St Andrew's Hotel
| Jetwing St. Andrew's Nuwara Eliya | |
|---|---|
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| Former names | St Andrew's Hotel |
| General information | |
| Location | 10 St. Andrew's Drive, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka |
| Coordinates | 6°58′26″N 80°46′08″E / 6.974000°N 80.768997°E |
| Opening | 1891 |
| Management | Jetwing Hotels Ltd |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 56 |
| Number of suites | 5 |
| Number of restaurants | 2 |
| Website | |
| http://www.jetwinghotels.com/jetwingstandrews/ | |
The St. Andrew's Hotel (also known as Jetwing St Andrew's Nuwara Eliya) is a luxury hotel in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, built adjoining the Nuwara Eilya golf course.
The first building on the property was constructed in 1875, part of land gifted to a British colonial civil servant by the Crown. The house later became the 'Scots Club'. In 1891 the club became a hotel called St. Andrew's, run by a German manager, Mr Humbert. This Scottish connection and its proximity to the Nuwara Eliya golf course could account for the title, St Andrews, a reference to St Andrews, the traditional and historic home of golf. The golf course's 10th driving tee was originally part of the property and was exchanged for the strip of land bordering the stream at the corner of Waterfield and St Andrews Drives extending to the bridge across the stream. Later on, garages for the cars of guests and accommodation for the drivers were built on this land. During World War I Mr Humbert was interned by the British government.
In 1918 the hotel was bought by a syndicate headed by Arthur Edward Ephraums (1879–1931). During this period the hotel was expanded to include a two storey wing to the west, and behind the main block, a large dining room and pantry, large kitchen, storeroom, and servants quarters. Also added were bathrooms, a bar and billiard room on the east side. The newly refurbished and expanded hotel opened for business in November 1919, with James Henry De Zilwa (1888–1979), a younger cousin of Ephraums, appointed as manager. In 1924, following a disagreement with the owners, De Zilwa left St Andrews and began his own hotel business. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Great Depression had a major impact on all hotels in the area, including St Andrews, and by 1930 St Andrews closed its doors.
In 1933 the De Zilwa family purchased the property and reopened the hotel, many investors who previously shunned St Andrews as a viable business suddenly became interested and made higher offers for the hotel. There were also suggestions for amalgamation with other hotels, subdivisions of the property, and a serious proposal from the Catholic Church to have St Andrews to become a monastery attached to the catholic church closeby. The De Zilwa family undertook a range of improvements, including new bathroom blocks together with vegetable and flower gardens. Water from a spring to the east of the hotel was channeled down to the front garden for watering. In the 1950s the spring also supplied water for fish ponds. The current car park was formerly a tennis court and the conference room was originally a billiard room with two full size billiard tables, later this room became a dance hall, which held popular monthly dances. The current billiard room was formerly a music room.
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