Sri Lanka’s historic luxury hotel completes major restoration

Posted on: 24 Nov 2015

Sri Lanka – More than 150 years after its debut on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Galle Face Hotel has emerged from a 30-month long facelift.

Restoration was made for the North Wing’s 72 rooms and suites, restaurants and bars, lobby, ballrooms and executive lounge. The hotel last refurbished the South Wing in 2006, and is now embarking on a complementary, albeit lower-impact redressing of those 84 rooms today. Although both wings are fully operational, the restored North Wing commands centre stage.

The current restoration is significant for the iconic property, which was opened in 1864 by four British entrepreneurs. Its North Wing’s rooms have been completely reimagined for the 21st century; an ocean view executive lounge, The Long Room spanning 25 metres added for well-heeled suite guests; and a new conservatory with towering arched doors links the Grand Ballroom with the Jubilee Ballroom.

In service of more spectacular meetings and events, a new lighting system paints the walls of the Jubilee Ballroom and the Grand Ballroom in subtle colours. A reconstruction of the space restores both ballrooms to their original footprint. The new conservatory serves as a reception area for both.

The restoration also involved the North Wing’s original high-ceilinged lobby, which features Corinthian columns, 17th century Dutch colonial chairs, and a wall-length terracotta mural of traditional Sri Lankan imagery.

Many sources point to the Galle Face as the oldest hotel east of the Suez still in operation today. Its handwritten guest book includes a long list of heads of state and royalty, as well as notables such as Vivien Leigh of Gone with the Wind fame and Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who spent a year living in the hotel while writing the final chapters of 3001: The Final Odyssey. An on-site museum displays the car Prince Phillip once drove when he lived on the island then known as Ceylon. And remnants of the hotel’s past can be found throughout, from images of its iconic guests and vintage photographs of the property, to the original crockery, silver and glassware on display in glass cabinets.