Cinnamon Red; a 3-star property with 5-star benefits for travellers on short term stays in the city
Most hotels in Colombo are categorized under five-star with luxurious facilities and services to cater the requirement of the tourists. Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts has now designed a three-star hotel in the heart of Colombo city to attract tourists coming to Sri Lanka to stay in Colombo for a short time and then move out to other parts of the country.
Economic development Minister Basil Rajapaksa declares open the hotel
With a Rs. 3.5 billion investment, Cinnamon Red Hotel was declared open by the Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa together with guests from John Keells Holdings PLC, Sancity Hotels and Properties Ltd and Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts last Monday. General Manager of Cinnamon Red, Terrence Fernando told the Business Times on the sidelines of the opening, that, “Though Cinnamon Red is categorised under the three-star category the service provided is similar to that at a hotel in between the categories of five-star and two-star. In Sri Lanka the standards of two-star and three-star hotels are very low. We built this hotel with the concept of lean luxury where the rooms are absolutely fabulous for an affordable price where there is more value for money.”
Adding to that Mr. Fernando said that most tourists look for a place to stay for a day or two when they visit Colombo. “We provide the tourists with a five-star hotel experience at the Cinnamon Red which has also gone high tech. Facilities such as gym, roof top bar, restaurant and vending machines are available to meet the needs of the customer. The tourist can also stack their own mini bar rather than the hotel staff doing it.” He also noted that there are no meeting or event rooms at the Cinnamon Red. The operating model of the hotel is far unique than any other three-star hotels. The staff to room ratio is only about 0.7 whereas in most city hotels there are two staff members to serve one room.
Located down Green Path in Colombo on a 60 perch land, the hotel has 26 floors with 243 rooms including one suite. Starting from the ground floor to the sixth floor is the car park, reception cum tea and coffee bar on the seventh floor and restaurant on the eighth floor. The staff cafeteria and dormitories are on the ninth floor. The 243 rooms are divided between the 10th and 25th floor with 16 rooms on each floor on average.There is an infinity pool, rooftop bar and fitness centre on the 26th floor, giving guests a 360 degree panoramic view of the Colombo city.
Mr. Fernando also told the Business Times that each room is priced at US$ 75 (without tax) and the suite costs US$ 175 (without tax) per day. Already 17 rooms were occupied during the time of the launch of the hotel, noted Mr. Fernando.