Chaaya Citadel Kandy is constructed in the place of the former Dunuvila Wallauwa (The ancestral home of the Dunivila family). Dunuvila, one of the King's Ministers, lived here with his extended family.

And, as the legend goes the King of Kandy would make it a point to break journey at this very location whenever he passed by in his boat. It is said that he did not simply stop to rest, but to bathe in the river and spend some time at the Wallauwa.

An old family photograph of the original Wallauwa still hangs at the entrance to the hotel.