The Headquarter
Colombo Hilton – 387 rooms (43 suites)67 Lotus Rd. Echelon Square, Colombo 1
Disciples of Conrad’s philosophy of hospitality will hear their master’s voice when they check in at the Colombo dependence, which more than lives up to expectations. Standing amidst seven acres of tropical gardens, the white tower block soars above the Old Parliament Building at the heart of the Fort banking and commercial district. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to find local executives gathering for tea or drinks to the live music in the Thorana lobby lounge. Many of the city’s major social and official functions also take place in the grand Serendib ballroom. Traveling businessmen find a pleasant level of comfort plus the infrastructure for an office away from the office on the Executive Floors. Linked to the main building by a walkway, the pool, sports and spa complex complete with Fitness Center have resort character and provide the best anti-stress therapy in town. Afterwards you can wind down in the gourmet The Gables, the open-air Curry Leaf Garden Restaurant overlooking the Lotus Pond and wind up at the underground Blue Elephant disco.
The Business Hotel
Cinnamon Grand77 Galle Rd, Colombo, KY 3
Welcome to a place where senses are delighted and desires indulged. A place of colours, sounds and unexpected pleasures. A place where you pick the pace and you choose the mood. If you’re looking to explore the city or escape it, Cinnamon Grand is your perfect haven. We’re in the heart of Colombo’s business, shopping and entertainment centre, just 35 kms from the airport.
The rooms are luxurious and the restaurants serve up an eclectic mix of fine cuisine. Plenty of spaces for relaxing and spaces for discovering also rooms for meetings and rooms for avoiding meetings. And if you like to mix business and pleasure, this hotel has all the facilities you need.
The Business Retreat
Taj Samudra25 Galle Face Centre Road, Colombo 3
Lying between the Indian Ocean and a pool set in tropical gardens, the spa-like character abounds. The Indian Taj Froup’s Ceylonese dependance serves visiting executives as a mobile office-cum-seaside home. The rooms are spacious and the restaurants amongst the capital’s best. As you let your hair down in My Kind of Place, the business world seems light years away.
The Charm Hotel
Galle Face2 Kollupitiya Road, P.O. Box 330, Colombo
Just wait until the venerable Raffles from Singapore has restored its new partner hotel to original splendor, so that globetrotting bel-esprits have a home again. Grand-seigneur hotelier and spiritus rector Cyril Gardiner is recreating the atmosphere of the glory days of the world tour in his white Victorian mansion by the sea. The charm has survived, the luxury will arrive.
Heritance Ahungalla HotelSituated in Ahungalla, - Airport 115 km - Colombo 76 km - Nearest town 100 meters - Bus station 100 meters - Train station 200 meters. 5 Star Property - Formally known as Triton Hotel - located in a quaint fishing village and nestles amidst coconut groves that lead to one of the finest beaches in Sri Lanka - 154 tastefully decorated rooms have hues of black, beige and gold creating an aura of elegance and sophistication and offers the epitome of luxury to the discerning traveller - the hotel boasts of 5 bars and two sprawling swimming pools as well as a fully equipees gymnasium - Guests are also afforded the luxury of pampering themselves at the internation Spa chain - the Six Senses Spa
Curry Leaf restaurant - Colombo HiltonCuisine: Sri Lankan
Richly decorated with local handicrafts and batik textiles, this romantic Colombo restaurant is the perfect place to try Sri Lankan dishes like chilli crab, thosai and kottu. Guests at the Hilton Colombo hotel relax in the landscaped gardens by a lotus pond or in the thatched dining area.
Social Dining
Echo - Cinnamon Grand HotelCuisine: Italian
Open: 12 noon – 2.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. – 12.00 midnight daily
Phone: (94) (11) 2497485
The gastronomic joys of Italy are just an order away at this stylish restaurant, the favourite dining destination of Colombo’s many Italian food lovers. Master Chef Sgroi Giuseppe’s menu features classic Italian culinary delights, using the freshest ingredients delicately balanced with aromatic herbs and spices. For lunch or dinner, select from a wide range of antipasti, salads, meats, home made pastas, risottos, seafood and pizzas, accompanied by your choice of wines, spirits, juices, cocktails or liqueurs. Round off your meal with an utterly sinful dessert, followed by a specialty coffee. Bellissimo!
