Ceylon (Sri Lanka) - Colombo: Galle Face Hotel

The Galle Face Hotel is one of South Asia’s top hotels.  It started out as a Dutch villa called Galle Face House that had been a meeting place for gentlemen of the colonial era.  Four British entrepreneurs decided to use it to start a business and it opened for business in 1864, taking its name from the expanse of ground opposite known as Galle Face Green.  By the late 19th century, it was known as the best hotel east of Suez.

On a voyage to New Zealand in 1905, May Sladden and her aunt, Charlotte Hayward, arrived at the port of Colombo, Ceylon, at 6.30 am on 30th October.  Tenders took passengers ashore free of charge.  After a little shopping, a carriage ride to Mount Lavinia and visit to a Buddhist temple, May and her aunt took rickshaws to the Galle Face Hotel where they had tea in the hotel garden.