The Hilton Colombo, despite the turbulent times in the tourism industry, is gearing for a major refurbishment costing Rs 200 million and planning to raise its prices after that.

A spokesman for the hotel’s owning company, Hotel Developers (Lanka), said this is the best time to refurbish and improve the hotel during the low season.

“We hope to increase hotel rates before the end of the year after the new look Hilton,” he said. The refurbishment programme will be spread over two years and will involve upgrading the guest rooms of the hotel. The last refurbishment programme was carried out almost eight years ago. The spokesman said the Hilton Colombo will be the main hotel in Sri Lanka and serve as a hub in the region while India plans to have 100 Hilton properties by 2015.