8 Degrees on the Lake - Sri Lanka's First Floating Venue by a 5 Star Hotel. Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo Extends Its unique Experience to a New Degree

14th January 2012, www.thesundayleader.lk

Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo extends its unique lakeside experience to a new degree with its latest venture – 8° (degrees) on the lake, a floating hotel venue for private events.  The 70’ by 30’ vessel which is in its final stages of construction will be the first of its kind to grace the waters of Colombo.  It will consist of an air conditioned lower deck and an open upper deck with a clear ceiling for protection, and will accommodate 100 passengers.


Living every word of the John Keells Leisure sector vision to “always be the hospitality trendsetter,” Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo’s latest venture sets a new benchmark for the industry.  8° on the lake will be Colombo’s first mobile floating venue by a five star hotel.  The vessel offers a unique setting for exclusive, high profile events with its minimalistic chic interiors designed by Nayantara Fonseka of Taru fame.  The layout and choice of décor is intended to capture the essence of its natural surroundings.

“The Beira Lake creates a beautiful setting to our hotel but it is time that it became more than just a view,” explains Denis Gruhier, General Manager of Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.  “8° on the lake was conceptualized as a means of extending the guest experience beyond the expected. Although Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo is situated in the heart of Colombo with every convenience a business traveler would enjoy, when a guest steps into the hotel they could easily forget they are in the city.  Aboard 8° on the lake, the bustling city of Colombo will be a distant memory.”

The venue adapts itself to suit a variety of occasions.  For an intimate gathering, the host may wish to invite guests to cocktails at the upper deck followed by dinner at the air conditioned lower deck as the party travels across the Beira Lake.  The twin level arrangement allows for an event to be segmented to offer varying culinary and entertainment experiences at each level, ensuring that a guest is never bored.  If a large party is on the cards, 8 Degrees on the Lake maybe used as an extension to the Waterside, the hotel’s garden venue which now hosts a pier where the vessel will dock.

The hotel has already received several requests for bookings.  Malcolm Thomas, Banquet Sales Manager at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo foresees the venue lending itself to Cocktail parties, Gourmet meals, Candlelit dinners, Champagne brunches, High teas, Weddings, Engagements parties, Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, Birthdays and Anniversary parties.

Colombo has a clear need for exciting event venues and Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo rises to the occasion with 8 Degrees on the Lake.  This innovation is set to spark a revolution in banquet offerings in the industry.

Related Info :

• John Keells Holdings Posts Highest Ever Profit After Tax of Rs9.06bn with a Revenue of Rs60.5bn

Sri Lanka Beira Lake Front to be Developed for Hotel, Shopping & Entertainment by UDA with Private Sector

05th September 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Land around a lake in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo has been earmarked for hotels, a park, a shopping and an entertainment area and will be offered to private investors by the island's city development authority, a media report said.

The Sunday Island newspaper quoted Renuka Wickremasinghe, who manages the project at the Sri Lanka's Urban Development Authority (UDA) as saying that 18 hectares of land along one side of Colombo's Beira Lake will be offered for development first.

The land bordering D R Wijewardene Mawatha is owned by the government's Excise Department, Co-operative Wholesale Establishment, a state enterprise, Sri Lanka Ports Authority warehouse.

Private listed C W Mackie and Company, and the Sri Lanka Convention and Exhibition Centre also owns property. The UDA is negotiating with the current owners to release the land and relocate the land, the report said.

The UDA comes under Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a brother of Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The UDA has powers under strict laws to appropriate private land.

The Sunday Island quoted H A Dayananda, the deputy head of projects at the UDA as saying that the agency expected proposals for a 5-star hotel, a shopping mall, restaurants, city hotels multi-stories car park, upmarket housing, a convention centre and cine complexes.

State land would be offered investors as 55 or 99 year leases at 'market value' with 25 percent of the value of assessed land to be paid up front and the balance in three years. Work has start within six months and be complete within three years.

Board of Investment tax concessions will also come with the project, the report said.

Along the shore of the Beira Lake, a 6 to 12 meter wide 'linear park' with a children's play area, water based recreational opportunities, open air entertainment, cultural activities and food outlets would be set up, the report said.

The state has already cleared 1,000 "unauthorized settlements around the area and 320 settlements on a reservation along a railway track" and near a temple on another part of the Lake Shore.

Land belonging to Colombo Commercial Company will also be offered for development, the report quoted Dayananda as saying.

The lake would also be dredged and water would be cleaned, the report said. The lake has blue green algae outbreaks common polluted waterways.