Galle Face Hotel

The Galle Face Hotel, founded in 1864, is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez. It is located on Galle Road, Colombo. The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group. . The current chairman of the hotel is Sanjeev Gardiner, since the demise of his father Cyril Gardiner in 1997. It is listed as one of the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" in the book of the same name. 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, June 2011 and September 2012. In addition it won the first-ever PATA award for Best International Heritage Hotel, in 2012. 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. In 2024 the hotel, under the leadership of Rohan Fernandopulle, won Best Hotel in ‘Rest of Asia’ at Condé Nast Traveller Reader’s Choice Awards, and three accolades at the Sri Lanka Tourism Awards: Best Heritage Hotel, Best Chef of the Year – Chef Rukmal Samarasekera, and Best Contemporary Fine Dining – Elevated Fusion Sri Lankan Cuisine – 1864 Limited Edition. The current General Manager is Suresh Abbas.