[8] In September 2012, it became the first hotel in Sri Lanka to be featured on a postage stamp, along with three other iconic buildings in Colombo.

In 1894, architect Edward Skinner completed the design of the hotel's current south wing, and the property has remained largely unchanged until the present day, though with many extensive restorations.

[11] Mignonne Fernando and The Jetliners regularly entertained guests at the Coconut Grove, the night club attached to the hotel.

[15][16] The hotel also employed the world's oldest hospitality industry veteran and doorman, Kottarapattu Chattu ("K.C.")

Joining the hotel as a bell boy cum waiter in 1942, he continued to serve until his death on 18 November 2014.

[21] The hotel reopened on 26 October 2015, being formally declared open by the president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena.

[22] Celebrity Guests at the hotel have included, inter alia, the Empress of France Princess Eugenie, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the Duke of Hamilton, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Richard Nixon, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Emperor Hirohito of Japan (while a Prince), Sir Donald Bradman, and Yuri Gagarin.

The hotel features a museum and art gallery in its Regency Wing, which houses the first car that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh owned, and several pieces of memorabilia from the hotel's history, including a gallery of famous guests.