Galle face hotel, Colombo

This is a excellent Hotel. You can read more about this hotel at www.lanka.com/hotels/colombo/80-galle-face-hotel-colombo-...

Cracking outpost of the British Empire dating from the 1860’s, and thankfully it hasn’t changed a bit since then. Even some of the staff are originals! The guestbook reads like a who’s who of the 20th century.

It’s actually pretty good value to stay in the old wing at $60/night for a large suite with a sea view. The decor is getting a bit tired, but it add the the charm really, and I can’t get enough of polished hardwood flooring, I really can’t.

All rooms are a/c, but a/c from the 1920s so it’s too loud to actually have on while you sleep, so open the window and listen to the waves instead.

The facilities are top notch, and you can dine out in a different restaurant around 5 nights, although my favourite was the giant buffet on the veranda, which is fantastic.

So all in all, if you’ve one night in Columbo, you can’t go wrong staying here. Be sure to check out the gunboats patrolling off the coast, and the man who’s job it is to scare crows with a catapult!

The Galle Face Hotel is a beautiful old colonial Hotel on the sea front in Colombo 3.
It was set up and was originally like a sister hotel to Raffles in Singapore. Inside is a car that was Prince Philip’s first car and on the wall carved in marble is a vast list of all the famous people that have been there - Richard Nixon, Indira Ghandhi, Emperor Hirohito and many more.
I used to go there weekly to rehearse for the National Orchestra which I played in and part of the charm after 3 hours of rehearsing was a cold beer on the beautiful veranda overlooking the Indian Ocean.
It is not one of the ultra modern 5 star hotels that are also in Sri Lanka, but it’s charm far outweighs all the modern stuff in the others.
There is a huge outdoor saltwater swimming pool and a fairly new spa suite indoors.
Even to go just for a drink if you’re not staying there is well worth a visit.