Galle Face Hotel

It’s not for everyone, but if you value atmosphere and history above all else, the Galle Face Hotel is your place in Colombo. This Colonial-era hotel has been at the heart of the city’s social and cultural life for the better part of two centuries, hosting too many earls and presidents and princes even to begin to list. It’s the kind of hotel that gets name-dropped in a breezy tropical song or two, that shows up on the country’s postage stamps, and that employs the world’s (supposedly) oldest living doorman. (In case you want to say hello, that would be Kottarapattu Chattu “K.C.” Kuttan, at your service since 1942.) Like the Copacabana in Rio or the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, this is one of those hotels where, at least if you run in certain circles, there’s an almost uncannily high chance that you’ll bump into someone you know.

So its credentials as a classic are in place, but after all the history, how has the enthusiasm of its guests not dimmed a bit? For one, the location can’t be beat. It’s right in the heart of the business district, which in Colombo also puts it in the middle of the city’s cultural life — yet its position at the edge of the Indian Ocean gives it something of a resort atmosphere, as well. You can step out the door and be at your meeting in minutes (in the unlikely event your meeting is somewhere other than the hotel), but you can also kick back on a lounger on the terrace, staring out at the ocean, and feel like the city is miles away. A serene modern spa only heightens the seaside-resort effect, as do the seemingly endless dining and drinking venues populated by a clubby mix of visitors and well-heeled locals.

The rooms are pretty much exactly what you’d expect at a 19th-century British-Colonial hotel. Dark wood features prominently (they must go through buckets of varnish), and an upgrade goes a very long way. The entry-level rooms, frankly, are a bit spartan, but by the time you get to the better suites you’re looking at vast oceanside terraces and plenty of well-appointed indoor space as well. One room even has a four-poster bathtub, with intricately carved woodwork and more than enough tub-side shelf space for a dewy bucket of champagne — something vintage, one expects.

How to get there: Galle Face Hotel is located 22 miles (about a 30-minute drive) from Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB).