially for vegetarians) and hygiene can be purchased outside at the city for better rates; which we did, we certainly don’t mind paying a high price for good food. As we planned to leave early, we ordered packed breakfast; we were given sandwiches and fries. The sandwiches were good, and I think portions sizes we