Paradise Road Tintagel
Colombo

Paradise Road Tintagel is one of Ampersand's Top 10 Lux City Hotels and our Top 10 Boutique Hotels.

Paradise Road Tintagel is no ordinary city stay. Set behind discreet white gates in the heart of Colombo’s most sought-after neighbourhood, Colombo 7, it is a place where political legacy, design-forward vision and quiet luxury intersect with effortless style. Born as a private mansion in the early 1930s, Tintagel later became the private residence of Sri Lanka’s most eminent political family, the Bandaranaikes, and home to two Prime Ministers and a President. Following a respectful renovation, this storied mansion has been reimagined with exacting flair by design maverick Shanth Fernando, Sri Lanka’s answer to Terence Conran, and the creative force behind the iconic Paradise Road brand.

Today, Tintagel is a deeply stylish, all-suite hotel, with just ten rooms that speak to a rare kind of intimacy, each individually designed with Fernando’s signature eye for detail. Antique furnishings, bold art, carved screens and polished cement floors sit alongside rich textiles and oversized beds, creating rooms that feel equal parts gallery and sanctuary. Some suites open onto private balconies or terraces shaded by tropical foliage, perfect for breakfast or an evening G&T.

The public areas are seductive in their restraint; moody lighting, sweeping drapes, white orchids and low-slung armchairs make it feel less like a hotel, and more like a private club you’re lucky enough to have access to. There's a small but elegant lap pool tucked into a courtyard, flanked by granite tiles and jasmine creepers, as well as a charming library lounge, private dining spaces and a tucked-away courtyard for cocktails under the frangipani.

The hotel’s chic Courtyard Restaurant and adjoining bar offer a sophisticated menu that fuses Asian and Western flavours, with particular focus on Sri Lankan produce and seasonal ingredients. Candlelit dinners here are hard to beat, slow jazz, flickering lanterns and the scent of cinnamon and curry leaves drifting through the warm night air. Fernando’s other legendary establishment, Paradise Road The Gallery Café, is just a short drive away, and well worth a visit for its design pedigree and long-time reputation as Colombo’s most fashionable table.

Since opening in 2005, Paradise Road Tintagel has drawn acclaim from across the globe. Condé Nast Traveller, The Telegraph and Tatler have all sung its praises, while Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, famously stayed here on their tour of the island in 2013, further cementing its status as the city’s most discreetly glamorous address.

In a city where the pace can be frenetic, Paradise Road Tintagel remains an oasis of style, discretion and soul. It’s the kind of place that quietly works its way under your skin, not shouting for attention, just effortlessly earning it.

Carefully restored, the Tintagel is a blinding-white Colonial house once home to the prime minister. The only sounds to break the silence are the surreal whoops of tropical birds and the peaceful putter of tuk-tuks in the surrounding lanes of the smart Cinnamon Gardens district. Taken over by the ‘Conran of Colombo’, Shanth Fernando, the Tintagel’s stamped with his taste, from the framed antique rice sacks upholstery and soft furnishings. There are 10 sophisticated suites, all with high ceilings, airy bathrooms and four-poster beds. Breakfast is taken in the tranquil garden surrounded by living green walls of immense tropical plants, giving you a peaceful start before you head out to explore Colombo.
David Rice, who travelled with Ampersand for the Sunday Times Travel Magazine