The Queen's Hotel is an 80-room British Colonial style three star hotel, located at central hill capital

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Located in the center of the city at end of the main street, this former Governor's residence is one of the oldest hotels in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years. It is currently managed by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC. The hotel was originally constructed as a residence, the 'Dullawe

Walauwa Walauwa or walawwa is the name given to a feudal/Colony, colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a Native headmen of Ceylon, native headmen. It also refers to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era. The term walauwa is derive ...

', designed by Devendra Mulachariya on instructions from King Sri Vickrama Rajasinha. Soon after the British defeated the

Kandyan Kingdom The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...

in 1815, it was adapted as a mansion for the

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of captain-majors of Portugue ...

, with adjoining buildings constructed to house British troops. The building was subsequently converted into the barracks for the

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the United Kingdom, British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In ...

. In 1840 it was used as a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

, known as Malabar House, due to its location on Malabar Street (now known as D S Senanayake Veediya). It was then operated as a boarding house, known as the Stainton Hotel, managed by James Stainton. After his death in 1863 his wife continued to run the business until 1869. In 1869 it opened under new management, the Queens Hotel Company, and its name was changed to the Queens Hotel. In 1895 it was acquired by Kandy Hotels Company Limited who undertook extensive enlargements and improvements to the building, in order to make it into a first-class hotel. Notable attractions of the hotel are the Queen of Hearts restaurant, Royal Ball Room and The Pub Royal, the latter being the only British Pub in the city that offers service with old colonial flavor. The Lord Mountbatten Lounge Bar was named after Lord Mountbatten of Burma who was a frequent guest at the Queen's when he was the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Theatre with the

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

based in Kandy.

Facilities

The hotel has 80 rooms, including five suites, two restaurants, a coffee shop, hair/beauty saloon and a souvenir/gift shop. It also has an outdoor swimming pool and BBQ facilities.

References

{{Kandy landmarks British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Former official residences in Sri Lanka Hotels in Kandy Houses in Kandy Heritage hotels in Sri Lanka

Facilities

See also

References