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| Saturday, 24 April 2004 |
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Colours of Angsana Spas to dazzle Colombo by Chandani Jayatilleke Adding colours to the expanding Spa Culture in Colombo soon is the Angsana, which is part of the renowned boutique hotel chain in Asia - Banyan Tree Group.
"We are opening a Spa in the Crescat City shortly and the preparation work in this regard is currently under way," said Kalai Natarajan, Manager, Media Relations, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts Pte Ltd. Having entered into the Hospitality Trade in Sri Lanka following a management agreement with the Deer Park Hotel, Giritale, Angsana is now looking into acquiring and developing several other properties in Sri Lanka. It has also purchased the Hotel Swanee in Beruwala and due to start renovation in May. "We have developed a concept called 'the Colours of Angsana' and the properties in Sri Lanka will be aligned with the same concept," Natarajan who was in Colombo recently told the Daily News. Under the Colours of Angsana, the company has so far developed four properties, two in Sri Lanka - Dear Park and Hotel Swanee, one in China and other in Laos. "These are areas people are beginning to develop an interest from a travel perspective. And this is exactly where we want to establish our presence," she said. Referring to Spa business she said Angsana has already carved a niche in this segment and all its Spas are highly acclaimed by the visitors. Spa culture is catching on fast all over the world. In fact, the Banyan Tree has its own academy in Phuket to train Spa staff. "We identify people from various countries and train them in our academy for over a period of time. They will have at least 500 hours of training in all aspects of Spa techniques, human anatomy and diet etc.. "Once they graduate they spend an apprenticeship period in Phuket itself under the supervision of senior therapists. Thereafter they will be sent to various Banyan Tree and Angsana Spas around the regions. Speaking on Angsana's influence here, its Director - Sales in Sri Lanka, Anil Udawatte said; "We now have seven such therapists at the Deer Park Spa. They are from Thailand and will be here for one year. They are highly motivated and committed to their work. There, we have four indoor and five outdoor spa rooms. The outdoor spas are built into the jungle, with complete privacy." He added that Spa treatment does not mean thumping all parts of the body which some would call a massage. "Our therapists know exactly what they should do and many could actually provide treatment to certain ailments through Spa techniques," he said. Meanwhile, the company is looking forward to recruit Sri Lankans to perform as therapists. "We will train them here initially and if we feel they are better enough to continue with us, we will even send them to our academy in Phuket for further training," Natarajan said. Speaking on Angsana's presence in Sri Lanka she said, "We have been interested in Sri Lanka for a long time and a couple of years ago we decided it was the right time to come here and make some investment. We have invested in three properties in Sri Lanka so far." |
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