Gets a makeover

Bentota Beach by Cinnamon, probably the oldest hotel on Sri Lanka’s southern coastline, is to be stripped bare, except for a small part, to make way for a new, 151 room upmarket resort at a cost of Rs. 4 billion, officials said.

“Except for a small part which has the original architecture (the reception area) of renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, the two wings will be brought down with new buildings coming up,” said Krishan Balendra, President Leisure Sector at John Keells Holdings (JKH), owner of the largest chain of hotels in Sri Lanka.

The near 50-year old Bentota Beach, built in 1969 as a 133-room hotel, is one of the first hotels to come up in the country’s first organised tourism zone in 1969 at Bentota on the southern coast. Structural engineers had advised against renovating the building and a decision was made to build a new hotel with similar architecture. The hotel will be closed for two years from July 1, 2017 onwards. Renovations at Bentota Beach is in the hands of celebrated architect Channa Daswatte, a prodigy of Bawa. spaces. In this light, land parcels in the city and the suburbs have been identified and negotiations and due diligence exercises are currently under way. More specifically, the group has entered into a MoU with a partner in relation to one such prospective property development project in central Colombo. Subject to the finalisation of the concept, cost parameters and other approvals, the project is expected to be launched in early 2018”.