John Keells Hotels
John Keells Hotels is a Sri Lankan hotel holding and operating company whose resort portfolio is principally marketed under the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts brand.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
John Keells Hotels is a Sri Lankan hospitality holding and operating company associated with John Keells Holdings PLC. Its roots in tourism date to John Keells Holdings' acquisition of Walkers Tours in 1972. Walkers Tours established the group's first hotel in Habarana in 1973, beginning a resort business that expanded across Sri Lanka and later into the Maldives. The hotel management operation used several names during its development: Walkers Tours Hotels in the 1970s, Hotel Management & Marketing Services Limited in the 1980s, and John Keells Hotels during the 1990s. The company built an early portfolio covering beach, cultural-triangle, hill-country and eastern-coast destinations. By 1981 it was managing seven resorts, including properties in Beruwala, Bentota, Ambalangoda, Habarana and Kandy. John Keells also expanded through the acquisition of Whittall Boustead, which brought additional control of properties including Bentota Beach Hotel and Coral Gardens Hotel. By 1993, the group owned or managed approximately 900 rooms, representing a significant share of resort accommodation outside Colombo. In 1996, it entered the Maldives through the acquisition of the 80-room Velidhu Resort Hotel. A major corporate restructuring took place in 2004. The group's resort assets, including listed Sri Lankan properties and Maldivian resorts, were consolidated under Keells Hotels Limited with the intention of creating a unified listed hospitality company. John Keells Hotels was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 17 September 2004. The same year, several Sri Lankan properties and the Maldivian Hakuraa Resort were affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, although Bentota Beach Hotel resumed operations within a short period. The company introduced the Chaaya Hotels & Resorts brand at ITB Berlin in 2007. Habarana Village was the first property to be relaunched under the Chaaya identity, after which the wider portfolio was progressively brought under the same brand. Chaaya was subsequently replaced by the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts brand. The rebranding process, completed in 2015, involved more than visual changes: John Keells also invested in staff training, operational audits and other service standards intended to support the repositioning. John Keells Hotels operates resorts in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with its portfolio described in the reference material as comprising twelve resorts. Its properties span leisure segments including beach holidays, nature and cultural tourism, city-linked stays and Maldivian island resorts. The company has also pursued new development opportunities, including a proposed 160-room Cinnamon Red Kandy project with Indra Traders, subject to approval by Sri Lanka's Board of Investment. The business faced a difficult period after the 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, while the closure of properties for renovation further affected performance. A major example was Bentota Beach Hotel, a four-star, 133-key property that closed for refurbishment in July 2017. It reopened in December 2019 as Cinnamon Bentota Beach following a reported LKR 4.9 billion renovation, with an upgraded five-star positioning and 159 rooms. Despite these disruptions, the company remained an important participant in Sri Lanka's tourism sector and returned to the LMD 100 ranking in 2022, placing 73rd. Its Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts brand was identified as Sri Lanka's most valuable hospitality brand in 2022 in the cited Brand Finance assessment.
History
John Keells Holdings entered tourism through the acquisition of Walkers Tours in 1972. Walkers Tours opened the group's first hotel in Habarana in 1973, establishing the foundation for a Sri Lankan resort business. During the 1970s the hotel management activity operated as Walkers Tours Hotels. In the 1980s it used the name Hotel Management & Marketing Services Limited, before adopting the John Keells Hotels identity in the 1990s. The portfolio expanded across several tourism regions. By 1981, the company managed seven resorts: beach properties in Beruwala, Bentota and Ambalangoda, together with Habarana and Kandy properties. The acquisition of Whittall Boustead strengthened the group's position through properties such as Bentota Beach Hotel and Coral Gardens Hotel. By 1993, John Keells owned or managed about 900 rooms, equivalent to approximately 16 percent of resort room capacity outside Colombo according to the cited company history. International expansion began in 1996 when the group acquired the 80-room Velidhu Resort Hotel in the Maldives. In 2004, John Keells reorganized its hotel interests. Listed Sri Lankan resorts and Maldivian properties were brought together under Keells Hotels Limited, creating a consolidated vehicle for the business. John Keells Hotels subsequently listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 17 September 2004. The Indian Ocean tsunami later that year damaged Beach Hotel Beruwala, Coral Gardens Hotel, Club Oceanic Trincomalee and Hakuraa Resort in the Maldives. Bentota Beach Hotel resumed operations relatively quickly, while Hakuraa was expected to require approximately six months to reopen. The company introduced Chaaya Hotels & Resorts in 2007 at ITB Berlin. Habarana Village was the first resort to be refurbished and relaunched under the new brand, with other resorts following. The Chaaya name was derived from a Sanskrit term associated with an image or shadow. John Keells later consolidated its resort marketing under Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts. That second rebranding was completed in 2015 and was supported by property upgrades, employee training and strengthened audit procedures. The company continued to develop and renovate its portfolio. Bentota Beach Hotel closed for a major refurbishment in July 2017. The project converted the 133-key four-star property into the 159-room, five-star Cinnamon Bentota Beach, which reopened in December 2019. The company also pursued new development, including a proposed 160-room Cinnamon Red Kandy hotel in partnership with Indra Traders, with the project receiving Board of Investment approval. John Keells Hotels' operating environment was severely affected by Sri Lanka's 2019 Easter bombings, while renovation closures added to the pressure over successive quarters. The company nevertheless remained active in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and was described as operating twelve resorts. It returned to the LMD 100 ranking in 2022 after not appearing on the list in 2021, placing 73rd in the 2022 ranking. The associated Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts brand was also reported as the most valuable hospitality brand in Sri Lanka in 2022.
