Five-star Colombo 02, Colombo
Cinnamon Life
A hotel tower by Cecil Balmond between Beira Lake and the Indian Ocean, opened in October 2024 as the first part of City of Dreams Sri Lanka.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Opened
- 15 October 2024
- Architect
- Cecil Balmond
- Restaurants and bars
- Twelve
- From the airport
- About an hour from CMB
The hotel
A moonstone on the waterfront.
Cinnamon Life opened on 15 October 2024, the first part of City of Dreams Sri Lanka, a project into which the John Keells Group put more than US$1.2 billion. The British Sri Lankan architect Cecil Balmond drew on the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and shaped the building to recall a moonstone, the carved threshold stone of Sri Lankan temples.
The site lies between Beira Lake and the Indian Ocean in Colombo 02. The rest of the resort opened on 2 August 2025: a casino run by Melco, a shopping mall and Nüwa, a smaller hotel at the top of the complex. Inside Cinnamon Life hang more than a thousand works by Sri Lankan artists, and its ballrooms can seat more than five thousand guests.
- Dreams & Beats The infinity pool lounge, a sunset spot by day and a nightlife venue after dark.
- Gatz A Champagne and cocktail bar on two levels, with Cloud Wine for a longer list.
- Sri Lankan art More than a thousand pieces by Sri Lankan artists hang through the hotel.
Rooms & suites
The city or the ocean.
Every room and suite looks out over the Indian Ocean or the city, each with a king bed.
- Room Premier Life Cityscape A king room looking over the city.
- Room Premier Life Oceanfront The same room facing the Indian Ocean.
- Suite Oceanscape Suite A suite facing the ocean. Skyline suites complete the range.
Dining
Twelve restaurants and bars.
Venues as listed by the hotel. No MICHELIN guide covers Sri Lanka. Shown for information.
- Sapphire Dragon Cantonese In the hotel
- Yoroko Japanese robatayaki Cooking over charcoal
- Indiya Regional Indian In the hotel
- Staten Bar & Grill American grill An open parrilla
- Bistro French With a seafood bar
- Quizine Western and Asian All day
Good to know
Before you go.
- Casino resort The hotel is part of City of Dreams Sri Lanka, with a casino, a mall and a second hotel, Nüwa, in the same complex.
- Events Ballrooms and meeting rooms for more than 5,000 guests, the largest in Colombo by the group's account.
Getting there
Flying to Colombo.
Bandaranaike International (CMB) is about 32 kilometres north of central Colombo. Allow about an hour by car on the airport expressway, our estimate. Private jets use the same airport, open around the clock.
- Malé 1 h 20
- Mumbai 2 h 20
- Singapore 3 h 55
- Dubai 4 h 40
- London 11 h 50 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Is Cinnamon Life the same hotel as Nüwa?
- No. Both stand in City of Dreams Sri Lanka, but Nüwa is a separate hotel run by Melco, with 113 rooms at the top of the resort.
- Who designed Cinnamon Life?
- Cecil Balmond, the British Sri Lankan architect, who based the design on the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
- How far is Cinnamon Life from Colombo airport?
- About 32 kilometres from central Colombo to the airport, roughly an hour by car by our estimate.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Colombo?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Colombo, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Colombo
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Shangri-La Colombo Five hundred rooms on Centre Road at Galle Face, opened in 2017.
- ITC Ratnadipa Opened in April 2024 with 352 rooms, and classified five-star by the national tourism authority in January 2026.
- Taj Samudra Three hundred rooms on Galle Face Centre Road, open since the early 1980s.
- The Kingsbury On Janadhipathi Mawatha in Fort, a hotel since 1973.
- Cinnamon Grand Five hundred and one rooms on the Galle Road, a fixture of the city since 1975.
- Hilton Colombo Three hundred and forty-two rooms on Sri Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, opened in 1987.
- Cinnamon Lakeside Three hundred and forty-six rooms, opened in 1985.
- Sheraton Colombo On the Galle Road, rated five-star by Sri Lanka Tourism.
- NH Collection Colombo Two hundred and nineteen rooms, opened in 2017.
- Nüwa A hotel of 113 rooms and suites at the top of the City of Dreams resort, given its five-star certificate in May 2026.
- Sentido Heritance Negombo On the beach at Negombo with 139 rooms, some 13 km from the airport.
- Jetwing Blue The first Jetwing hotel, which began as a six-room retreat on this beach and now has two pools.
- The Blue Water Designed by Geoffrey Bawa, among coconut palms on the beach at Wadduwa.
Staying at Cinnamon Life?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Colombo, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.