Legend has it that at a welcoming party held in his honour upon his arrival in the island he saw Lovina Aponsuwa, a local mestizo dancer, whose father was the headman of the dancing troupe.

Sir James Mackintosh, a friend of the governor, wrote in 1810 that it was "a bungalow of one storey, rustic on the outside, but handsomely laid out, and furnished beautifully".

The next governor, Sir Robert Brownrigg recommended a further purchase of the surrounding land, 35 acres (14 ha) from 14 landowners for 18,000 Rix dollars.

Mount Lavinia was to be his ultimate creation; a magnificent residence fit for the Grand Master, such as Versailles was to Louis XIV".

At Mount Lavinia, which offered a country setting, Sanderson used the simpler Doric order and superimposed the Ionic.

The railway line passed in front of Mount Lavinia, connecting the house directly to the harbor at Colombo.

[4] In 1939 following the commencement of World War II Ceylon, the centre of the British Empire's rubber supply, quickly became a priority for the Allies and a target for the Axis forces.

[7] Guests who have stayed at the hotel include King Leopold of Belgium, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, writer Somerset Maugham, English film director David Lean, and actors Vivien Leigh, Kirk Douglas and Gregory Peck.