I travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka a few times a year and I’ve always stayed Mövenpick Hotel Colombo. It’s a great hotel, but this time I felt it was time to try something new. I decided to go with Cinnamon Grand Colombo for the first week of my stay.
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is relatively small hotel brand operating in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. They currently have three hotels in Colombo, including the five-star Cinnamon Grand Colombo. I have dined at a few of the many restaurants at this property before, but this is my first stay at the hotel.
Location
The Cinnamon Grand is the largest of the Cinnamon hotels in Colombo. It has more than 500 rooms and suites spread across multiple buildings. The hotel is located Galle Road in walking distance of Galle Face, the Seema Malakaya Temple and various bars, restaurants, shopping malls and other hotels.
Personally, I prefer the location of this hotel over Mövenpick.
Travel time to and from the airport is 45 – 60 minutes by car.
First impressions
After going through security check at the entrance we find our self in a nice and spacious hotel lobby. The interior is elegant and luxurious, but the place still has a relaxed atmosphere.
We arrive at hotel at 11 in the morning. At the reception, we are informed that our room are ready for check-in. Since we have booked executive rooms, we are told to wait for a butler who will take us to the executive floors and check us in at the lounge.
Check-in is fast and efficient, and we get comprehensive information of the facilities of our rooms and the hotel.
Executive Room
The Executive rooms are located on the 8th to 10th floor of the main building. My room has a view of Galle Road and the roof top pool of the building where the spa and fitness center are located.
The room is approximately 350 square feet and looks clean and fresh, and is furnished with a king size bed, a sofa and a desk. On the right hand when you enter the room, there’s coffee machine and a fully stocked minibar.
As a welcoming gift I receive a fruit platter and a bottle of red wine.
WiFi works well by Sri Lankan standards, with speeds from 5 – 10 Mbps. The desk also has a network outlet as well two USB outlets for charging. I was able to use the electrical outlets without an adaptor.
The bathroom is quite specious and has a separate shower and bathtub. If you have forgotten your toiletries at home, there’s no need to worry. The bathroom is fully equipped with the essential amenities.
Food and beverage at Cinnamon Grand Colombo
The Cinnamon Grand Colombo have a total of 18 restaurant, cafes and bars. Here you will find food from all corners of the world, finer pastries and well-crafted drinks, wine and beer.
As you probably won’t have time to do them all during your stay, I’d like to highlight the Chinese restaurant Tao as one of my absolute favorites.
Room service is excellent with a comprehensive menu put together from the many restaurant offerings of the hotel. Prices are fair and delivery is usually quick.
The only real disappointment would be the noodles restaurants, which is also the breakfast restaurant at Cinnamon Grand. It was cramped and noisy, both during breakfast and in the evening. Thankfully, you can enjoy a nice breakfast at the lounge as an executive guest.
Executive Lounge
The Cinnamon Grand Colombo has a nice executive lounge on the 8th floor overlooking the backyard pool area and the city.
The lounge serves a great buffet for breakfast and high tea. Happy hour is from 6pm to 8pm with free drinks and decent buffet. Snacks are available on request until midnight. There’s very little you miss out on by having your breakfast here, rather than the Noodles restaurant.
The amazing lounge staff offers great service, making sure your glass is never empty. Don’t be surprised if Mr. Saldin will remember your preferred drinks already after the first evening.
Amenities
The Cinnamon Grand Colombo offers two swimming pools. The backyard pool with the Breeze Bar right next to it is by far the most beautiful.
The largest and best equipped fitness center is also open to members who are not staying at the hotel and can be quite busy during peak hours. There’s also a smaller fitness center in the main building. It’s not as well equipped as the big one, but at least you don’t have to fight for the equipment.
The hotel also has two tennis courts. The staff can even arrange for someone to play with you if you’re traveling solo.
Asagna Spa is located in the same building as the main fitness center. Spa treatments are slightly more expensive than what you can find outside of the hotel. Nevertheless, it’s still quite inexpensive.
Booking
The room was booked through Expedia and the average rate was around $160 USD. For this stay I was rewarded a total of 2,728 Expedia Rewards Points.
The Cinnamon Grand Colombo Hotel
I really enjoyed my stay at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo. The location is great in my opinion and the hotel has all amenities required for longer stays. The rooms are clean, fresh and well-equipped and the executive lounge is very good. You get great value and food, drinks and other services are reasonably priced.
Photos by the auther unless otherwise specified. Cover photo by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.
I loved this rooms