Well, you are in luck. My wife and I did a reward stay in Colombo last week. But, you are only staying one day?

They have a counter in the arrivals hall. Find them. They will put you in a car for $14 and send you to the hotel. It will save you some hassle.

Remember that this is a business hotel. So, there is a lot of activity, a lot of people. It can be very full.

If you have a Gold Card flash that when checking in. They will very likely upgrade you to a small suite. I would recommend asking for a room that faces the pool and sea. At first, we were given a room on the front side of the hotel. It faces the port and gets a lot of traffic noise. After a little persistence I got a room facing the sea that we liked a lot better.

It is very unlikely that they will upgrade you to the Executive Floor, or even give you access to the Lounge. I had a real battle with this, and I could see that they were not going to budge on that. In the end, they did offer a free breakfast buffet in the restaurant (very good). I got a lobby manager to concede this. I think his name is Mr. Patel (he has “big hair”). Nevertheless, the breakfasts were on my bill at the end of the stay. I was able to get them taken off without much trouble (as I remembered who spoke to).

The hotel is very nice. Five or six different restaurants and bars. There is a pool and health club, but you must take a bridge and walkway to get there. There is a nightclub on the property that is supposed to be the most popular in Colombo. I went in there briefly. Very crowded and loud

The hotel has all the usual shops, business center and so on.

So, for a Category 1 I would say it is a good deal. Nice hotel. It is next to two other major hotels, but it is in the older port area and an area that I think suffered some bombings. As a result, there is a lot of security in the area.

The staff is real friendly and helpful once they recognize you. If you have more specific questions about Colombo, transport, etc. send me a note.