Its clubhouse and boat house are located on the edge of the northern Beira Lake, at Sir Chittapalam A. Gardiner Mawatha (formerly Parsons Road), in Colombo.

A distinctive feature has been that while the club's main sporting focus remains in rowing, social interaction and fellowship is also an important aspect.

The membership of club was predominantly made up on colonialists affiliated with the many government departments and plantations in the island.

The rivalry prevails to the present day in the form of the Madras-Colombo Regatta in which the Boat Race is the premier event.

In 2012, the Colombo Rowing Club was visited by Olympic Gold Medallist Mahé Drysdale and former Oxford Boat Race captain Donald MacDonald whose 1987 Ox-Bridge Boat Race mutiny and subsequent victory inspired the 1996 movie True Blue.

Similarly, the lighting fixtures at the bar and upper boat house are made from old rowing shells from the 1950s.

The club hosts as many as 7 regattas throughout the year catering to novices, intermediates and senior oarsmen/women.