Cinnamon Bentota Beach, formerly known as Bentota Beach Hotel, is a

luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

five-star hotel in

Bentota Bentota is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, located in the Galle District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Bentota is situated on the southern bank of the Bentota River mouth, at an elevati ...

, Sri Lanka. The hotel was built in 1967 and designed by Geoffrey Bawa. After refurbishment, the hotel reopened in 2019. The hotel is owned and operated by a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings under its luxury hotel chain,

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is a major Sri Lankan luxury hotel chain brand. Cinnamon Hotels was recognised as the most valuable hospitality brand in Sri Lanka for 2019 with a brand equity of seven billion Sri Lankan Rupees. Philip Kotler, the renow ...

. Cinnamon Bentota Beach is known for its architecture and decor.

Architecture

The Sri Lankan architect

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the young ...

designed the Bentota Beach Hotel which was built between 1967 and 1969. Bawa's architectural approach is described as "tropical modernism". It is the first

resort hotel A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to sta ...

in Sri Lanka and was built on the site where the old rest house stood. With the construction of the hotel, Bentota was designated as the first "national holiday resort".

Laki Senanayake Laki Senanayake (18 December 1937 - 30 May 2021) was a Sri Lankan sculptor and painter. Personal life Born in 1937, the son of Reginald S. Vincent and Florence Senanayake, he was the fifth of six children. His father, a planter by profession, ...

worked on the peacock culture of the hotel and Ismeth Raheem painted 14 black and white panels.

History

Ceylon Holiday Resorts Ltd. is the owner and operator of the hotel and is a subsidiary of John Keells Hotels PLC which in turn is a subsidiary of

John Keells Holdings John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) is one of the largest conglomerate companies in Sri Lanka. From managing hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka and the Maldives to providing port, marine fuel and logistics services to IT solutions, manufacturing of food ...

. John Keells Holdings acquired Whittalls Group of Companies in 1991 giving them control of Ceylon Holiday Resorts. Ceylon Holiday Resorts was formerly listed on the

Colombo Stock Exchange The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ( si, කොළඹ ව්‍යාපාර වස්තු හුවමාරුව, translit=Kolamba Vyapara Vasthu Huvamaruva; ta, கொழும்பு பங்கு பரிவர்த்தனை) i ...

under the symbol of "CHR". During the

2012 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2012 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was the third ICC Women's World Twenty20 competition, held in Sri Lanka from 26 September to 7 October 2012. The group stage matches were played at the Galle International Stadium in Galle and semi-finals an ...

, the

South Africa women's national cricket team The South Africa women's national cricket team, nicknamed the Proteas, represents South Africa in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of the sport), the team is organis ...

stayed at the hotel with their families. In 2017, 50 years after the inauguration of Bentota Beach Hotel was closed for reconstruction. In reconstruction, under the supervision of Channa Daswatte, the iconic ceiling by

Ena de Silva Ena de Silva (née Aluwihare) (22 October 1922 – 29 October 2015) was a notable Sri Lankan artist, credited with re-establishing the country's batik industry. She was renowned for her skillsets in the design of batiks and handicrafts and p ...

at the entrance of the hotel will be remade. The handloom fabrics used in the remake were designed by Barbara Sansoni and

BareFoot Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to h ...

. After an LKR4.9 billion refurbishment, the hotel reopened in December 2019. Prior to the refurbishment, the hotel was rated as a four-star and had 133 rooms.

Amenities

The hotel is equipped with 159 rooms and six specialised restaurants. These include Nossa, which is an all-day dining restaurant, a seafood restaurant Sea Meats Spice, Zest, an Asian restaurant and Ottimo which serves pizzas and pasta.

References

External links

Official website
{{Hotels in Sri Lanka 1967 establishments in Ceylon Hotels in Galle District Hotels established in 1967 Companies formerly listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange

Architecture

History

Amenities

See also

References

External links