Citrus Resorts and Hotels

What Citrus Resorts and Hotels does

Citrus Resorts and Hotels is the consumer-facing brand of Citrus Leisure PLC, a publicly listed Sri Lankan hospitality group (Colombo Stock Exchange: REEF.N0000) headquartered in Colombo and affiliated with George Steuart & Company, Sri Lanka's oldest mercantile institution (founded 1835, marking its 190th anniversary in 2026). The group operates a three-property portfolio: Citrus Waskaduwa (a five-star beachfront luxury resort in Kalutara with 140+ rooms including a Presidential Suite), Citrus Hikkaduwa (a three-star beach hotel with 88 rooms), and The Steuart by Citrus (a 50-room boutique business hotel housed in the restored colonial Steuart House in Colombo 01). Across the portfolio, the firm manages roughly 278+ rooms and a workforce of 501-1,000 employees. The Steuart by Citrus opened in July 2015 following the conversion of the historic George Steuart & Co. headquarters into a boutique hotel.

The group's revenue model is built on four streams: accommodation across multiple room tiers (Standard to Presidential), food and beverage through multiple on-site restaurants and bars, spa and wellness services (Citron Senses Spa and Le Lily's Spa with Balinese therapists), and events/weddings including ballroom and beach ceremonies plus corporate conferences with dedicated event planning teams at each property. Distribution has historically relied on third-party online travel agencies, but a July 2026 strategic partnership with RateGain Travel Technologies deployed the UNO Direct Stack platform across all three properties to consolidate guest acquisition, digital marketing, website booking, distribution, and pricing intelligence into a single direct-revenue system. The underlying technology stack is therefore a hybrid of standard hotel property management with a third-party AI-assisted personalization layer rather than proprietary AI. Marketing is conducted via the corporate website (citrusleisure.com), email/newsletter signups, the #HappinessMoments social campaign, and TripAdvisor recognition displayed across properties.

Citrus targets four customer segments: leisure travelers (primary) seeking beach vacations along Sri Lanka's southern coast, business travelers using The Steuart in Colombo, wedding parties booking destination weddings across the portfolio, and corporate groups using meeting and event facilities. Customer acquisition is largely consumer-direct (B2C) via the website and OTAs, supplemented by enterprise field sales for weddings, conferences, and group bookings. Recent strategic emphasis is on shifting demand mix from OTA intermediaries toward direct booking conversion, on completing portfolio-wide refurbishments (The Steuart reopened 2025-10-14, the two beach properties reopened 2026-07-01), and on building an in-house hospitality talent pipeline through the Citrus School of Hotel Management, launched February 2026 in partnership with George Steuart & Company under the 'Steuart Senehasa' CSR platform, which graduated its first 18 students.

Name

Citrus Resorts and Hotels

Legal name

Citrus Leisure PLC

Website

https://citrusleisure.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Citrus Resorts and Hotels (Citrus Leisure PLC) is a publicly listed Sri Lankan hospitality group operating three properties — Citrus Waskaduwa, Citrus Hikkaduwa, and The Steuart by Citrus — serving leisure, business, wedding, and corporate group travelers with accommodation, dining, spa, and event services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality Services

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Resort-Area Full-Service Hotels (Non–All-Inclusive) (THAGAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Boutique Resorts (Small-Scale Resorts) (THAGADAJ), Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH), Resort Convention Hotels (THAGALAC), Hotel & Resort Convention Venues (Convention Hotels) (THAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Beach resort hotels
• Boutique business hotels
• Hospitality services
• Wedding event venues
• Spa wellness services

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Accommodation: Room rentals across three properties: Citrus Waskaduwa (luxury beach resort), Citrus Hikkaduwa (beach hotel), and The Steuart by Citrus (boutique business hotel in Colombo)
2. Food and Beverage: Multiple dining venues including Lemon Sun restaurant, specialty bars (Summer Salt, Pomelo Hi), coffee shops, and pool bars across properties
3. Spa and Wellness: Citron Senses Spa at beach properties and Le Lily's Spa at Waskaduwa offering therapies administered by Balinese therapists
4. Events and Weddings: Ballroom weddings, beach weddings, meetings, conferences, and corporate events across all three properties with dedicated event planning teams

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Citrus Resorts and Hotels operates three wholly-owned hospitality properties in Sri Lanka under Citrus Leisure PLC: Citrus Waskaduwa (a five-star beachfront resort in Kalutara with 140+ rooms, multiple dining venues, and event facilities), Citrus Hikkaduwa (a three-star beach hotel with 88 rooms, spa, and banquet halls), and The Steuart by Citrus (a 50-room boutique business hotel in a restored 1835 colonial building in Colombo 01). The portfolio offers accommodation, dining, spa, weddings, and corporate events under a single brand with centralized online booking.

