The Galle Face Hotel, founded in 1864, is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez.[1] It is located on Galle Road, Colombo. The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group.[2] The hotel is a member of Select Hotels and Resorts International.[3] The current chairman of the hotel is Sanjeev Gardiner, since the demise of his father Cyril Gardiner in 1997.[4] It is listed as one of the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" in the book of the same name.[5] It received the "Best Heritage Hotel" title three years running at the Presidential Awards for Travel and Tourism (of Sri Lanka), held in June 2010,[6] June 2011[7] and September 2012.[8] In addition it won the first-ever PATA award for Best International Heritage Hotel, in 2012.[8] In September 2012, it became the first hotel in Sri Lanka to be featured on a postage stamp, along with three other iconic buildings in Colombo.
A view of the entrance to the Galle Face Hotel before refurbishment (2008)A view of the entrance to the Galle Face Hotel after refurbishment (2015)
The hotel was originally built by four British entrepreneurs in 1864. Its name derives from the stretch of lawn which it faces, known as the Galle Face Green. It began as a Dutch villa called Galle Face House. Land for the hotel's expansion was purchased between 1870 and 1894. In 1894, architect Edward Skinner completed the design of the hotel's current south wing, and the property has remained largely unchanged until the present day, though with many extensive restorations.[9]
Mignonne Fernando and The Jetliners regularly entertained guests at the Coconut Grove, the night club attached to the hotel.[10][11] The venue was even popularised in a song. Radio Ceylon recorded music programmes from the Coconut Grove as well as the Galle Face Hotel itself, presented by some of the popular Radio Ceylon announcers in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Livy Wijemanne and Vernon Corea.[12] Thousands listened to the broadcasts, particularly 'New Year's Eve' dances from the Galle Face Hotel.
The hotel also employed the world's oldest hospitality industry veteran and doorman, Kottarapattu Chattu ("K.C.") Kuttan. Joining the hotel as a bell boy cum waiter in 1942, he continued to serve until his death on 18 November 2014.[15][16][17][18]
In April 2013, the north wing of the hotel began its refurbishment. In November 2014, It was announced by its new General Manager, Antony G. Paton, that it would formally reopen on 1 March 2015.[19] The hotel reopened on 26 October 2015, being formally declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena.[20]
Celebrity Guests at the hotel have included, inter alia, the Empress of France Princess Eugenie, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the Duke of Hamilton, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Richard Nixon, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Emperor Hirohito of Japan (while a Prince), Sir Donald Bradman, and Yuri Gagarin. Authors using the premises while writing their books have included, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Anton Chekhov and Sir Arthur C. Clarke.[21]
FacilitiesEdit
RestaurantsEdit
The museum and art gallery at the Galle Face Hotel
The Galle Face Hotel has Four restaurants, three bars and a pub. They are the 1864: Limited Edition fine dining restaurant (dinner only), King of the Mambo, a Cuban themed restaurant; Firebeach - a lounge bar and restaurant with a wood fired oven; a buffet restaurant known as The Verandah, Travellers' Bar, the Pool Bar, Chequerboard, and an English pub called "In.. On the Green".[22] The open Verandah restaurant is the venue for the Afternoon Tea on the terrace.
MuseumEdit
The hotel features a museum and art gallery in its Regency Wing, which houses the first car that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh owned, and several pieces of memorabilia from the hotel's history, including a gallery of famous guests. There is also an adjacent Library with two study rooms.[23]
PoolEdit
The swimming pool at the Galle Face Hotel
The hotel has a small pool with sea water, that is situated very close to the Indian Ocean.
ChequerboardEdit
There is a black and white square known as the Chequerboard, close to the King of the Mambo Restaurant. This is often used by guests to watch the sunset.[24]
ReferencesEdit
^Harris, Paul (2006). Delightfully Imperfect: A Year in Sri Lanka at the Galle Face Hotel. Kennedy & Boyd.
