Travel

A life-time holiday offer at CHC's:

Tissamaharama Resort

TISSAMAHARAMA Rest House, now re-named Tissamaharama Resort, is beautifully located by the Tissa Wewa, an ancient reservoir built by King Kawantissa.

The resort has 60 rooms, including 25 that are air-conditioned and three family suites. All guest rooms have been built overlooking the scenic Tissa Wewa tank.

All rooms are equipped with telephone, hot/cold water, room service and other facilities required for the discerning traveller, both foreign and local.

Tissamaharama Resort has two restaurants, which offer culinary delights - Western, Eastern and Sri Lankan cuisine - prepared by expert chefs, coupled with personalised service, in a homely atmosphere.

The restaurants are located in such a manner that guests get a panoramic view of the Tissa Wewa, while dining.

The sacred city of Kataragama, Bisowewa, a small tank used for bathing by Queen Viharamahadevi, the wife of King Kawantissa, the Yalatissa Library where 2300-year-old monuments are displayed and the Situlpauwa, an ancient, 2300-year-old temple, are some of the main attractions in close proximity to Tissamaharama Resort.

The resort has a beautiful pool, including a kiddies pool, overlooking the Tissa Wewa. The resort offers boat safaris on the Tissa Wewa and inland shopping in the nearby island.

For wildlife enthusiasts, the Yala Bundala Safari, Kumana and Weerawila bird sanctuaries which are close to the resort, are major attractions.

Manager, Tissamaharama Resort, P. A. P. S. Ariyakumara takes every endeavour to see that all guests are offered all facilities for an ideal holiday. Under the guidance and advice of Chief Executive Officer of Ceylon Hotels Corporation Chandra Mohotti, Shan R. H. Wickramaratne, Consultant (Travel and Marketing) a versatile and experienced hotelier in the Lankan hotel industry, with his dedicated marketing staff at CHC's head office at Galle Road, Bambalapitiya work round the clock to attract tourists both foreign and local to visit CHC hotels and Rest Houses built in some of Sri Lanka's most scenic locations, to spend a holiday of a "life time", at an affordable price. -LJ

A 'new chapter' at Taj
 

BY ANJANA Gamage

"I AM extremely happy with the new assignment. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and is popular as a tourist destination as well.

Product, Process and People are the three key challenges for me as the newly appointed General Manager of the Taj Samudra in Colombo", said Veer Vijay Singh, the newly appointed Area Director and General Manager of Taj Samudra in Sri Lanka in an interview with the Daily News.

Working for Taj Group for 30 years, has given him confidence over his new assignment and pledged to open a 'new chapter' in the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka. Before assuming duties here, Veer Vijay who was the Area Director for Taj in Hydarabad and Hotel Taj Krishna has won the Hotel of Hotel award for being in the best in the Taj Group last month.

"Keeping this achievement in mind, I am ready to face anything that comes my way", said Singh. "Taj Samudra, Colombo has the best location and is a beautiful property over a two decades ago, but now requires a product upgrading and a renovation. For this task we need US$ 7.5 million, which I have sought the assistance from the Board of Directors and the Taj Management", he said.

It is expected to renovate all guest rooms (270), coffee shop, bar, fitness centre and spa, lobby and lounge, back of the house, kitchen and soft renovation in the banquet area under this refurbishment scheme.

"When it comes to the process, I want to re-introduce a Business Accident Model -2005, which is based on Malcolm Baldridge award scheme of USA. This is basically a model to do business in process to oriented style to achieve in accidents. I shall be stressing on training when it comes to people.

I am a strong believer in quality of service. It is only through with well trained, motivation and good guidance we can get a good quality service. To achieve this objective, I will be leading from the front and ensure that the entire staff will get the benefit of it.

As a man who is always connecting with people, 'customer service and customer satisfaction' is very important to us. We have to do whatever it takes to make the guests stay with us a happy and memorable one," he said.

Veer is also for synergies between the other Taj hotels- Taj Samudra, Taj Exotica and Taj Airport Garden with one another in business and entertainment as well.

"As an experienced food and beverage person, I would also like to bring in a new concept for F&B such as Sunday Brunch, Yumcha at the Golden Dragon, new menus, wine promotions etc, looking forward for more opportunities to bring new hotels as well as other important city hotels in Sri Lanka to join with the same programme.

My strong belief is that there are vast opportunities in this country and if the stability support is provided by the government, we shall be able to get more tourists and can slowly increase the average room rate which is one of the lowest at present", he said.

A veggie feast at the Taprobane

THE Colombo Plaza's family restaurant, The Taprobane has come out with a special buffet counter to cater to veggie lovers who prefer to nosh it up the veggie way.

The new veggie section is an additional option to the dinner buffet which already boasts of over 70 dishes-western, eastern and oriental favourites from around the globe.

This vegetable counter provides an option to pick and choose your choice of fresh veggies and have it prepared to your personal preference. Our chef will help you mix and match a blend of dishes based on your favourite vggies! states a press release.

You could also select from different styles of cooking-Thai, Indian, Sri Lankan, Chinese be it just an appetizing soup, a healthy salad or even a sumptuous main course-all turned out from our veggie corner.

Unlike the usual soup selection, the vegetable counter will offer a flavoursome feat with a range of delightful choices- bamboo shoot, cabbage, or wild mushrooms to the more regular favourites like carrot, leeks and celery. There's also a bean curd blend that is worth a try, or the more tangy onion and garlic soup for those who like spice!

Prefer a stir fried mix? Try the tasty range turned out from cauliflower, baby corn, bell pepper, pakchoi, potato and spinach, not to mention the ever popular kankun stir fried.

The Taprobane restaurant, located at the ground level of the Colombo Plaza hotel is known for its enviable combination of grand buffets and unobtrusive service.

The buffet is open Monday to Saturday from 12.00 noon to 3.00 pm for lunch and 7.00 pm to 10.30 pm for dinner. There is also a grand Sunday Brunch from 11.30 am to 3.00 pm on Sundays.