Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams — Hotel in Colombo

On 21st of April My sister and I visited Cinnamon Life for the first time. It was more like City of Dreams becoming City of Nightmares and this feeling I experienced will last a lifetime for me. When asked where the Sri Lankan restaurant is, I was informed that there were Chinese, Indian, Japanese, American, French and Western inspired restaurants at Cinnamon Life but Sri Lankan food can only be found as part of the international buffet! How did Sri Lankan food become international food in Sri Lanka? We were shocked, we felt 500 years of Colonial oppression re-thrust upon us in an instance. The feeling of being a 2nd class Citizen, rejection of who I was and the feeling of being unwelcome rushed through my being. I am at my favourite chain of hotels, the greatest Sri Lankan brand that I love and they are telling me that they are ashamed of being Sri Lankan? That Sri Lankan food is not worthy of celebration - the only food in the world that contains all the medicines that a human being requires in it, not worthy of being showcased? I never went to Thailand to try out Indian food, I never went to England to try out Indian food. Does Cinnamon even recognize the fact that when a visitor from another country comes to our country, the most exciting thing for them is about immersing themselves in the culture of that country and experiencing Sri Lanka firsthand. If not, they would go to another country, why bother coming to Sri Lanka? Even though I have been living in Australia for the past 32 years, I have never ever felt ashamed of my Sri Lankan heritage as I felt at this moment at Cinnamon Life, all my life I have walked holding my head high as a Sri Lankan. I feel sad for the staff working there – they must be feeling sad, disrespected, angry at not being heard, valued or recognized or not allowed to feel pride for who they are - first and foremost Sri Lankan. I would, if I were in their shoes. If multiculturalism is what Cinnamon wants to showcase to the whole world, is there a better culture to showcase multiculturalism than Sri Lankan culture and food that embodies the influences of all the cultures that walked through Sri Lanka. The only country in the world that celebrates and honours all celebrations of people of all cultures who call Sri Lanka home and has the highest public holidays in the world to honour its people. However, the only reference to Sri Lanka I could experience were the warm smiles and the greeting “Ayu Bowan” which were meaningless when you could see that 2500 years of cultural heritage stopped at “Ayu Bowan” at the door. If you look at Ptolemy’s map you would see how important Sri Lanka is. If sustainability is your focus, tell our stories about how we established the first wild life sanctuaries in the world, how sustainability was our way of life, the wattle and daub houses, the reed bags, the coconut leaf roofing , the banana leaves and Lotus leaves (Japan is replacing plastic wrapping with banana leaves today and that is the future now). You can tell our story in many ways and there is so much for the modern world to learn from our heritage. I would like to say the food was great and a big thank you to the staff who were amazing. A special thanks goes out to the wonderful staff members who listened and acknowledged my distress at Flux, at Sweet Lab, kind and attentive Mr. Rasika at Yoroko and beautiful Thashila at the lobby who listened to me compassionately and helped reduce the distress before I returned home. Thank you to Mr. Hulugalle whose kindness allowed me to smile that day it was a passing kind comment and observation you made that lifted my spirits up. I did not know who you were, I witnessed your kind nature, and I am sure under your leadership Cinnamon Life will change for the better and I hope you can take some of my input into the changes you will make to make Cinnamon, a brand that is not afraid to shout out to the world, I am Sri Lankan, I am unique, and I am proud of It, please come and immerse in our culture and feel rejuvenated and uplifted by our hospitality and...

