Childcare, water sport add value to The Beach

BY CHANNA Kasturisinghe

A SHORT holiday at a beach resort may not be a novel experience for many of us but your first stay at The Beach, Negombo can surely be a memorable experience. It is a tranquil place in every sense of the word although it is surrounded by one of the busiest towns just one hour away from Colombo.

One should give credit to the management for being able to bring in every luxury and entertainment to this location without harming its soothing atmosphere.

The Chiledcare and Water Sports Centre operated by world renowned Markwarner Company, UK has added value to this exquisite hotel managed by Jetwing.

John Hill, the Waterfront Manager said that his beach crew offers a varied programme for the travellers in water sports, a rare facility in Sri Lanka.

"We have brought here latest equipment for both sailing and windsurfing lovers. We offer taster courses, private lessons and advance clinics at a reasonable price. Travellers can also enjoy catamaran joy rides with instructors which has become very popular here. Among the other sports are water-skiing and wakeboarding", John said.

Obviously, windsurfing or sailing with their small ones may not be a very smart idea for the parents. Markwarner has a solution for that too. John's wife Donne Hill said that the Childcare Centre is the ideal place for those travelling parents to ensure the fun and safety of their children when they are away on their own.

"Laura King, the Childcare Manager and her team provides a wide variety of activities for children of all age groups on a daily basis. Children love water so we give the 6 years and up water sport tuition too," Donne said.

The Beach, Negombo is built in one of the best locations we can find along the Negombo beach. It is the ideal place for leisure travellers and of course the honeymooners.

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Heritage takes over "Pahala Walauwe"

THE Heritage Group of Hotels has taken over the management and development of "Pahala Walauwe" of Kotmale, which was earlier marketed and managed by Connaissance Group, (Amaya).

The Heritage Group, the latest addition to the leisure industry in Sri Lanka, engaged in developing and managing Heritage Hotels/Heritage Villas, handing Inbound Travel, operating Specialty Restaurants and now diversified into exporting food and beverage products to different countries.

"Pahala Walauwe" in Kotmale is the ancestral property of former Senior Minister Gamini Dissanayake, situated in a picturesque location overlooking the Kotmale reservoir.

The new management company will convert Pahala Walauwe into a fully fledged boutique property and when completed, it will be one of the first up market boutique hotels located in the hill country in addition to the refurbished traditional planters bungalows managed by several companies engaged in hospitality industry.

The Heritage Group has formed a strategic alliance with the internationally reputed management consultants, Instead Ltd of Sheffield, UK, who will spearhead the marketing campaign in Western Europe.

They will also develop concepts and handle projects development work of the new properties taken over by the Heritage Group.

John Krachai Director of Instead Ltd who also serves on the Heritage Board and has developed a theme for Pahala Walauwa - The Forgotten Kingdom of Kotmale" and the property will be developed on those lines.

Mayantha Dissanayake the younger son of late Gamini Dissanayake who serves on the Board as a Non - Executive Director while looking after the owner's interest, add to the profile of the directorate.

The aim of the Heritage Group of Sri Lanka is to identify heritage/ colonial properties in strategic locations and develop them into up market boutique properties to cater to that unique market segment - the discerning clientele with high expectations who usually patronize heritage/ colonial properties.

Heritage Group's CEO Saman Rajapakse said "We are interested in a few properties at the moment - one in Colombo and another two in Kegalle and Kandy".

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Lagoon Paradise opens in Ja-Ela

HOTEL Lagoon Paradise, a new eco-friendly luxury hotel was opened in Pamunugama, Ja Ela last week.

The 25-room property is being owned and operated by Don Sunil Paranawithana who has diversified from the printing industry.

He said that the leisure sector is growing and there are many new areas to be developed. "This reason I decided to select a property near the Negombo lagoon and construct a hotel," he said.

Profits generated from his business have been re invested with Hotel Lagoon Paradise and he is looking forward to building more properties.

"I am looking at investing in small luxury type hotels since I see a tremendous opportunity in this area," he said.

He said that modern facilities have been introduced and new equipment will be imported for a modern conference hall.

"We already have a spacious reception hall to cater to 250 people," he said. The management is now looking at a fully equipped conference hall to attract the Colombo and the free Trade zone business traffic.

He said that they are also offering special weekend packages to executives and also concentrate on the wedding and the honeymoon market. The Three storied hotel spread on a five-acre land is also hoping to apply for the three star categories next year.

"Our future plans also include additional rooms and more facilities," he said. Hotel facing the lagoon also offers water sports facilities and has a special boat rides, which are very popular among both the local and foreign clients. The five-storied viewing tower too is very popular as it gives a bird eye to visitors of the hotel.

The management is also hoping to launch an aggressive marketing campaign next year specially to woo the UK and the European market. "We would be also launching our website next year," he said. The hotel E-mail address is [email protected]

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Taj introduces pillow menu

THE Taj Airport Garden will introduce a Pillow Menu to their quests to ensure a perfectly good nights sleep.

The menu has five choices of sleeping on a variety of pillows. Each choice of pillow on the menu has been designed to help reduce aches so often associated with incorrect sleeping posture, and helps to provide a comfortable, natural, tension free and muscle relaxing sleeping posture you decide on.

A guest can also purchase any of these pillows, which are listed as foam regular, cotton - comfort in the arms of nature, feather which affords a super soft luxurious experience, slim foam which is sleek to sleep on and hard foam designed for firm and supportive feeling of elevation.