I had dinner at Hotel Shalini. The rice and curry was delicious and they kept bringing more and more. One of the best rice and curry I had in Sri Lanka. The portion is rather for two or more people than one, also is the price, I would say.

We went for dinner, and it was unbelievably good. Don't be fooled by the rating on Google Maps: They are shared for hotel and restaurant. The restaurant chef has worked in the restaurant for 26 years, and his experience shows. His rice and curry was the best we had in Sri Lanka, and we had more than 10 dishes in total for a real bargain price, plus you can get wine and beer if you want.

Great place, very friendly people, nice dorm room, amazing food. They have bicycles to rent and do everything to make you a great stay, answer all questions and help where they can. Absolutely recommend it.

Just had the most amazing dinner from my entire time in Sri Lanka!! The flavours were so diverse and delicious, and I loved every side dish because they were all unique. I would highly recommend this place, it has definitely been a trip highlight!

The room was very comfortable and the food was outstanding! The wood apple drinks were delicious and much appreciated. Mr. Siril (Hotel Manager) took excellent care of us. He is very receptive and thoughtful. My friend had strained her knee and Mr. Siril give her ice to ease the pain. The tuktuk driver (Mr. Dhammika) arranged by Mr. Siril picked up from and dropped us off at the railway station. Mr. Dhammika was tirelessly while giving us a tour of the places of interest. Mr. Dhammika covered every place we wanted to see, including several places we had never heard of. We totally recommend Hotel Shalini for a no-frills, home-like stay and Mr. Dhammika for a safe and informative tuktuk tour!

Really nice place for 1-2 nights in Anuradhapura . The owner is so so nice and an incredible cook! Highly recommend the dinner and the breakfast which were both absolutely delicious! He also organized us a TukTuk driver to visit all the important sights which was great. Rooms are totally fine, not very modern but really clean and quite spacious with A/C and everything. Shower was good too with hot water.

We felt very welcome. The food was delicious! Siril was very kind and helpful. We strongly recommend this place, kind regards from the cyclists from Belgium

nice quiet place, rooms at a reasonable price, super friendly people and the food is outstanding. come with appetite as the portions are huge. The bikes they rent out are older than the temples though

The stay at shalini has been weird to say the least. To summerise, half of the description is false. Free air conditioning is not available unlike the description suggests. At some point the manager accused us of using it even though we did not get the remote. The pricing was 1000 a person per night. Yes, airconditioning prices are per person. The entrance reeked of the rotting jackfruit outside, which reeked terribly. They however had nice pets such as a bathroom frog, cockroaches and ants. What annoys me most however is the free breakfast, as it turns out its quite expensive. To use the "free breakfast" that they have noted on the description you appearantly need to get a roomupgrade for €5. The 3 others at the hotel had the same experience. If you dont and fall for the free breakfast trap they will ask you to pay it afterwards. Rediculous. I ended up paying it because i had to hurry to the bus. However i did learn from this and would recommend anyone from staying well clear of the stinky, dirty, money hungry and deceiving hotel shalini

Very nice hostel/ hotel, nice breakfast, very pretty patio <3

We stayed here for 3 nights, Great food with exceptional hospitality! Thank you Siril and staff

Delicious Sri Lankan rice and curry at this hotel. Very tasty and friendly service. Did not stay here - just came for dinner.

We booked a dorm for four people. The room was decent and service really good. The hostel can organise most things to do around anuradhapura for you for a decent price. The trip to the near by national park was our highlight. Also the food there is great.

Great location for exploring everything in the local area. I can recommend getting the dinner at the restaurant as well. The food was excellent with many options. The owner is very welcoming and will make sure your stay here is excellent.

Hotel Shalini was absolutely fantastic. The staff went above and beyond to make sure that I had the most incredible stay in Anuradhapura. The room was clean, strong air conditioning, and hot shower. I rented a bicycle and it was in good condition. The hotel also organized a safari for me to Wilpattu which was one of the highlights of my trip. The dinner meal was different each night of my stay, but equally incredible each night. If I could live at this hotel, I would!

I had a fantastic stay here. The owner is a very nice person and helps you out with a lot of things. You'll get greeted with a welcome drink which was very pleasing. And they're focusing on giving you an overall good experience. Take your time and have a talk with the owner it is worth it! I'd come back here to stay at anytime!

We stayed in the non-AC basement private room. It was very dark and small, and it was challenging to open/close the windows and the main door. Furthermore, we couldn't close the bathroom window, so we had to shut the bathroom door for safety. This was difficult because the door was bent, and it took 5-10 minutes to properly close it. Upon arrival, we noticed that the mosquito net over our bed had big holes in it. Although it was replaced, we had to request it, and the manager seemed irritated. Unfortunately, the manager couldn't stop offering us various services to increase his profit. For example, during breakfast, he tried to persuade us to rent bicycles, claiming that nothing around here could be reached on foot. Despite informing him the night before during check-in that we didn't want any bicycles, he persisted. In summary, the room and service did not meet our expectations given the price, especially considering it was off-season. It felt like a money grab to us.

What a Nice place. We had a very Nice dinner with good service. The best curry we had in sri lanka. Thank you.

Saw this hotel advertised on Lonely planet. We did not stay here but we did eat here. The food was fantastic and the service was on point. The food was probably some of the most tastiest food I have had in sri lanka. 10/10 would definetly recommend.

We had dinner at hotel Shalini. Best curry we had in Sri Lanka so far, and a very friendly host.

We recently visited Shalini Restaurant and was blown away by the delicious curry and rice. It was hands down the best we’ve had in Sri Lanka. The cook and host Siril has over 27 years of experience and it shows in the quality of the food and service. Siril was incredibly friendly and provided excellent service throughout the meal. We also enjoyed having nice conversations with Siril about Sri Lanka. Overall, I highly recommend Shalini Restaurant for anyone looking for a fantastic curry and rice and great service in a nice ambience and the interior of the dining place.

A very nice restaurant with an extraordinary rice and curry ! Really relaxing place with kindly people as Siril, the best waiter 😊 Thanks a lot, you can go there eyes closed !!

Food was delicious. Staff was very friendly, kind and helpful. Rooms are very spacious, clean and well-kept. Very peaceful environment. Highly recommend this place

Room ok, bit dirty. No menu (as mentioned in other reviews) and charged 1500 for rice and curry which is more than double the usual price in Sri Lanka

Great place to eat authentic sri lanka food. Spicy food was the best one we had in Sri Lanka, and host/chef was friendly.