Elegance and sophistication

Cinnamon Lodge Habarana:

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The vintage Vice Roy train pulled out of the Fort Railway station at the scheduled time of 8.15 a.m. on 20th January. The remarkable difference of course was that the diesel powered engine pulled off the carriages instead of the steam engine used in the good old days.

The Vice Roy train was used by Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander for South East Asia during the second world war whose Headquarters was located in Kandy.

On board the train were guests from travel trade, hoteliers, journalists all heading to Cinnamon Lodge at Habarana to participate at the re-launch of the Habarana Lodge, which was named as the Cinnamon Lodge, an up market luxury tourist hotel. Although the journey took us around seven hours to reach Cinnamon Lodge it was rollicking fun sipping champagne and gormandising on baked crabs, served on board.

It was less tiring than we thought first. To cut short on time, a helicopter ride takes about 25 minuts for persons who could afford the price. Habarana is located 180 kilometres from Colombo bordering Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and Dambulla located in the cultural triangle, the epicentre for tourism in Sri Lanka.

The earlier pioneers who ventured into the hotel business in the mid sixties realised the strategic importance of Habarana.

The lure of Habarana was irresistible to investors like John Keel's former Chairman the late Mark Borstock. He knew Habarana was the gateway to the cultural triangle where the pot of gold lied.

Timeless image of Sigiriya, the rock fortress, ancient monasteries of Dambulla and the Minneriya tank located six to eight kilometres from Habarana. The tank built by King Mahasen covers an acreage of 4560.

Early investors realised the importance of promoting Habarana as a tourist destination, due to its close proximity to historical hot spots like Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Minneriya was also an attraction for wild elephants in the early sixties.

A large herd of elephants roamed the area in those days. Today the herd has dwindled to a few numbers owing to the clearing of jungle. The travel companies those days arranged sightseeing tours of wild elephants.

Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana located in a spacious 28 acre land overlooking the Habarana lake was refurbished at a cost of US$ 2.5 million. The vastness of the hotel premises provides a relaxed atmosphere to guests. One could just walk around or take a bicycle ride for relaxation apart from sports activities. Elegance and sophistication seemed to be the appealing traits of the hotel.

According to Cinnamon Lodge General Manager, Wickremasinghe, 142 rooms are available for occupancy at present. Those include 4 suites, 40 Deluxe rooms, 68 Superior rooms and 30 Standard rooms.

The four newly created suites are Ebony, Ivy, Cedar and Satin that offers a masters bedroom, a nanny, cum children's, an exquisite lounge, and special dinning area overlooking the lake, garden and lawns with frangipane trees blooming everywhere.

The 72 Superior rooms located on the ground floor or the first floors overlook the natural vegetation of the lodge. The 40 Deluxe rooms on the ground floor or the first floor provide a comfortable layout with an elevated bed and a comfortable living room. Spa treatment is available to guests subject to prior reservation.

Next to the main restaurant overlooking the pool is a restaurant that offers indigenous menus. Just a few steps away from the restaurant is the main bar that offers a wide selection of cocktails. The place where most guests stray into is the Ayurvedic Spa located at the entrance to the hotel.

The Spa offers traditional oil massages, scrubs and medicinal baths to guests at affordable prices. An Ayurvedic doctor is present at the Spa for consultation.

Cinnamon lodge Habarana was the second hotel of the Cinnamon Hotels and Resort chain to be re-branded. The first hotel was the Cinnamon Grand Colombo, a city hotel unveiled in November 2005.