List of hotels in Sri Lanka explained

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), there are 156 classified tourist hotels and 228 unclassified tourist hotels in Sri Lanka.^[1] Additionally, there are 40 boutique hotels, 51 boutique villas and 895 bungalows in the country. The classified hotels collectively have a capacity of 15,214 rooms, including 28 five-star hotels and 28 four-star hotels. SLTDA's grading is based on the criteria set by the World Tourism Organization. In 2011, the classified hotels accounted for 70% of the total room capacity in the industry.^[2] A number of accommodation facilities that built during the British colonial era have been converted to high-class hotels later. These include the Galle Face Hotel, the Grand Oriental Hotel, the Mount Lavinia Hotel, the Queen's Hotel, Kandy, the Grand Hotel and St. Andrew's Hotel and the New Oriental Hotel.^[3]

Central Province

Kandy District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class^[4]	Number of rooms	Notes
Cinnamon Citadel Kandy	Kandy	1983	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Kandy Walk Inn, a subsidiary of John Keells Hotels PLC		119	The hotel's main deck is decorated with Dumbara weaving designs, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage, and an 18-foot handwoven wall hanging by Ena de Silva.^[5]
Empire Hotel	Kandy	1898		Manor House Concepts		14
	Kandy	1960s		Helga De Silva Blow Perera		16	An Art Nouveau boutique hotel.^[6] Kelly Jones of Stereophonics wrote the song "Madame Helga" after staying at the hotel.^[7]
	Kandy		Ceylon Hotels	The Kandy Hotels Company (1938) PLC, a subsidiary of Ceylon Hotels Corporation		83	Used as the HQ of the South East Asia Command during World War II under the command of the Earl Mountbatten.^[8]
Mahaweli Reach Hotel	Kandy	1973		Mahaweli Reach Hotels PLC, a subsidiary of Universal Enterprises		108	The first five-star hotel in Kandy.^[9]
	Gunnepana	2005		Manor House Concepts		9	Dates back to 1804.^[10]
	Nugawela	1998				10	Former Nugawela Walauwa^[11]
	Kandy	1869	Ceylon Hotels	The Kandy Hotels Company (1938) PLC, a subsidiary of Ceylon Hotels Corporation		80	The oldest hotel in Kandy.

Matale District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class	Number of rooms	Notes
	Kandalama	1994	Heritance Hotels & Resorts	Kandalama Hotels (Pvt) Ltd, a sub-subsidiary of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings		152	Designed by Geoffrey Bawa. The first hotel in Asia to be accredited with the Green Globe standard.^[12]
	Elkaduwa	1971		Hunas Holdings PLC		31	Opened 1971 with prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in attendance.^[13]
	Sigiriya	2006	Jetwing Hotels	Jetwing Hotels		36	In 2023, Condé Nast Traveller named the hotel as one of the 15 best eco-hotels in the world.^[14]

Nuwara Eliya District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class	Number of rooms	Notes
Alpine Hotel	Nuwara Eliya			Alpine Hotel (Pvt) Ltd		30	Dates back to 1914 built Planter's Home^[15]
	Nuwara Eliya	1891	Tangerine Hotels	The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC		154	The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company purchased Barnes Hall in 1891.^[16]
	Kandapola	1996	Heritance Hotels & Resorts	Hethersett Hotels Ltd (a subsidiary of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings)		50	The hotel won the merit award at the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards in 2001.^[17]
	Nuwara Eliya			Hill Club Co. Ltd		45	Founded as a gentlemen's club in 1876; did not admit locals or women until 1967.^[18]
St. Andrew's Hotel	Nuwara Eliya	1891	Jetwing Hotels	Jetwing Hotels		56	Built in 1875. Acquired by Jetwing Hotels in 1986.^[19]

Northern Province

Jaffna District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class	Number of rooms	Notes
Jetwing Jaffna	Jaffna	2016	Jetwing Hotels	Yarl Hotels (Pvt) Ltd		55	The tallest building in Jaffna.^[20]
Tilko Jaffna City Hotel	Jaffna	2010		Tilko Jaffna City Hotel (Private) Limited		42	The first star-class hotel in Jaffna.^[21]

Southern Province

Galle District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class	Number of rooms	Notes
Amangalla	Galle	1865	Aman Resorts	Aman Resorts		33	Built in 1684. Formerly known as the New Oriental Hotel.^[22]
Cinnamon Bentota Beach	Bentota	1967	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Ceylon Holiday Resorts, a subsidiary of John Keells Hotels PLC		159	Designed by Geoffrey Bawa. The first resort hotel in Sri Lanka.^[23]
		1965		Perera Abeywardena family		20	Built in 1860 on the ruins of a Dutch fort. Originally named Villa Marina.^[24]
		2001		A subsidiary of Lankem Ceylon		12	Lankem Ceylon acquired the hotel from an Australian investor in 2011.^[25]
		1981	Heritance Hotels & Resorts	Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings		152	Originally known as the Triton Hotel, named after the Greek god Triton.^[26] The first five-star beach resort in Sri Lanka.^[27]
		1997	Jetwing Hotels	The Lighthouse Hotels PLC, a subsidiary of Jetwing Hotels		85	Designed by Geoffrey Bawa^[28]
Nooit Gedacht Hotel	Unawatuna	1991				38	Built in 1735 as a Dutch colonial mansion.^[29]
	Bentota	1995	Jetwing Hotels			27	The first luxury boutique hotel in the country.^[30]
	Koggala	1973		The Fortress Resorts PLC, an associate company of Vallibel One		53	Formerly called Club Horizon Hotel, Koggala.^[31] Built like a fortress enclosing a Dutch-era villa.^[32]

