Thailand-based hotel management company Onyx Hospitality Group announce the opening of Ozo Colombo, the first of three hotels that the company will open in Sri Lanka.
The limited-service hotel is located in Clifford Place near Marine Drive, which overlooks the sea. It is some 38km from Bandaranaike International Airport – a 40 minutes drive. Nearby attractions include Gangaramaya Temple, Dehiwala Zoo (10 minutes’ drive) and Wellawatta Beach (10 minutes’ walk).
Ozo Colombo consists of 158 guestrooms and suites that comprise of four categories – Sleep, Dream, Dream Ocean and OZO suites. As is consistent with the brand, technology is one of the hotel’s selling points with amenities including IPTV, multimedia connectivity panel and free wifi throughout the premise. Check-in and check-out will be done paperless.
There is an all-day dining restaurant, along with a grab-and-go outlet that serves quick snacks and nibbles around the clock. In addition, drinks will be available at the hotel’s rooftop bar and lounge, ON14. Facilities include an infinity swimming pool on the 14th floor that boasts views of the Indian Ocean, as well as a fitness room.
There is a boardroom as well as a meeting room offering a 270-degree sea view and a capacity of up to 220 guests for cocktail receptions.
To celebrate the opening of the new hotel, Ozo Colombo is offering a special rate to guests starting from US$105 per night, including breakfast and a complimentary upgrade to the next room category for visits between May 12 and August 31. Rates are exclusive of local government taxes, VAT and service charge.
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Adding an unusual yet wholly welcome twist to the typical brunch spreads that adorn hotel restaurants in celebration of the weekend, Cinnamon Lakeside is offering a delectable spread of flavours, rounding up mouth-watering delicacies from the hotel’s three key restaurants – The Dining Room, Royal Thai and Long Feng – at an ‘All Access Sunday Brunch’.
Giving diners right of entry to feast on an array of dishes, from Chinese to Indian, Continental, Thai and Sri Lankan, the brunch promotion, running for two months since last Sunday, is the perfect way to greet a Sunday before heading into yet another busy week.
The spread is extensive and requires a slow and steady intake, with many breaks in between. The dishes extend from The Dining Room and go on to the terrace overlooking the pool with cuisine from the Thai and Indian restaurants placed right in front of the respective restaurants.
Sushi and salad
We recommend that you start by treating your taste buds to the delightful salad and seafood bar at The Dining Room. On one side, heaps of sushi maki and sashimi with a fiery wasabi and beautifully-arranged lobsters, oysters, mussels and flavoursome salmon wait waiting to be piled onto plates. On the other is a big plate of hummus, Mexican seafood salad, chicken salad and a host of other salads. The journey only begins here.
The inside
After the first plate is consumed, the next challenge is to decide what to have next. Should you go all international, or come to that last after tasting some spicy Thai and Indian favourites? Or should you just mix it all in one go?
We opted to start with The Dining Room itself. Pasta with extremely and perfectly creamy seafood, a scrumptious shepherd’s pie and mashed potato, buttered vegetables, crumb fried chicken (deliciously crunchy on the out and juicy inside) and prawn with fish roulade were some of the dishes served up.
Alongside these, carbonade of beef, cashew and pea curry, devilled seafood, grilled pork chop, tempered wing beans and lassoni fish tikka also gleamed from delightfully presented dishes.
The meat items and the seafood were exceptional, with the pork chops and crumb fried chicken being the best of the wide variety.
In-between
Between The Dining Room and Royal Thai, in the area that adjoins the restaurants were more meat items, looking scrumptious under a blanket of red light. Honey glazed ham with pineapple sauce, roast lamb with mint sauce and beef roll with black pepper sauce were some of the dishes. Although I am not the biggest fan of pineapple sauce, the mint sauce was perfect, adding a refreshing taste to the succulent meat.
The outside
Outside Royal Thai and Long Feng the hotel had served up some delicious Thai and Chinese cuisine.
To start off, the fried fish cake with chillie and cucumber sauce and hot dumplings – vegetable and chicken, straight out of the pan, are dishes you must try. Delicious, warm and best as a second starter before you dig in (again), these are prepared by smiling chefs who call out to you while you inspect what else is there to be enjoyed.
Glass noodle salad, BBQ chicken salad and delicious Thai spicy prawn salad are also served up. If you are a rice lover, you must try the Thai seafood fried rice – the best ever. You can even ignore the rest of the food and eat that plain. Not that we recommend that of course, since a well-balanced diet – with more meats and delicious items – is always promoted; if not for the nutrients, then for the flavoursome experience.
