ELEPHANT BATH HOTEL
The story of the old Katugastota
Back in old days, the best tourist attraction in Kandy was the elephant bath at the Mahaweli River near Katugastota Bridge. Though the present situation is not very supportive, the changing atmospheric conditions made this event a memory by itself. As Kandy enjoys the top spot as the most attractive tourism destination in Sri Lanka, Katugastota elephant bath could have been the biggest tourist attraction after Pinnawala. No foreign visitor leaves Sri Lankan shores without feeling the Kandyan heritage touch. The bath was an excellent photo opportunity for tourists.
The new Elephant Bath Hotel by the bridge is the only living thing that carries the one time biggest attraction of Kandy.
Located on a small hillock off Srimath Kudarathwatte Mawatha, Elephant Bath
Hotel is the latest addition to Kandy’s luxury room inventory.
Opened on the 2nd of November 2018, the Elephant Bath Hotel provides charming accommodation with seventeen comfortable rooms. It boasts a peaceful haven away from any bustle, traffic fumes and noise of the city.
The dense bio-diversity in the vicinity enables guests to spot bird-life and some wildlife on the roof top of the hotel, which opens out to a 360 degree breathtaking view of the Hantane, Knuckles, Hunnasgiriya and overlooking the beautiful Mahaweli ganga.
‘This is a newly built hotel on a 43 perch land, which occupied an old guest house by the same name’ said Jayampathy
Jayakody, the Chairman of the ‘Elephant Bath Hotel.
The hotel boasts 12 deluxe double rooms and five superior rooms with all modern comforts and amenities.
‘A maximum of thirty five guests including kids can be accommodated in all rooms.
All 17 rooms are soundproofed and provide free Wifi, free wired Internet and DVD players, tea/coffee making facilities with modern en suite bathrooms. For a bit of entertainment, flat-screen TV comes with satellite channels’ he added.
When it comes to culinary trends, Elephant Bath Hotel stands way ahead with its extraordinary preparation of Sri Lankan cuisine.
Keeping with all the traditions, the culinary experience of Elephant Bath Hotel too is authentic. Whether it is Sri Lanka, English, Chinese or Italian,
Chef Sisira Hettiarachchi keeps the traditions. ‘The Hotel has theme nights to keep guests’ changing appetite’ he added.
‘The personalised service is the most outstanding, among the string of facilities we offer to our guests.
Apart from the Sri Lankan favourites, we are capable of catering to any request from our guests. The commitment of our staff is incredible. Chef Hettiarachchi is a multi talented culinary artiste’ said MD Bimsara Jayakody.
Elephant Bath Hotel is the ideal base from which to visit many adventurous, nature and historical sites such as centuries old Gadaladeniya, Lankathileke, Embekke, Peradeniya Botanical
Gardens, Victoria Golf Links and Victoria Dam. Ceylon Tea Museum
is just 15 to 20 minutes away from the Hotel.
‘We arrange excursions for all adventure lovers on request. Most of these attractions are more adventurous than some known places. Bird watching, trekking and excursion to Udawatta Kele and nearby places could be arranged. Boat rides on the Mahaweli River are very popular too amongst Sri Lankans’ said Udaya Kumara, the Assistant Manager of the Hotel.
Also the excursions to Knuckles Range, Corbett’s Gap, Pinnawala, Hunnasgiriya are popular with adventure tourists. ‘Our other special offer is for honeymooners. We are ready to serve honeymooners with special culinary experience with romantic rooftop dining facilities by the pool with a 360 degree view’ Bimsara explained the latest offers of the hotel.
‘We have to thank our bankers DFCC Bank, Ibbagamuwa branch for helping us in investing this huge project’ said Mr. Jayakody.
The rooftop offers a 360 degree breathtaking view of the Hantane, Knuckles, Hunnasgiriya and overlooking the beautiful Mahaweli ganga The current room rates at ‘Elephant Bath Hotel’ range from Rs. 11,500/(BB) to 14,000/(HB). The whole bungalow rate is Rs 25,300/-