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| Tuesday, 13 January 2004 |
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Blue Water Hotel awarded 5 Star status by Shirajiv Sirimane The Blue Water hotel an upmarket property with the 4 Star plus classification in Wadduwa, had been awarded 5 Star status by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board.
Blue Water is the first hotel in the new millennium to receive this star classification. The last hotel to receive this prestigious classification was Eden Beruwela in 1998. According to Chairman/Managing Director of Union Resort (Pvt) limited, Ajith Wijeyesekera, the owning company of the hotel, this classification would give a better image for their hotel and an overall image of Sri Lankan tourism. He said that with more star class and up market hotels being classified and built, the overall selling rate of Sri Lankan hotels would increase. He said that the overall service to their guests, vast improvements to their Food and Beverage Department and maintaining every aspect of the property at a very high standard enabled them to get this classification. "One of the greatest strengths of the hotel is the highly motivated and well trained staff. The former General Manager Adrian Kulatunga, from the inception, was instrumental in driving the whole team to make an excellent product of The Blue Water and also pursued relentlessly to achieve the 5 Star status to the hotel". Roshan Perera, the new General Manager is confident of maintaining the high standards that have been set by his predecessor. The property, which was the last hotel to be designed by the legendary Architect Geoffrey Bawa, opened in 1998 with an initial investment of Rs. 550 million. It has 100 rooms and has a staff of 200. The management invested a further Rs. 15 million to upgrade their Banquet Hall which is now of international standard. The management is now hoping to invest a further Rs. 25 million to construct an international SPA that would be managed by an European company. "We are also hoping to add a specialty restaurant." He said that their hotel had been maintaining a sound occupancy rate even during troubled times and last year the figure stood at 85 percent. The hotel had a turnover of Rs. 141 million at the end of the 2002 financial year and this figure increased to 209 million the following year. "With the global trend in tourism increasing and the healthy political situation in Sri Lanka, we are projecting a revenue of Rs. 240 million for the financial year ending March 2004." The management is looking forward to investing on a 25-chalet property in deep South. "This would be upmarket boutique type hotel with each chalet costing around Rs.10 million. We have earmarked some land in the South and are also looking for land in the Cultural Triangle. " Jetwing Hotels also has done an excellent job in marketing the hotel well. Their managing Director Hiran Cooray and the Sales Director Lalin de Mel have worked tirelessly in promoting and building the image of the hotel among Western tour operators." |
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