The beautiful white-coloured mansion facing the Kandy Lake, the Queen’s Hotel, evokes the old British architectural features. It is an unforgettable monument for anyone visiting Kandy. This building has hidden many wonderful memories from the days of the Kandyan Kingdom. The building with over 160 years of history is one of the much-talked about historic buildings in the city of Kandy.
Designated as a Protected Archaeological Monument in Kandy, the Queen’s Hotel is a beautiful four-storeyed building with over 75 rooms. The building was initially referred to as the ‘Dullewe Walawwa’, as it was owned by Dullewe Adigar, a Chief of the Kandyan Kingdom. He was also a signatory to the Kandyan Convention signed between the British and Kandyan Chiefs in 1815.
Dullewe Adigar’s residence was in Dullewa in Matale. It is said to be a massive building of about half an acre with seven inner courtyards. He built another residence in the capital (Kandy) for the convenience of governance, which later became the Queen’s Hotel. Apart from the Dullewa Walawwa, there were 18 other residences of Kandyan Chiefs in Kandy including those of the families of Pilima Talawuwe, Dunuwila, Ehelepola, Giragama, and Mullegama.
Dullewe Adigar
It is said that Dullewe Adigar went to his village, Dullewa in Matale after the administration of the Kandyan Kingdom was transferred to the British. After that his residence as well as those of other Chiefs were used by British officers.
The British demolished some of the initial buildings and built them again with various changes. In 1818, Dullewe Walawwa became the official residence of the British Governor. John Doyle, the British Resident Agent in Kandy, is considered to be the first British officer to live there.
The building was then used as a barrack for the Malay Rifles, a mercenary force that came to Ceylon under the British in 1840 and joined the battles. This building came to be known as “Malabar House”, and it was also used as an army hospital. By 1850, plantations were spreading around Kandy. The British needed a place to stay when they came to Kandy.
In one part of that building, an English businesswoman ran a small cafeteria and lodging for the British. British officers in Kandy were feeling the need for a bigger hotel by this time. The business woman could not afford to build a big hotel.
Therefore, she sold the hotel, which was built in a part of Dullewe Walawwa, in 1879 AD, to a rich woman named ‘Elizabeth Piashaw’, the daughter of an Army officer. Elizabeth had purchased the hotel for the construction of a bigger hotel.
Piashaw Cottage
She converted the Queen’s Hotel into a more comfortable hotel with a building designed according to British architecture. Its name was changed to “Piashaw Cottage”.
The name of the hotel was changed again to ‘Queen’s Hotel’ to commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This name became popular among Europeans as well. By the end of the 19th century, the Queen’s Hotel became popular in many countries. It was the only hotel in Kandy with facilities not only for meeting planters and holding conferences, but also for accommodation.
Elizabeth sold this hotel to Kandy Hotel Company in 1895. Then renovations were made according to Kandyan architecture. Between 1900 and 1908 AD, more sections were added to the Eastern and Western ends of the hotel and enlargement took place.
In 1911, the Colombo Commercial Company bought the hotel. The company built a ballroom. As the hotel was taken over by the Government in 1970, the Ceylon Hotels Corporation owned it. Later, its shares owned by the Government were sold to a private company.