Uva Province

Badulla District

Western Province

Colombo District

Hotel	Location	Opened	Chain	Proprietor	Class	Number of rooms	Notes
Cinnamon Grand Colombo	Colombo	1975	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Asian Hotels and Properties PLC, a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings		501	Formerly known as the Lanka Oberoi Hotel.^[34]
Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo	Colombo	1981	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Trans Asia Hotels PLC, a subsidiary of Asian Hotels and Properties PLC		346	Previously known as the Ramada Renaissance Hotel.^[35] During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013, some of the heads of State stayed at the hotel.^[36]
Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort	Colombo	2024	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Waterfront Properties, a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings		800	The first integrated resort in Sri Lanka^[37] and the largest private investment in the country. It is planned to open in the third quarter of 2024.^[38]
	Colombo	2014	Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts	Capitol Hotel Holdings, a joint venture of Sanken, John Keells Holdings, and a Singaporean firm		243	Sri Lanka's first 'lean luxury' hotel.^[39]
	Colombo	1984		Galadari Hotels Lanka PLC, a subsidiary of Galadari Brothers		450	The hotel was previously managed by Le Méridien and JW Marriott Hotels.^[40]
	Colombo	1864		Galle Face Hotel Company Ltd		156	One of the oldest hotels east of Suez Canal.^[41]
Grand Oriental Hotel	Colombo	1875		Bank of Ceylon		80
	Colombo	1987	Hilton Hotels & Resorts	Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd, a state-owned enterprise of the Government of Sri Lanka		382	Delisted from the Colombo Stock Exchange in 2020. Owned by Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd, a wholly owned state-owned enterprise.^[42]
	Colombo	1998	Hilton Hotels & Resorts	Hirdaramani Group		165 apartments	One of the tallest buildings in Sri Lanka.^[43]
	Colombo	April 2024	ITC Hotels	WelcomHotels Lanka Pvt. Ltd (a subsidiary of ITC Limited)		352	ITC Hotel's first international investment^[44]
	Colombo	1973		Hayleys		229
	Mount Lavinia	1877		Mount Lavinia Hotel Group		275
	Colombo	2017	NH Collection	Softlogic Holdings		219	It is the first five-star-class hotel to be launched in Colombo in 25 years.^[45]
	Colombo	2017	Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts	Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts		500
	Colombo	1980	Taj Hotels	TAL Lanka Hotels		300	One of the oldest five-star hotels in Colombo.^[46]
	Colombo	2005	Paradise Road Hotels	Bandaranaike family		10 suites	The former town residence of the Bandaranaike family. In 1959, Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was fatally shot on the verandah of the house.^[47]

