Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo Fort, built in 1837, is Asia’s first modern-style hotel. It features colonial architecture and is a protected monument
Grand Oriental Hotel Grand Oriental Hotel (GOH) (Sinhala: කොළඹ ග්රෑන්ඩ් ඔරියන්ටල් හෝටලය) is a star-class colonial hotel situated at No. 2, York Street in Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka. It is considered to be the first modern-style hotel built in Asia (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018; Wright, 1999). History The original building on the present hotel site is said to have been constructed in 1832 (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018). It was enlarged in 1875 by Ralph Macdonald & Company following the design of James G. Smither (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018). In 1891, a new section was added to the rear part of the building by Stevenson and Gregson firm going through the design by W. A. Tunstall, a British architect (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018). More renovations were done to the hotel building in 1912 and 1924 (Manathunga, 2016). In the beginning, GOH was considered one of the most modern hotels in the east comprising a lift, telephone connections, and 154 luxury rooms …
