Hotel Nippon (Sinhala: කොළඹ නිපොන් හෝටලය) is a star-class hotel located at No. 123 on Kumaran Ratnam Rd in Slave Island in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. It is considered one of the first 5 hotels established in the country.
History
Constructed in 1884, the hotel building was originally named Manning Mansions, serving as apartments for British residents (Manathunga, 2016). Sometime in the 20th century, Roskowski bought the property and transformed it into a hotel named "Hotel Polski" but the name was changed to "Hotel Nippon" when he married a lady from Japan.
The hotel appeared in David Lean's Academy Award-winning movie, "Bridge On The River Kwai," filmed in Sri Lanka during the mid-1950s. Certain interior scenes depicting the Japanese army headquarters were filmed in Nippon.
The Hotel
The 3-storied elongated hotel building bears architectural features of the British Period. The front corridor on the ground floor is lined with steel columns. The upper floors are used as hotel rooms while the lower floor is reserved for food courts.
References
1) Manathunga, S. B., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Kolamba Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-39-9. p.43.