Lake Front Home Stay

A stone's throw from Kandy Lake, Lake Front Home Stay is run by Manoj and his brother, and the reviews read like a long thank-you letter to them both. This is a genuine family homestay: guests are helped with tour plans, bus times and local advice as a matter of course, and breakfast is cooked and served with real hospitality. The rooms are simple and comfortable, and you're paying homestay prices for a position that hotels charge far more for.

Staying here means the lake is your morning walk — the shaded loop around Bogambara Lake is one of Kandy's great simple pleasures — and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the Udawatta Kele sanctuary and the city centre are all within easy walking distance. If you'd rather stay with people than at a property, and want your hosts to help you shape your days in the hill capital, this is exactly the kind of place to pick.