If you decide to mix the rice with other curries, try out the deep fried snapper with celery and spring onion, mapo tofu, mixed vegetable with oyster sauce, fish fillet with black pepper sauce or bao chicken. The latter two are my personal favourites as they were rich in spice, herbs and taste. The pork in spring onion and ginger sauce was exceptional.
For those who like a bit of Indian, one action station rounds up some exceptional romali rotis.
The dessert
If you can manage to walk up to the dessert section at the end of all this eating, we commend you for your spirit. For the desserts are totally worth it: from blueberry cheesecakes to caramel and amazing chocolate mousse garnished with tiny crunchy chocolate bits on top to tiny profiteroles oozing with chocolate icing and bite-sized éclairs, the dessert spread has it all. Miniature opera cakes were also a favourite here.
For a healthier choice, the fruit platter showcased an incredible variety as well.
The verdict
Absolute value for moneyrice. Priced under three categories – under unlimited flow of mocktails, lager or bubbly at Rs. 2,695, Rs. 2,995 and Rs. 3,595 respectively – the ‘All Access Sunday Brunch’ features a delightfully-extensive spread that epitomises an ideal Sunday comfort spread of yummies.
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The iconic Galle Face Hotel is nearing completion of a restoration project of its North Wing, originally built in 1864.
The ambitious project was designed to preserve the grandeur and romance of the magnificent property while upgrading and modernising the quality of guest facilities, amenities and services.
The North Wing is scheduled to reopen to guests late this year while the South Wing has continued to be in operation as usual throughout the restoration.
The South Wing of the Hotel has remained open for business as usual, offering guests a unique stay that blends the aura of a rich heritage with a resort-like atmosphere at the heart of Colombo. The South Wing comprises 82 rooms including 12 suites, all with ocean views, and can cater to a wide segment of guests from single business travellers to families looking for a memorable holiday in Colombo. Seven new conference and meeting centres have also been added to the South Wing.
In anticipation of the country gearing up to be the preferred destination for meetings and conferences, Galle Face Hotel is ready to act as the preferred partner. Galle Face will also start taking in banquet bookings for weddings from January 2015 for its new and restored halls, namely Grand Ballroom, Jubilee Room and Prince Phillip’s Banquet Room, which will have its own entrance without hindering the hotel guests on their stays.
Meanwhile, 1864, the signature restaurant of the Galle Face Hotel, has also been converted to an all day dining experience, widening the dining options available to its patrons. The 1864 restaurant is located at lobby level of the Regency Wing. It offers indoor seating with a stunning view of the Indian Ocean. The day starts at 1864 with a sumptuous breakfast buffet featuring Sri Lankan and Western morning favourites, whilst lunch and dinner offer an array of fresh salads, tempting selections of local and international cuisine and a wide selection of delectable desserts.
The Pool Bar with its varied concoctions of sunset and afternoon drinks and the evergreen In on the Green (IOG), the gastro bar on the street of Galle Road that brings the casual setting and Daily Express Lunch deals including free WIFI for all customers, are ready to welcome you.
The Galle Face Hotel was originally built by four British entrepreneurs and is among the few remaining Colonial hotels in operation today in Asia. Despite many renovations over the years, the period detail of the Galle Face Hotel has been preserved in its architecture and façade.
Keeping in time with the expected completion date, Galle Face has completed restoration of the façade, lobby areas, corridors, Grand ballroom and the Jubilee room. Meanwhile work on the Verandah restaurant, Executive Club Lounge and Sea Spray restaurant is also nearing completion.
One of the latest additions to the hotel will be a new bar that will add to the precinct of entertainment that will overlook the magnificent Indian Ocean, making it one-of-a-kind venue in Colombo. The famed garden and Chequerboard will also be redone with much of the previous splendour intact.
The Galle Face Hotel is an award winning heritage hotel located at the heart of Colombo, Sri Lanka, which is steeped in the unique history of Sri Lanka amidst tradition and family values. It is probably the only hotel in the world which has a setting of a sea front city hotel combined with the features of a beachside resort together grandeur and elegance of the bygone era of Sri Lanka.
Celebrating 150 years, the Galle Face Hotel is one of the landmarks in Asia with a historical past that speaks of the historical significance of Sri Lanka. Today, the Galle Face Hotel is acclaimed as one of the best heritage hotels in Sri Lanka and in 2012 it became the first hotel in the country to be featured on a postage stamp.
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The Galle Face Hotel, founded in Colombo, Sri Lanka
in 1864, is the oldest hotel east of Suez. It is located at 2, Galle Road, Colombo 03. The Ceylon Hotels Corporation is now part of the Galle Face Hotel Group. The hotel is a member of Select Hotels and Resorts International. 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 2011and 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.
Contact Number: 011 2 541010
2 A2, Colombo 00300
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