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CHRISTMAS IN COLOMBO

Dec 15 2015.

On a very wet, muddy Tuesday, my photographer and I braved the flooded roads of Colombo to check out Christmas in Colombo. Him with his camera, me with my pen and paper, standing beside the Christmas décor and the lit tree, squinting to find inspiration, we adopted the persona of that of a ‘Christmas Police’.

After much inspection, careful consideration and deliberation, we have our roundup of the best Christmas décor in Colombo.

CINNAMON GRAND

Hands down the best décor we saw. They’ve gone all out and created a winter wonderland within. From the very entrance, there are elaborate strings of blue light to guide your way to the lobby where the inside is decorated intricately following a blue and white theme. If you haven’t got the feeling that it’s Christmas already – take the evening off and go to Grand. I assure you that nothing screams ‘IT’S CHRISTMAS!’ than Cinnamon Grand.

MOUNT LAVINIA HOTEL

The visual presence is as you enter the hotel. The bushes are decorated with fairy lights and as you drive in there are looming strings of lights above you. The inside of the hotel is lightly decorated. A few Christmas wreaths and candles. The Christmas tree however, made entirely of fresh Anthurium, was one of the most unique trees we’ve seen the whole night.

TAJ

Taj has gone for subtlety this year. As you enter the lobby, one large solitary Christmas tree (an actual green tree, not like all these white trees everyone has these days!) is what greets you and the rest of the décor are wreaths. They’ve stuck to the true Christmas colours; green, yellow and red, and the decision to use subtle elegance as a theme worked so well for them!

KINGSBURY

Is having a very red Christmas. The lobby is adorned with small Christmas trees made entirely of roses – and fresh roses at that! As tempting as it was to lean in and breathe in the scent of roses we quickly made our way over to the bakery which was aptly transformed into a gingerbread house. But were you to go over to the rooftop, to the Sky Lounge, you’ll find that the decoration is a little bit different. They’ve gone into a heavy snow fall kind of day; white trees and clumps of white snow.

GALADARI

The star of their décor is not when you step into the hotel. It’s when you’re driving on the stretch of Galle Road and seeing the entire hotel lit up with tiny Christmas trees and a shooting star on the face of it. Outside the trees are decorated with fairy light bells and stars and the lobby follows a stretch of Christmas trees, each decorated in the exact same way. They’ve also converted Flavors into a small house, with frozen snow on the roof to give it a real Christmas touch.

HILTON

Is a little kid’s wonderland. There’s lit reindeer and snowmen that looks like Olaf as you enter and there’s a massive Christmas tree made of balls that are made of recycled transparent paper cups! (Creative much?) The inside of the lobby has done the usual Christmas tree here and there and they too, have decorated their bakery with Christmas balls and garlands.

CINNAMON LAKESIDE

They too, spared no expenses this season! Following the ‘Cinnamon Lifestyle’ theme the hotel was an amalgamation of purple and blue fairy lights. The lobby pillars were all wrapped up by a large purple ribbon that was each done so meticulously it would have made the day of anyone with OCD. The poolside has a large blue Christmas tree and an outline of reindeers on the move with Santa served as the backdrop.

CINNAMON RED

You guessed the colours – it was red. Not heavily decorated like Lakeside and Grand - Red was lightly adorned with festive trees and Christmas ball chandeliers. The dining room had plates of gorgeously decorated Christmas treats from cupcakes to snowman cookies. It’s not Christmas if there aren’t any goodies!

MAJESTIC CITY

You enter inside via a passage crafted to the shape of a Christmas tree to find yourself staring at 3 tiered snowmen hung above you. There’s snowmen on one entrance and green Christmas décor on the other and you can only get the full effect of the décor when you come up to the 2nd floor and peer down at the lobby. MC has made a great effort this year and it shows! It was the best we saw from a shopping mall.

ARCADE

Arcade’s décor was mainly on the lobby area near the pond. A sleigh, a chocolate house, a snowman and a Santa’s workshop were mere props to make way for the large Christmas tree.

ODEL

Adopting the colours green, blue and yellow, most of ODEL’s décor descended from above. A few Christmas trees were placed here and there but the more eye catching décor was hung from the ceiling in the form of three tiered wreaths.