Kalutara District

Notes and References

1. Web site: Year review in 2023 August . sltda.gov.lk . Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority . 5 December 2023 . 14 . August 2023.
2. Web site: Ensuring Sustainability in Sri Lanka's Growing Hotel Industry . . 7 June 2021 . 2013.
3. Book: Fernando . S. . Bandara . J. S. . Smith . C. . Hall . M. C. . Page . S. J. . The Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Asia . 2016 . . . 251–264 . 7 June 2021 . Tourism in Sri Lanka.
4. Web site: Hotels & Other Accommodation . srilanka.travel . 13 January 2024 . en.
5. News: Exquisite grandeur at Cinnamon Citadel Kandy . 6 March 2022 . . . 12 October 2012.
6. Web site: Helgas Folly . reddottours.com . 6 April 2021.
7. Web site: Helga's Folly (Chalet Hotel) . yamu.lk . 6 April 2021.
8. Book: Ellis, Royston . Royston Ellis . Sri Lanka: the Bradt Travel Guide . 2005 . . Bucks, England . 9781841621296 . 93 . 17 August 2022.
9. News: Jansz . Beverley . Mahaweli Reach - the first 5-star in Kandy . 21 July 2022 . . . 7 April 2002.
10. Web site: Kandy House . telegraph.co.uk . . 7 June 2021.
11. News: Attygalle . Randima . 'Nugawela Mansion': Walauwa turns hotel . 17 August 2022 . The Sunday Times . Wijeya Newspapers . 11 June 2000.
12. Owen . Ceridwen . Architecture between the culture-nature dualism: a case study of Geoffrey Bawa’s Kandalama hotel . International Journal of Architectural Research . 2008 . 2 . 1 . 49 . 10.26687/archnet-ijar.v2i1.176 . 10 January 2023.
13. News: Pradeepa . Ganga . Where the mist will take you unawares . 18 December 2023 . . 21 November 2008.
14. News: Vil Uyana in 15 best eco hotels list by Condé Nast Traveller . 28 November 2023 . . 14 May 2023.
15. News: Alpine receives award . 19 August 2022 . Daily News . Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited . 14 October 2005.
16. News: Stay cool in Grand style . 19 August 2022 . The Sunday Times . Wijeya Newspapers . 8 March 1998.
17. News: UNESCO award for Tea Factory Hotel . 26 December 2023 . . 10 March 2002.
18. Book: Warren . William . Asia's legendary hotels : the romance of travel . 2012 . . Singapore . 9781462906741 . 110 . First . 19 August 2022.
19. Book: Briggs . Philip . Sri Lanka . 2018 . . 978-1-78477-057-0 . 419 . 19 August 2022.
20. Web site: Jetwing Jaffna . telegraph.co.uk . . 7 June 2021.
21. Web site: Tilko Jaffna City Hotel . . Wijeya Newspapers . 7 June 2021.
22. Web site: Amangalla . yamu.lk . 7 June 2021.
23. Book: Gunawardena . Charles . Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka . 2005 . New Dawn Press . New Delhi . 978-1-93270-548-5 . 47 . 2nd rev. . 30 November 2022.
24. News: Malwatte . Gayan . Windsor . Ruwan . Bailey Kande Walawwa . 18 August 2022 . Sunday Observer . Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited . 23 May 2021.
25. News: Lankem buys boutique Galle Fort Hotel for Rs. 770 m . 18 August 2022 . Daily FT . Wijeya Newspapers . 24 November 2011.
26. News: de Silva . Charitha. P. . Aitken Spence breaks into hotels . 10 December 2023 . . 6 February 2022.
27. Book: Ellis . Royston . Royston Ellis . Sri Lanka . 2011 . . 978-1-84162-346-7 . 212 . 10 December 2023.
28. News: Boyle . Emma . Jetwing Lighthouse . 18 August 2022 . telegraph.co.uk . Telegraph Media Group.
29. News: It's your kind of station with more than just music! . 7 June 2021 . . Wijeya Newspapers . 20 December 1998.
30. Web site: Saman Villas and Mermaid Hotel & Club join Jetwing family . ft.lk . . 7 June 2021.
31. News: Dhammika buys 56.07% stake of Club Horizon Hotel . 28 July 2022 . . . 12 February 2003.
32. Book: Briggs . Philip . Sri Lanka . 2018 . . 978-1-78477-057-0 . 586 . 28 July 2022.
33. Book: Herath . Hanshika . Munasinghe . Sarath . Managerial Strategies and Solutions for Business Success in Asia . November 2016 . IGI Global Publication . 304–316 . 7 June 2021 . Domestic Tourist Satisfaction in a Colonial Hotel and Its Implications for Management: The Case of Bandarawela Hotel, Sri Lank.
34. Book: Herdeck . Margaret . Piramal . Gita . India's Industrialists . 1985 . Lynne Rienner Publishers . Washington DC . 9780894104152 . 287 . illustrated, revised . 13 August 2021.
35. Web site: Annual Report 2018/19 . cse.lk . Trans Asia Hotels PLC . 18 July 2021.
36. News: Dias . Sunimalee . World leaders to stay at Hilton, Cinnamon Lakeside . 18 July 2021 . . Wijeya Newspapers . 18 August 2013.
37. Web site: Invest in Sri Lanka . cinnamonlife.com . 26 April 2021.
38. Web site: Annual Report 2022/23 . cse.lk . John Keells Holdings . 22 December 2023 . 13.
39. Web site: Cinnamon Red pioneers 'lean luxury' for contemporary travellers . ft.lk . . 7 June 2021.
40. News: Galadari sparkles October . 11 July 2022 . . . 6 October 2009.
41. Web site: Sri Lanka's The Galle Face Hotel announces five new exec appointments . ehotelier.com . 7 June 2021.
42. News: Hilton Colombo to delist from CSE . 27 August 2021 . adaderana.lk . . 26 June 2020.
43. Web site: Hilton JAIC Tower - Sold . breakingtravelnews.com . Breaking Travel News . 1 April 2022.
44. News: Dutt . Ishita Ayan . ITC's luxury project in Colombo hit by headwinds as Sri Lanka economy sinks . 7 February 2024 . . 23 June 2022.
45. News: President declares open Movenpick Hotel Colombo . 25 November 2021 . . . 9 January 2017.
46. Web site: Taj Samudra Colombo, Sri Lanka . telegraph.co.uk . . 14 August 2021.
47. Web site: Tintagel Colombo – A Unique and Private Hotel for the discerning tourist . The Times of Sri Lanka . 24 April 2021 . 15 January 2013.
48. News: Boyle . Emma . The Blue Water . 19 August 2022 . telegraph.co.uk . Telegraph Media Group.