I don't understand all the negative reviews. Yes, the Grand Oriental Hotel has seen better days and everything is quite aged and out of date. It needs a little love and lots of renovations. But given the price you pay to stay in this historical colonial building, I'd say it's very good value. You can't expect Hilton standards for 33$ a night. I stayed in room 306, which is truly more of a suite when you consider its size. Yes, the furniture is old and the bathroom is straight out of the 80s, but there is a lot of charm and history here. AC was a little loud, though. Bed was comfortable and the wifi worked well throughout the hotel. The staff was always nice and polite. The restaurant on the 4th floor was good value, especially the buffet breakfast. The hotel is a 10-minute walk or a short tuktuk ride from the train station. Glad I stayed here.

The room was huge and high with grand old four poster bed. There was also settee and upholstered chairs. High windows. Room is bright and sunny with curtains. Would i stay again? Yes, because it has a feel of a bygone charming world.

The wi fi was a problem. Cant understand why it has to be refreshed every 4 hours. It's annoying. Both times i requested certain rooms, they did not oblige. I stayed twice. The plug points are old - need to be replaced.

The location was great. The port view from the restaurant was nice. The breakfast buffet was tasty. The building is massive and really cool, especially if you like old colonial architecture. Value for money was right on. I got exactly what I expected from reading the description here and reviews from other guests.

Like all the other reviews have said, the building and rooms are outdated and in desperate need of updating/renovation. The main entry smelled weird and so did the bathroom in our room.

Spacious room. Little bit older but in good condition. Located in Fort, Colombo where main train and bus stations are in walking distance. Ample food places closer by.

This is a fine, old-fashioned hotel, conveniently situated near Pettah. My room was very large, with colonial-style furniture. It had an individual a/c unit. There is a restaurant on the top floor which has a good breakfast buffet. The lobby is large and very pleasant.

At the time of our visit, January 2025, a large road is being built literally alongside the hotel's upper floors, so there is a lot of noise, particularly at night. (Once this road is completed, the noise of the building will presumably be replaced by the noise of traffic zooming past!) Things are a bit tired, though, and we had difficulty in getting a bedside lamp.

Very good bar food, friendly waitresses and fabulous interior. Well air-condiotioned, high ceilings.

A request for a simple item took an hour to bear fruit, but this wasn't much of a problem.

We like the location of the hotel. It was in the center place. Many attractions are at walking distance. The famous Pettah market was located at 10 minutes walk. Dutch Hospital and Port city were also at 7 to 10 minutes walk. There is a small food joint just opposite of the hotel at ground floor at the corner of the opposite building. Where we get the water, tea/coffee, snacks and packed lunch etc. That was opened on every day between 8 AM to 6.30 PM. Tuk tuk stand was just outside of the hotel.

No nearby restaurants. Except Dutch Hospital where we find many restaurants. But that is almost at 7 minutes walk.

Don’t be put off by the rating. The Queen stayed here! Sure it hasn’t been modernised since then but the rooms are huge, it’s clean, the facilities mostly work ( tv and fridge a bit ropey) and a great view from the dining room. If you’re not happy, ask for another room. And an unbeatable location for Old Colombo. Make sure to explore the hotel and its heritage.

The meal plans are very simple, with little choice in particular for the evening meal. If you want options, you’re better off going out.

Lovely staff especially at reception and in the dining room, fabulous, diverse breakfast with view of busy port, good air-conditioning. The whole experience was one of cultural immersion. Its an authentic old hotel with none of the global homogenising of larger, flashier places. Queen Elizabeth stayed here and you can feel what the hotel was once like. We arrived straight from the airport, first time in Sri Lanka and it was a great introduction to Sri Lankan people. If you want a joyful, culinary experience and don't mind about the room facilities so much come here. We'll be back.

I hope she gets the upgrade she deserves without loosing her original charm. Facilities are very basic but if we cared more about that we would have stayed home.

I love this colonial typed hotel. Location is great. But I think due to poor management the hotel runs without a profit. They can develop the hotel to get more attraction of thr foreigners without harming the traditional look and the envorenment. The guests must be more facilitated.. The staff is good. Rooms are spacious. But the condition of the rooms are not upto the standard. Though the hotel has more than 100 rooms around 60 rooms are functioning.

We wanted to have our meals in harbour room. We stayed on half board basis. But the dinner was served to the room. A buffet break first was available in a conference room with a small number of guests.