Bandarawela Hotel's origins date back to the turn of the 19th / 20th century when the railways were being extended by the British from Nanu Oya to the southern highlands as a Railway Hotel.

[4] The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1893 for a tea planter's club.

[2][5] It was subsequently converted into a rest house and was used as a sanitarium by British soldiers and officers recovering from the Second World War.

[2][7] To this day, it remains locked in time somewhere between the 1930s and 1950s and is an alternative to some of the more modern facilities in the area.

The hotel shows the influence of British architecture during the period of colonial era in this region.