^. Ceylon Hotels Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^"Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka". Selecthotels.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^Great Grand and Famous Hotels, Great Grand & Famous, 2008
^Schultz, Patricia (2002). 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Workman Publishing.
galle, face, hotel, founded, 1864, oldest, hotels, east, suez, located, galle, road, colombo, ceylon, hotels, corporation, part, group, hotel, member, select, hotels, resorts, international, current, chairman, hotel, sanjeev, gardiner, since, demise, father, c. The Galle Face Hotel founded in 1864 is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez 1 It is located on Galle Road Colombo The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group 2 The hotel is a member of Select Hotels and Resorts International 3 The current chairman of the hotel is Sanjeev Gardiner since the demise of his father Cyril Gardiner in 1997 4 It is listed as one of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die in the book of the same name 5 It received the Best Heritage Hotel title three years running at the Presidential Awards for Travel and Tourism of Sri Lanka held in June 2010 6 June 2011 7 and September 2012 8 In addition it won the first ever PATA award for Best International Heritage Hotel in 2012 8 In September 2012 it became the first hotel in Sri Lanka to be featured on a postage stamp along with three other iconic buildings in Colombo Galle Face HotelLogo of Galle Face Hotel ColomboGalle Face Hotel front viewGeneral informationTypeHotelTown or cityColomboCountrySri LankaOpened1864 159 years ago 1864 Other informationNumber of rooms156Number of restaurants5Number of bars1Websitewww wbr gallefacehotel wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Facilities 2 1 Restaurants 2 2 Museum 2 3 Pool 2 4 Chequerboard 3 References 4 Literature 5 External linksHistory Edit A view of the entrance to the Galle Face Hotel before refurbishment 2008 A view of the entrance to the Galle Face Hotel after refurbishment 2015 The hotel was originally built by four British entrepreneurs in 1864 Its name derives from the stretch of lawn which it faces known as the Galle Face Green It began as a Dutch villa called Galle Face House Land for the hotel s expansion was purchased between 1870 and 1894 In 1894 architect Edward Skinner completed the design of the hotel s current south wing and the property has remained largely unchanged until the present day though with many extensive restorations 9 Mignonne Fernando and The Jetliners regularly entertained guests at the Coconut Grove the night club attached to the hotel 10 11 The venue was even popularised in a song Radio Ceylon recorded music programmes from the Coconut Grove as well as the Galle Face Hotel itself presented by some of the popular Radio Ceylon announcers in the 1950s and 1960s such as Livy Wijemanne and Vernon Corea 12 Thousands listened to the broadcasts particularly New Year s Eve dances from the Galle Face Hotel D G William known as Galle Face William the Lanka Sama Samaja Party trade union leader first worked and organised workers here The Science fiction author Arthur C Clarke wrote the final chapters of 3001 The Final Odyssey in the hotel 13 14 The hotel also employed the world s oldest hospitality industry veteran and doorman Kottarapattu Chattu K C Kuttan Joining the hotel as a bell boy cum waiter in 1942 he continued to serve until his death on 18 November 2014 15 16 17 18 In April 2013 the north wing of the hotel began its refurbishment In November 2014 It was announced by its new General Manager Antony G Paton that it would formally reopen on 1 March 2015 19 The hotel reopened on 26 October 2015 being formally declared open by the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena 20 Celebrity Guests at the hotel have included inter alia the Empress of France Princess Eugenie Princess Alexandra of Denmark the Duke of Hamilton Indira Gandhi Jawaharlal Nehru Richard Nixon Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Admiral Louis Mountbatten Emperor Hirohito of Japan while a Prince Sir Donald Bradman and Yuri Gagarin Authors using the premises while writing their books have included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Mark Twain Anton Chekhov and Sir