Product overview

Citrus Resorts and Hotels operates a portfolio of three distinct hospitality properties in Sri Lanka under the Citrus Leisure PLC umbrella. The portfolio comprises Citrus Waskaduwa (a five-star beachfront resort with 140+ rooms, multiple dining venues, and spa facilities), Citrus Hikkaduwa (a three-star beach hotel with accommodation across various room tiers, restaurants, and event spaces), and The Steuart by Citrus (a boutique 50-room business hotel in Colombo with Scottish colonial heritage). Guests can book directly through a centralized online booking system that consolidates all three properties. The properties share common branding and reservation infrastructure, with additional services including spa treatments (Citron Senses Spa, Le Lily's Spa), wedding planning, and corporate event facilities available across the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Citrus Waskaduwa: Luxury beachfront resort in Waskaduwa, Kalutara, Sri Lanka
• Citrus Hikkaduwa
• The Steuart by Citrus

Products and services

• Citrus Waskaduwa Five-star beachfront resort in Waskaduwa, Kalutara, featuring 140+ rooms across multiple categories (Superior Rooms, Deluxe Suites, Executive Suites, Presidential Suite at 360m²), multiple dining venues (Lemon Sun, Pips n' Sips, Sky Lime, Pomelo Hi, Aqua Peel), Citron Senses Spa and Le Lily's Spa, event and wedding facilities, and recreational amenities with direct beach access. Targets luxury leisure travelers, wedding parties, and corporate groups.
• Citrus Hikkaduwa Three-star rated beach hotel in Hikkaduwa featuring 88 rooms (6 Standard with Street View, 46 Superior with Partial Sea View, 36 Deluxe with Full Sea View), Lemon Fish Restaurant and Summer Salt Bar, Citron Senses Spa, and event venues including Lime Light Banquet Hall (190 persons) and Lobby Hall (125 persons). Targets mid-scale leisure travelers, wedding parties, and corporate groups.
• The Steuart by Citrus 50-room boutique business hotel in Colombo 01 spread across three floors (Deluxe Rooms, Premium Rooms, Suite categories), Scottish-themed décor in a restored colonial building from 1835, on-site dining at &Co Pub and kitchen, meeting/boardroom facilities, and proximity to Colombo landmarks. Targets business travelers and small corporate meetings.
• Citrus Spa Services Spa and wellness services offered across properties, including Citron Senses Spa at Waskaduwa and Hikkaduwa, and Le Lily's Spa at Waskaduwa, with signature therapies administered by Balinese-trained therapists. Available to hotel guests and external wellness customers.
• Weddings and Corporate Events End-to-end wedding and corporate event planning services across all three properties, including ballroom weddings (Lime Light Banquet Hall, Lobby Hall), beach weddings, conferences, corporate meetings, and team building events with customizable packages, catering, AV, and dedicated event teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduction in third-party OTA dependency through direct booking consolidation

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RateGain Travel TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 16 July 2026Strategic partnership to deploy RateGain's UNO Direct Stack platform across Citrus Leisure's three-property portfolio. The integrated platform consolidates guest acquisition, digital marketing, website management, booking conversion, distribution, and pricing intelligence into a single growth system. This represents one of the most comprehensive direct revenue technology consolidations undertaken by a Sri Lankan hospitality group, aimed at growing direct revenue, improving conversion, and reducing dependency on third-party channels.
• George Steuart & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026CSR partnership under George Steuart & Company's 'Steuart Senehasa' platform marking its 190th anniversary. Launched Citrus School of Hotel Management with first batch of 18 students graduating in February 2026. The six-month programme addresses financial barriers for aspiring hospitality students and Sri Lanka's growing hospitality manpower shortage. Programme designed to support youth empowerment and long-term growth of Sri Lanka's tourism sector.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• John Keells Hotels (Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts): Sri Lanka's largest hospitality group operating 15+ properties across leisure and city segments including Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside, and coastal resorts. Directly comparable as a publicly listed Sri Lankan hotel chain with multi-property portfolio and similar leisure/business mix.
• Aitken Spence Hotels (Heritance): Multi-property Sri Lankan hotel group operating Heritance and other brands across resort and city segments. Comparable as a publicly listed diversified hospitality group with similar southern coast and Colombo presence.
• Jetwing Hotels: Sri Lankan boutique and resort hotel chain with multiple properties along the western and southern coasts. Comparable as a domestically-grown hospitality brand with strong heritage positioning and beach resort focus.

Broad incumbents

• Taj Hotels (Indian Hotels Company): Large Indian hospitality group operating Taj Samudra in Colombo and other luxury beach resorts in Sri Lanka. Comparable as a luxury coastal hotel competitor in the same Sri Lankan beach segment as Citrus Waskaduwa, with broader international portfolio.
• Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts: Global luxury hospitality group operating Shangri-La Colombo. Comparable as a five-star competitor in the Colombo business and luxury segment overlapping with The Steuart by Citrus's premium positioning.
• Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts: International upscale hotel brand with Mövenpick City Hotel Colombo. Comparable as a business hotel competitor in Colombo competing with The Steuart by Citrus for the corporate travel segment.
• AVANI Hotels & Resorts: Hospitality brand with AVANI Bentota Resort on Sri Lanka's southern coast. Comparable as a mid-scale to upscale resort competitor operating in Sri Lanka's coastal tourism market.
• Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas (Minor International): Global luxury hospitality brand with Anantara Kalutara Resort on Sri Lanka's western coast, directly adjacent to Citrus Waskaduwa. Comparable as a luxury beach resort competitor in the same coastal corridor.

Regional players

• Fortress Resorts and Hotels: Sri Lankan hospitality group with resort properties on the western coast. Comparable as a Sri Lankan-based coastal resort operator competing in the same domestic beach tourism market as Citrus.

Emerging players

• Mint Hotels (Sri Lanka): Growing Sri Lankan boutique hotel brand with multiple properties. Comparable as a domestic Sri Lankan multi-property hospitality group targeting similar leisure and city segments with smaller-scale operations.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CitrusHotelsSL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citrus-resorts-hotels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citrus Resorts and Hotels