Five-star Colombo 02, Colombo
Cinnamon Lakeside
Three hundred and forty-six rooms on the shore of Beira Lake, a pagoda-style building with lake views from its corridors, and a Thai restaurant certified by the Thai Embassy.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Rooms
- 346, including 20 suites
- Setting
- On the shore of Beira Lake
- Under this name
- Since 2009, formerly the Trans Asia
- From the airport
- About an hour from CMB
The hotel
A pagoda on Beira Lake.
The hotel began as the Ramada Renaissance, a building styled after a pagoda on the edge of Beira Lake in Colombo 02. It became the Trans Asia Hotel in 1995. John Keells Holdings, the parent company, closed it on 15 May 2009 for three and a half months and a refurbishment of Rs. 500 million, and it reopened as Cinnamon Lakeside.
The lake is the point of the place. The corridors look over it, and since 2012 a floating platform called 8° on the lake has taken events of up to a hundred guests on the water. During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2013, several heads of state stayed here, with the hotel closed to the public.
- Royal Thai A set menu of Thai cooking in a room hung with Thai paintings, the only restaurant in Sri Lanka holding a certificate of authenticity from the Thai Embassy.
- The island bar Sri Lankan dishes, crab curry and more than a hundred arracks and local beers, with a house drink of arrack, cinnamon and tea.
- Pools and gym Two pools, the Powerdrome gym with steam and sauna, and the NIJA spa.
Dining
Thai, Chinese and Sri Lankan by the lake.
Venues as listed by the hotel. No MICHELIN guide covers Sri Lanka. Shown for information.
- Royal Thai Thai Set menu, certified by the Thai Embassy
- Long Feng Chinese Known for its spicy pork dishes
- The Colombar Sri Lankan More than 100 arracks behind the bar
- The Dining Room International buffet Sunday brunch
- The Library Lounge Premium spirits, for reading or talk
- Goodies French pastry and wine Cakes made to order
Good to know
Before you go.
- Pool hours The pool is open from 6 am to 9 pm.
- Room service In-room dining runs around the clock, with Asian and Western menus.
- Events Two ballrooms, three conference rooms and the floating venue on the lake.
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 land at the same airport, which is 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.
- How many rooms does Cinnamon Lakeside have?
- Three hundred and forty-six, including 20 suites.
- What was Cinnamon Lakeside called before?
- It opened as the Ramada Renaissance, became the Trans Asia Hotel in 1995 and took the Cinnamon Lakeside name after a refurbishment in 2009.
- How far is Cinnamon Lakeside 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.
- Cinnamon Life Six hundred and eighty-seven rooms in the City of Dreams complex, opened in 2024.
- 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.
- 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 Lakeside?
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.