Arthur C Clarke 21 Facilities EditRestaurants Edit The museum and art gallery at the Galle Face HotelThe Galle Face Hotel has Four restaurants three bars and a pub They are the 1864 Limited Edition fine dining restaurant dinner only King of the Mambo a Cuban themed restaurant Firebeach a lounge bar and restaurant with a wood fired oven a buffet restaurant known as The Verandah Travellers Bar the Pool Bar Chequerboard and an English pub called In On the Green 22 The open Verandah restaurant is the venue for the Afternoon Tea on the terrace Museum Edit The hotel features a museum and art gallery in its Regency Wing which houses the first car that Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh owned and several pieces of memorabilia from the hotel s history including a gallery of famous guests There is also an adjacent Library with two study rooms 23 Pool Edit The swimming pool at the Galle Face HotelThe hotel has a small pool with sea water that is situated very close to the Indian Ocean Chequerboard Edit There is a black and white square known as the Chequerboard close to the King of the Mambo Restaurant This is often used by guests to watch the sunset 24 References Edit Harris Paul 2006 Delightfully Imperfect A Year in Sri Lanka at the Galle Face Hotel Kennedy amp Boyd CHC Home Ceylon Hotels Corporation Archived from the original on 15 March 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Galle Face Hotel Colombo Sri Lanka Selecthotels com Retrieved 23 December 2015 Great Grand and Famous Hotels Great Grand amp Famous 2008 Schultz Patricia 2002 1000 Places to See Before You Die Workman Publishing http www dailymirror lk print index php business 127 local 13512 html dead link Galle Face Hotel wins Best Heritage Hotel Daily News 10 June 2011 Archived from the original on 21 October 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2015 a b Face Group wins Best Heritage Hotel 2011 award Sunday Observer 9 September 2012 Archived from the original on 15 September 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Marshall Peter 17 January 2010 Luxury meets Heritage History of the Galle Face Hotel The Nation Archived from the original on 17 November 2016 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Karunaratne Ilika 14 June 2003 Personality of the Week Mignonne Fernando Daily News Retrieved 23 December 2015 via Rootsweb Rodrigo Savithri 2005 High Flyer in Music s Jet Set Lanka Monthly Digest Archived from the original on 16 July 2009 Woo Michelle 1 April 2010 10 of Asia s can t miss colonial hotels CNN Travel Archived from the original on 24 October 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Arthur C Clarke s Final Odyssey Gluckman com Retrieved 23 December 2015 Clarke A C 1998 Preface 3001 The Final Odyssey Del Ray Sri Lanka s legendary doorman turns 90 ABC News 14 February 2010 Sri Lankas legendary doorman turns 90 France 24 14 February 2010 Archived from the original on 20 April 2010 Kuttan marks 90th birthday Daily News 13 February 2010 Archived from the original on 14 October 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Kuttan of Galle Face Hotel Turns 91 The Sunday Leader 27 February 2011 Retrieved 23 December 2015 New GM Paton to turn Galle Face Hotel into best hotel in Colombo Daily FT 13 November 2014 Archived from the original on 2015 12 24 Retrieved 23 December 2015 Newly refurbished Galle Face Hotel opened for business The Times of Sri Lanka 27 October 2015 http bizenglish adaderana lk history was made at the galle face hotel Dining gallefacehotel com Galle Face Hotel Retrieved 2021 05 11 Things to do in Colombo Experiences at Galle Face Hotel Colombo Kastrone Inga 3 November 2009 8 Old Colonial Hotels You Can Still Stay In BootsnAll Retrieved 23 December 2015 Literature EditHarris Paul 2007 Delightfully Imperfect A Year in Sri Lanka at the Galle Face Hotel Glasgow Kennedy amp Boyd ISBN 978 1 904999 38 6 Warren William Gocher Jill 2007 Asia s legendary hotels the romance of travel Singapore Periplus Editions ISBN 978 0 7946 0174 4 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galle Face Hotel Official Website of the Galle Face Hotel 6 55 12 N 79 50 46 E 6 9200 N 79 8462 E 6 9200 79 8462 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Galle Face Hotel amp oldid 1164988346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
