The Galle Face Hotel, established in 1864 and once the mansion of a British Governor, is a masterpiece of Victorian architecture. It possesses an unrivalled location in the capital, on the edge of the Indian Ocean and at the foot of Galle Face Green, and offers an appealing, colonial-style alternative to travellers seeking a change from standard five-star business hotels.   The Galle Faces new upmarket Regency wing offers a remarkable transition between old and new. It incorporates the traditional Victorian features so successfully that already it blends seamlessly with the older part of the hotel. Although completed in early 2006, there is no sense of glitzy modernity. Its stately wooden paneling and floors, and staunchly Victorian rooms, are immediately resonant of a bygone age. Like the older part of the hotel, the Regency retains the dignified and polite atmosphere that gave it such fame in the colonial age.

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Accommodation
Standard rooms - Piazza Friends of Galle Face overlook the shopping piazza off the Galle Road. Oceanic Friends of Galle Face has ocean views with interconnecting options for families.

• Deluxe rooms - Spa Deluxe Rooms has view of spa garden. Oceanic Deluxe overlook the patio
  
• One-bedroom Suites - Piazza Suite overlooks shopping piazza. Piazza Spa Suite overlooks ocean and spa garden. Oceanic Suite has a Jacuzzi and overlooks the ocean. Oceanic Balcony Suite overlooks patio and ocean with a centrally-placed Jacuzzi. Oceanic Spa Suite overlooks spa and ocean with two Jacuzzis, one on the balcony
  
• Two-bedroom Suites (Regency) - Oceanic Family Deluxe overlooks the ocean. Regency Piazza Junior Suite. Regency Piazza Suite. Regency Oceanic Suite has ocean view from Jacuzzi. Regency Oceanic Spa Suite has view of spa and ocean, with two Jacuzzis.
  
• Three-bedroom suite (Imperial) - Imperial Piazza Suite has three luxury rooms, with view of the shopping piazza.
  
• Four-bedroom suites (Royal) - Royal Oceanic Suite has four luxury rooms, with spectacular ocean views and two Jacuzzis. Royal Oceanic Spa Suite is similar.
  
• Eight-bedroom suite - Royal Oceanic Grand Spa Suite has eight bedrooms spread over two floors with a private stairway. There are views of the ocean and of the spa with two balconies and in-room Jacuzzis.

Facilities
A wide selection of restaurants and bars is headed by the Verandah Restaurant (western and Oriental cuisine), the Seaspray fish restaurant and the 1864 Room, a sedate fine-dining restaurant. The tranquility of a pre-dinner drink on the verandah, as the sun retreats, has charmed many for more than a century, whilst the Barista Deli and Inn on the Green British pub, accessed from Galle Road, attract a younger crowd. There is a wine lounge with underground wine cellar (designed for connoisseurs of fine wines, cheeses and cigars), snooker room, small museum and art gallery, extensive banqueting and conference facilities, business centre, laundry, childcare, small Piazza shopping arcade. The Regency wing has its own reception area.  The hotel has limited sports facilities.

Excursions
This is an ideal base from which to explore Colombo including its Colonial history during the Portuguese, Dutch and the British periods in Sri Lanka.  Interesting sites include the Fort and Pettah, the capital’s largest bazaar, several old Dutch churches, the National Musuem and the Dutch Museum. The capital is also famous for its shopping, especially Paradise Road, Barefoot and Odels. Golfers will enjoy the Royal Colombo Golf Club, a short 15-minute drive.