Mount Lavinia Hotel

Mount Lavinia Hotel
The Logo of Mount Lavinia Hotel
General information
Location	100 Hotel Road, Mount Lavinia
Opening	1877
Management	Mount Lavinia Hotel Group
Technical details
Floor count	2
Other information
Number of rooms	275
Number of suites	11
Number of restaurants	3
Website
http://www.mountlaviniahotel.com

The Mount Lavinia Hotel, in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, is a 275-room hotel, situated at 100 Hotel Road in Mount Lavinia. It is recognised as one of the oldest and most famous hotels in the country. It has been continuously operating as a hotel since 1947, but was initially constructed as the Governor's residence in 1806.

In 1805 Sir Thomas Maitland was appointed as the second Governor of British Ceylon. He had acquired land at "Galkissa" (Mount Lavinia) and decided in 1806 to construct a personal residence there.

Legend has it that at a welcoming party held in his honour upon his arrival in the island he saw Lovina Aponsuwa, a local mestizo dancer, whose father was the headman of the dancing troupe. Maitland fell in love with Aponsuwa, who had been born to Portuguese and Sinhalese parents. During construction, the governor arranged to build a secret tunnel between Aponsuwa's house which was located nearby, one end inside her house and the other inside his wine cellar, so that the lovers could meet in secret.

Sir James Mackintosh, a friend of the Governor, wrote in 1810 that it was "a bungalow of one storey, rustic on the outside, but handsomely laid out, and furnished beautifully".

Sir Thomas Maitland was recalled from Ceylon in 1811 and appointed the Governor of Malta, where he died a bachelor.

The statue of 'Lady' Lavinia, as the girl later became known, can be found in the middle of a water fountain at the entrance of the hotel.

The next Governor, Sir Robert Brownrigg recommended a further purchase of the surrounding land, 35 acres (14 ha) from 14 landowners for 18,000 Rix dollars.

Sir Edward Barnes during his second term as Governor, undertook significant extensions and improvements to the building. "Barnes set to work on his grand plans. Mount Lavinia was to be his ultimate creation; a magnificent residence fit for the Grand Master, such as Versailles was to Louis XIV".