Grand Oriental Hotel
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Grand Oriental Hotel or GOH (also previously known as the Taprobane Hotel) is a 3 star heritage hotel, located in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.


History

The original building on the site was a simple, single-storey structure with open
verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...
to the street, inhabited by a Dutch Governor. In 1837 it was converted into barracks for the British Army. In 1873 it was converted into a hostelry, with reconstruction commencing on 23 February and completing 27 October, the same year. The task of converting the Army hostel into a hotel was undertaken by the then
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Sir
Robert Wilmot-Horton Sir Robert John Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet, GCH, PC, FRS (21 December 1784 – 31 May 1841) was a British politician, sociopolitical theorist, and colonial administrator. He was Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1821 a ...
, engaging the architect of Public Works Department, James George Smither, who was also responsible for the
National Museum of Colombo The Colombo National Museum, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum, is a museum in Colombo and the largest in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1877 and maintained by the Department of National Museums, it holds collections of significant importanc ...
,
Colombo General Hospital The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (sometimes General Hospital) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. The hospi ...
and the old Colombo Town Hall. The estimated cost to build the hotel was 2,007 pounds but is noteworthy that the hotel was constructed within one year under the estimate for only 1,868 pounds. The Grand Oriental Hotel was officially opened on 5 November 1875, and had 154 luxury and semi-luxury rooms. The owners were Colombo Hotels Company Ltd, who advertised it to potential customers with the claim that it was "the only fully European owned and fully equipped hotel in the East" and "managed by experienced Europeans". According to a review published in 1907:
“The Grand Oriental Hotel (or GOH as it is familiarly known far and wide) was the first of the modern type of imposing hotels erected in the East. With its towering front facing the harbour and the shipping and its main portico separated by only a few yards from the principle landing stage, it occupies both a commanding and convenient position; and passengers by the mail steamers who are passing through the port are especially catered for at this establishment in the very best style…The building contains 154 bedrooms…The hotel is lighted throughout by electricity and all the public rooms and bedrooms are kept cool by means of electric fans.”
The GOH began to prosper from the beginning and many wanted shares in the hotel. This prompted the management to sell 500 shares before the opening and later another 500 were also sold on the day of the opening. The hotel had its own landscaped tropical garden, which was illuminated at night with coloured lights, together with a resident orchestra, which performed twice daily, and held special concerts on Wednesdays and Sundays. The hotel went thorough a refurbishment program in 1920 where on-suite bathrooms were introduced. In 1940 though still under the British management the colonial only tag started to change and locals too were seen dining and even hosting weddings in the hotel. In the early 1950s the communal violence and political situation in the country combined with a series of strikes in the hotel prompted the Dutch Burgher proprietor, Sam De Vos to sell the property. The
Bank of Ceylon Bank of Ceylon (BOC; Sinhala: ලංකා බැංකුව ''Lanka Bænkuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை வங்கி ''Ilangai Vangi'') is a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Its head office is located in an iconic cyli ...
bought the Grand Oriental Hotel in 1954 for
Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
625,000 and subsequently in 1955 leased it to Managing Director of Ceylon Hotels, P. A. Ediriweera. However he was replaced on a court order in 1960 and the hotel had no official management for nearly two years during which time the employees faced tremendous hardships. In 1963 the Bank of Ceylon with the assistance of the then
Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
,
T. B. Ilangaratne Navaratne Rajakaruna Wasala Mudiyanselage Tikiri Bandara Ilangaratne (27 February 1913 – 21 May 1992), popularly as T. B. Ilangaratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, author, dramatist, and theater actor. He was a Member of Parliament for K ...
, and
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
, D. S. Goonesekera, once again took over the management. The company name was changed from Colombo Hotels Company to Hotels Colombo Ltd. However, due to legal constraints the Bank of Ceylon could not use the name Grand Oriental Hotel and they renamed the hotel as the Taprobane Hotel. Sir
Richard Aluwihare Sir Richard Aluwihare, (23 May 1895 – 22 December 1976) was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police and Ceylon's High Commissioner to India. Early life and education Richard Aluwihare was born on 2 ...
was appointed the company's chairman and the bank spending Rs. 736,036.90 on urgent repairs. During this period the hotel went through major changes with the bank taking over a section of the hotel. The hotel was reduced to 54 rooms and the garden too disappeared. A part of the hotel including the large dining room was given to the Bank of Ceylon. In 1966
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 younges ...
was appointed to remodel the hotel, creating the Harbour Room, a restaurant on the fourth floor directly overlooking the
Colombo Harbour The Port of Colombo (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as an i ...
. During this period the hotel's original was restored and the country's first night club, the Blue Leopard, located in the basement of the hotel opened. The total cost of the refurbishment was approximately Rs. 1.9 million. In 1989 the hotel reverted to its original name, the Grand Oriental Hotel, re-opening in June 1991. In 2000 the Bank of Ceylon undertook a major refurbishment of the hotel at a cost of around Rs. 4 million. In November 2010 the Bank of Ceylon advertised for expressions of interest for a management partner in the hotel, with a number of local companies, including
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 foo ...
,
Aitken Spence Aitken Spence PLC ( si, එයිට්කින් ස්පෙන්ස්; ta, எய்ட்கின் ஸ்பென்ஸ்) is a Sri Lankan blue chip conglomerate with operations in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacif ...
and Cargills Ceylon, together with international companies,
Raffles Hotels & Resorts Raffles Hotels & Resorts is a chain of luxury hotels which traces its roots to 1887 with the opening of the original Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The company started to develop internationally in the late 1990s. From 2015, Raffles is part of Accor. ...
,
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts () is a multinational hospitality company. Founded in 1971 by tycoon Robert Kuok in Malaysia, the company now has over 100 luxury hotels and resorts with over 40,000 rooms in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East ...
and
Royal Orchid Hotels Royal Orchid Hotels a hotel chain operating hotels in India and Kenya. History The flagship hotel was established in Bangalore in 1973 by Chender K. Baljee. In 2008, Royal Orchid Hotels operated 15 hotels. By May 2015, the count of hotels ...
responding. In 2012 BoC shelved plans for any refurbishment or joint management In May 2016 the
President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
,
Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
, requested the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development issue bids for sale of the Grand Oriental Hotel.


Facilities

The hotel has 80 rooms and two suites. The suites are named after two famous personalities who stayed here, Dr
José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...
, who stayed in May 1882. and
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
, who stayed at the hotel in 1890 for five days, during which time he started writing '' Gusev''. It has two restaurants, the Harbour Room and the Sri Lankan Restaurant, a nightclub (B-52), a bar (Tap Bar) and a cafe (
Tiffin Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...
Hut).


References


External links


Official site
* {{Hotels in Sri Lanka Hotels in Colombo Hotels established in 1875 Heritage hotels in Sri Lanka Geoffrey Bawa buildings Archaeological protected monuments in Colombo District