Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
Every resort, ranked
Cinnamon is the resort arm of one of Sri Lanka's largest companies, and it is the main way visitors experience the island's beach coast at scale. The catalog properties show the range: Trinco Blu by Cinnamon on the east coast at Trincomalee, and Cinnamon Hakuraa Huraa in the Maldives, an adults-only island resort that runs a full all-inclusive plan.
Last reviewed August 2026 How we score
That pairing is more useful than it looks, because the most common question in this part of the world is whether Sri Lanka can substitute for the Maldives. The honest answer is that they do different jobs, and Cinnamon is one of the few operators that lets you compare directly. Sri Lanka gives you a beach plus a country worth travelling: wildlife, tea country, ruins, food. The Maldives gives you one island and a lagoon. Trincomalee's season also runs opposite to the more familiar southwest coast, which is worth knowing before you write off the months when Galle is wet.
Cinnamon in two minutes
Book Cinnamon if
- Travelers pairing a beach week with actual touring, which Sri Lanka supports and the Maldives does not
- Couples wanting an adults-only Maldives island on a genuine all-inclusive plan
- Anyone comparing Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Seychelles and wanting one operator across two of them
Know before you book
- Sri Lankan monsoons are regional: the east coast and southwest coast have opposite best seasons, so the wrong month ruins the wrong coast
- Board varies: the Maldives property runs full all-inclusive, while the Sri Lankan resorts treat it as an option
- Trincomalee is a long transfer from Colombo, so plan it as part of a route rather than a quick beach add-on
Where Cinnamon scores strongest
Chain averages across the Cinnamonresorts we've scored.
Where Cinnamon operates
2 resorts mapped stars are five-star properties
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Cinnamon resorts, ranked
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sri Lanka a good alternative to the Maldives?
For a different trip, yes. Sri Lanka gives you beaches plus wildlife, tea country, ruins and food, all reachable overland, which the Maldives cannot offer. The Maldives gives you a private island and a lagoon, which Sri Lanka cannot. Many travelers do both in one trip, since the flight between them is short. Cinnamon operates in both, so the ranking above lets you compare the actual resorts rather than the countries in the abstract.
Is Cinnamon Hakuraa Huraa all-inclusive?
Yes, it runs a full all-inclusive plan and is adults-only, which makes it one of the more straightforward inclusive options in the Maldives, where many resorts sell board plans in tiers instead. Check the plan level, since Maldivian resorts commonly split inclusive rates by what drinks and excursions are covered.
When should you visit Trincomalee?
Roughly the opposite of when you would visit Galle and the southwest. Sri Lanka's east coast has its own monsoon cycle, so Trincomalee is at its best during the months when the more familiar southwest coast is wet. That is the main reason to look east rather than assume the whole island shares one season.
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