Sri Lanka’s highly anticipated Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort will be rebranded as City of Dreams Sri Lanka, following an April partnership signing between Melco Resorts & Entertainment and John Keells Holdings. The latter is behind the US$1 billion-plus integrated resort (IR) development in central Colombo.
City of Dreams Sri Lanka will be the first integrated resort in Sri Lanka and South Asia, and is expected to revolutionise luxury hospitality, entertainment, and leisure in the country. It will comprise 800 hotel rooms, of which 687 will be branded as Cinnamon Life and 113 keys as Nuwa; 46,451m² of retail, entertainment and gaming facilities; event venues for up to 5,000 pax, and more.
The casino licence, spanning 10 years, has been awarded to a wholly-owned local subsidiary of Melco. Melco will fit-out and operate the gaming area at City of Dreams Sri Lanka, as well as manage the top five floors of the hotel under its Nuwa brand of ultra high-end luxury rooms.
Set to open progressively, phase one will be ready in October 2024. The gaming centre and Nuwa will open around June or July 2025.
The mega development has drawn approving nods from Sri Lanka’s travel and tourism players.
Nishad Wijetunga, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, said the IR would enhance the product mix in Colombo, as the city has been lacking in entertainment and activity-related events.
“We need an events calendar for the city so that travellers are aware of what it offers. We have been talking to the authorities about this,” he said.
Hiran Cooray, veteran hotelier and chairman of Jetwing Group which has a string of resorts across the island, welcomes the new angle on which to market the capital city.
“Colombo is a vibrant city and full of life, but we have failed to position and market the capital (the way) cities like Singapore, Manila, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur (do),” said Cooray, adding that Colombo already has plenty of “cafés, parks, restaurants, bars, a vibrant seafront promenade, lake, historic monuments, and many other attractions”.
“The outside world is unaware of what we have to offer in Colombo,” he told TTG Asia.
Krishan Balendra, chairman of JKH, which also has a string of resorts in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said the IR would fill the entertainment gap in the country. He expects visiting families from South Asia and South-east Asia to also enjoy the casino.
Balendra added that Sri Lanka would benefit from Melco’s South-east Asian client base.
The scale of City of Dreams Sri Lanka will require a large number of hospitality workers. When asked about potential hiring issues, considering the large number of hospitality professionals that exited the country during the economic crisis of 2022, industry leaders expressed optimism.
Balendra said it would be possible to recruit the required 2,500 staff for the new facility.
Jetwing’s Cooray added that workers who left Sri Lanka have been coming back after realising that “the grass was not as green on the other side”. They have also been attracted by the country’s tourism opportunities.
“Many chefs who left us are returning, and the state-owned hotel school is unable to cope with the demand from applicants now,” shared Cooray.