Mixed Experience: Great Food, Poor Hospitality

I visited this hotel on January 17th around 9:30 PM to celebrate my birthday with my family. While I had been here before, it was my family’s first time, and I was so excited to share the experience with them. My mother had made a reservation for the buffet dinner, and we were told the hotel would provide a birthday cake. However, they failed to mention that bringing an outside cake was prohibited. My sister had lovingly planned a surprise for me by ordering a stunning custom-made birthday cake, something I had always wanted. Naturally, we brought it with us to the hotel. However, from the moment we entered, we were met with a shockingly unprofessional attitude from an executive at the entrance named Thissala (or Trishala). She was a short-haired lady with, I believe, colored eyes, and she made what should have been a joyful celebration a frustrating experience. Her attitude was outright rude. She avoided eye contact, spoke to us in a dismissive and condescending tone, and gave off a clear “I don’t care” vibe. Instead of welcoming us warmly, she made us feel unwelcome from the start. She explained that the hotel had a policy prohibiting outside cakes due to “hygiene reasons.” While I understand the need for policies, her behavior in enforcing it was unacceptable. We explained to her that we were only planning to cut the cake and share it among the five of us, we had no intention of sharing it with anyone else at the hotel. This made her reasoning about hygiene seem completely irrelevant. If this policy had been clearly communicated to us in advance, we wouldn’t have brought the cake at all. Other hotels we’ve visited have never had an issue with outside cakes, so this was the first time we faced such a problem. When we asked what to do with the cake, as we had already valet parked our car, she begrudgingly called someone from the restaurant. Even while doing this, her demeanor remained cold and dismissive. She made no effort to provide a reasonable solution and didn’t even attempt to empathize with the situation, especially considering it was a birthday celebration. Her facial expressions and tone made it clear she didn’t care about our experience. Once we reached the restaurant on the 9th floor, things improved slightly. A staff member named Supul (or Supun) was kind and understanding. He apologized for the inconvenience and suggested a solution, allowing us to place the cake on the table for pictures, even though we couldn’t cut it. While this wasn’t ideal, his polite and thoughtful approach was appreciated. The final disappointment came when the hotel-provided birthday cake arrived. It was shockingly small, barely enough for one person, let alone a table of five. If the hotel enforces a policy against outside cakes, the least they can do is provide a proper cake that can be shared among the group. The tiny cake felt like an afterthought and was completely inappropriate for the occasion. The buffet food itself was excellent—top-notch and highly recommended. The staff at the restaurant were polite and professional. However, the attitude and lack of professionalism from the executive at the entrance, who was the first point of contact, overshadowed everything else. I strongly urge the hotel management to train their staff on proper guest engagement, especially those stationed at the entrance. Hospitality is about creating warm and welcoming experiences, and this incident was the exact opposite. It’s disappointing that such a special occasion was tainted by one individual’s behavior and a poorly...

This review is a little overdue (Nov 2024), but as they say, better late than never. Unfortunately, Cinnamon Life – City of Dreams did not quite live up to its name. First impressions matter, and ours was below expectations. That said, I’ll begin with the positives before moving on to the issues we encountered.

We were warmly welcomed by Mr. Dinesh and Ms. Yoshina at the main entrance/reception. Mr. Dinesh had a friendly and professional demeanor and introduced us to Ms. Yoshina, who kindly escorted us to the check-in area. Mr. Pasindu managed our check-in process.

We had made our reservation via the Expedia platform on a half-board basis, including breakfast and dinner. At check-in, I was informed that the booking was for bed and breakfast. I immediately showed the confirmation email and Expedia app details clearly stating it was half-board. Mr. Pasindu asked me to send a screenshot to a number he provided and assured me they would confirm before dinner.

Just before dinner, Mr. Pasindu informed me stating it was bed and breakfast, despite the clear proof I had provided. I ended up spending nearly two hours contacting Expedia and resolving an issue the hotel should have handled internally. This level of inconvenience is unacceptable at a five-star property. No apology was offered. Only after multiple calls to Expedia did the hotel finally acknowledge there was an error and confirmed the half-board status.

We were also told during check-in that due to the hotel’s soft opening, not all restaurants were operational, which we understood. However, we were told we could order from the room service menu by the pool since the pool restaurant wasn’t open. At the pool, we were told only three salads were available. When we mentioned the availablity of the room service menu, we were told that wasn’t the case. A server named Shehara tried his best to assist us, but the inconsistent information was frustrating.

The breakfast & dinner buffets featured quality food, though the attentiveness of the staff was lacking. Breakfast was more enjoyable than dinner as the booking issue had soured the experience.

The room was nicely appointed with a modern aesthetic. However, the hotel's messaging seemed confusing. While the hotel markets itself as a luxury destination, the inclusion of tuk-tuk images on the bathrobes (looked hideous) felt entirely out of place. If this was meant to highlight Sri Lankan culture, it missed the mark, especially when there are so many richer and more elegant aspects of the culture to showcase. A definite branding failure in our opinion.

The Gatz Bar was a highlight, with great views and beautifully presented cocktails. It was one of the few moments that felt aligned with the hotel’s branding.

At check-out, I raised these concerns with a manager. Disappointingly, there was no apology or real acknowledgment—just a vague “we’ll look into it.” Again, the lack of accountability was disappointing.

In summary, Cinnamon Life – City of Dreams was far from the dream it promises. It felt more like a mix between a dream and a nightmare. I remain open to giving it another try in the future, assuming that the communication and service issues—especially those linked to the soft opening—are resolved. I truly hope the hotel learns not to pass the burden of internal issues onto the guest, particularly when evidence is presented from the start. This experience barely reached two stars, and that rating is mostly thanks to Mr. Dinesh and Ms. Yoshina, whose warmth and professionalism stood out in an otherwise...