The Bentota Beach Hotel: The hotel that offers both beach and river access
Background on the Bentota Beach Hotel
The Bentota Beach Hotel was designed by the famous architect Geoffrey Bawa who wanted to design something along the lines of one of Sri Lanka’s ancient Dutch fort’s. According to Arch Net, the hotel was constructed between 1967 and 1969 and resembles the Padmanabhapuram Palace in India.
The swimming pool
Memories of the Bentota Beach Hotel
The Bentota Beach Hotel (now owned by Cinnamon Hotels) is located just 2 hours south of Colombo. It is the perfect get away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. This hotel has everything (and still does). Water sports, shopping, swimming pools, a spa, squash courts, tennis courts, conference rooms, and is right on the beach.
Learning to Water-ski
Today I came back to my favorite hotel (20 years later) and headed straight for the boat dock where I learned to water-ski. Amazingly it’s still there! I explained to the boat people that I was only taking pictures and that I used to live here 20 years ago. Next thing I knew, I was given a tour of the property while I explained its history.
The boat dock
Playing Squash
The squash courts where I used to complain about the heat are now fully air conditioned and the property has 24 hour security.
Bentota Beach Hotel squash courts
Sex Education Weekend
Since my high school, Overseas School was very culturally diverse. We were not allowed to have sex education class like in America, so the American Embassy nurse invited all the students whose parents would allow their child to attend a retreat weekend with sex education classes. The parents were really happy about this but the students were even more ecstatic because it was at The Bentota Beach Hotel!
To read more about this exciting weekend, please go to the chapter on Sex Education Weekend in Beautiful Eye.
Related articles
- Afternoon Tea at the Mount Lavinia Hotel (bookonsrilanka.wordpress.com)
- Sri Lanka (ellenpynenburgsmith.wordpress.com)