Romantic Dining
The Verandah – Hotel Galle faceCuisine: International
The expansive gardens to your feet, the surf of the sea in the distance and an infusion of nostalgia all around. Have drinks before or after in the historical Veranda Bar. The day begins with a buffet breakfast at the Verandah Restaurant, with a wide ranging menu featuring continental, to American and Sri Lankan items.
The Chinese
Long Feng – Hotel Colombo Renaissance
Cuisine: Chinese
Formerly the Ramada, with the new name came a new restaurant. The privileged location allows a grand view of Beira Lake and the swimming pool usually besieged by pretty girls. Pink paste, white linen, blue porcelain in the dining room decorated with wood carvings and wall paintings. Maitre d’ Athula’s costumed waiters serve you ten varieties of prawns.
The Seafood Place
Beach Wadiya
2 Station Road, Wellawatte
Rustic and laid back it may be, but it you don’t reserve a table out on the sand, in the shade of a coconut tree, you may end up waiting forever or having to compromise with a forlorn little spot inside the old brick house on the beach. It serves the best fish in the land. Bettered jumbo prawns, baked lobster and chilli crabs to die.
The Trendy
Santa Fe
46-52 Galle Road
Cuisine: Tex-Mex Eclectic
Rominiscences of Mark Miler’s Coyote Café won’t be stirred, but being one of a kind on the island, this place is lots of fun and so is the food. In the jazz club Saxophone’s basement: tiled floors, Sri Lankan masks as lighting and a menagerie of Mexican paraphernalia. Mariachi sounds and taco salad, fajitas and margaritas do the trick.
Nightlife
A tropical metropolis, a capital, a harbor, a tourist destination – Manila it is not. Best bar for all dates is the Hilton’s Pub, the hottest disco in town its Blue Elephant, a side-entrance Hades for the Beautiful People of Colombo. Big-name bands entertain nightly (- except on Mondays) at the Oberoi’s roof-top Supper Club, for late dining above the city lights. Nearby, across from the church, live jazz – sometimes by international stars – takes grip of you at the Saxophone, the trendiest club of all.
Shopping
Add glitter to your glamour with natural precious and semi-precious stones and gold and silver jewelry at Fonseka & Sons Jewellers, on Mudalige Mawatha. Batik, lace and coir goods, Dumbara mats, masks and drums are authentic at the government’s handicrafts department store Laksana in York Street. Handwoven fabrics in cotton or silk at Barefoot on Gale Road; brassware, ceramics, terracotta and wood at Paradise Road, but on Flower Road. Take home a bag of tea from the Mlesna Tea Center at the Hilton.
The South Coast
Come soon. Until the tan-hungry masses from greyer climes descend on Sri Lanka’s holiday Riviera, you can still share the sunset pyrotechnics over the Indian Ocean south of Colombo with just the odd fisherman, a handful of local children – and the companion of your choice. A hint of faded Victorian gentility hangs over Mount Lavinia, the first port of call as you head down the Galle coast road. Past the rubber plantations and today tappers of Kalutara, the ‘Deep South” begins with the beaches of Bentota – conventionally palm-fringed, sun-drenched and backed by picturesque fishing villages. Ahungalla is the newest destination on the international beachcomber’s trail for the Triton Hotel. The road then continues south through the surfers’ paradise of Hikkaduwa before ending at the island’s southernmost tip, where the Groote Kerk, the crumbling European-style mansions and the massive fort at Galle still testify to the erstwhile colonial interests of both Dutch and Portuguese. When the suntan routine palls, you can head for Ambalangoda to watch the exorcist rituals and folk ceremonies of the masked devil-dancers before hitting the culture trail inland.