- 2022
Return to the LMD 100
[1]John Keells Hotels returned to the LMD 100 ranking and was placed 73rd in the cited 2022 list.
- 2019
Cinnamon Bentota Beach opens
[1]The renovated property reopened in December as a 159-room five-star resort.
- 2017
Bentota Beach Hotel renovation begins
[1]Bentota Beach Hotel closed in July for an extensive renovation and repositioning.
- 2015
Cinnamon rebranding completed
[1]The former Chaaya resort portfolio was fully rebranded under Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.
- 2007
Chaaya Hotels & Resorts launched
[1]The company introduced the Chaaya brand at ITB Berlin and began relaunching its resorts under the new identity.
- 2004
Corporate restructuring and stock-market listing
[1]Hotel assets were consolidated under Keells Hotels Limited, and John Keells Hotels listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 17 September.
- 1996
Entry into the Maldives
[1]The group entered the Maldivian market through the acquisition of Velidhu Resort Hotel.
- 1993
Portfolio reaches approximately 900 rooms
[1]John Keells owned and managed approximately 900 rooms, representing a significant share of resort capacity outside Colombo.
- 1981
Seven-resort management portfolio
[1]The company was managing seven resorts across Sri Lankan beach, cultural and hill-country destinations.
- 1973
First Habarana hotel established
[1]Walkers Tours established the group's first hotel in Habarana, beginning the resort business that later became John Keells Hotels.
Products and positioning
A Sri Lankan resort and hotel operator focused on multi-destination leisure hospitality, with properties positioned across beach, cultural, nature, hill-country and island markets under the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts portfolio.
Hospitality brand and resort portfolio · 2015
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is the principal customer-facing hospitality brand associated with John Keells Hotels. It encompasses a multi-destination portfolio across Sri Lanka and the Maldives, including beach resorts, cultural and nature properties, hill-country hotels and island resorts. The brand replaced the earlier Chaaya Hotels & Resorts identity, with the rebranding completed in 2015 after property improvements, staff training and strengthened operational audits.
Beach resort · 2019
Cinnamon Bentota Beach
Cinnamon Bentota Beach is the renovated and repositioned successor to Bentota Beach Hotel. The property closed in July 2017 and reopened in December 2019 after a major refurbishment. It was upgraded from a four-star, 133-key hotel to a five-star, 159-room resort, making it one of the portfolio's most substantial individual renovation and repositioning projects.
Cultural and nature resort · 2007
Cinnamon Habarana Village
Habarana Village was the first John Keells resort to be relaunched under the Chaaya identity in 2007 and was later incorporated into the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts portfolio. Its Habarana location places it within Sri Lanka's cultural-triangle and nature-tourism environment, reflecting the group's strategy of operating beyond conventional coastal beach destinations.
Hill-country hotel
Cinnamon Citadel Kandy
Cinnamon Citadel Kandy is associated with the group's longstanding Kandy property, originally developed as Kandy Walk Inn. It represents the hill-country and inland segment of the John Keells Hotels portfolio, complementing the company's coastal resorts and allowing the group to serve cultural and scenic tourism itineraries in Sri Lanka.
City hotel development
Cinnamon Red Kandy
Cinnamon Red Kandy is a proposed 160-room, three-star hotel development planned by John Keells Hotels in agreement with Indra Traders. The project received approval from Sri Lanka's Board of Investment. The available reference material describes it as a development project rather than a completed operating property.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Chaaya-to-Cinnamon portfolio rebranding
Sri Lanka · Maldives
The company completed a second major portfolio rebranding, moving the former Chaaya resorts into the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts system. The effort included visual upgrades, staff training and operational audit processes.
Outcome. The portfolio was consolidated under Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, which became the group's principal hospitality brand.
- 2007Chaaya Hotels & Resorts launch
Sri Lanka · Maldives
John Keells Hotels introduced Chaaya Hotels & Resorts at ITB Berlin and used the brand to unify the presentation of its resort portfolio. Habarana Village was the first property to be relaunched, followed by other hotels and resorts.
Outcome. The Chaaya identity became the group's principal resort brand until the later transition to Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.
Brand decisions
2017
Repositioning of Bentota Beach HotelGeneration changeBackground
Bentota Beach Hotel required a substantial modernization and market repositioning.
Action taken
The hotel was closed for renovation in July 2017 and redeveloped as Cinnamon Bentota Beach.
Aftermath
The property reopened in December 2019 as a five-star, 159-room resort.
Reported renovation investment. LKR 4.9 billion (Renovation completed by December 2019)
2007
Launch of Chaaya Hotels & ResortsProduct launchBackground
The company sought a common identity for its growing resort portfolio.
Action taken
It launched Chaaya Hotels & Resorts and began refurbishing and relaunching properties under the brand.
Aftermath
The Chaaya name was subsequently replaced by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in a portfolio-wide rebranding completed in 2015.
2004
Consolidation of hotel assets and listingStrategyBackground
John Keells' resort interests were spread across listed and unlisted Sri Lankan and Maldivian properties.
Action taken
The assets were brought under Keells Hotels Limited, followed by the listing of John Keells Hotels on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Aftermath
The restructuring created a consolidated corporate platform for the hotel business.
Sources1 sources
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