Hatton Rest House

Paradise for 'train-spotters' 

COLONIAL: Hatton Rest House, one of the oldest hotels in Hatton and the closest to the Hatton Town, began as the 'Strathon' Estate Superintendent's bungalow, a decade ago.

In 1975, this colonial type bungalow opened its doors as the Hatton Rest House. In 1980, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) took over the management of the Rest House.

In 1990, Anura Ratnayaka, a leading hotelier, the present Managing Director, took over the management of the rest house. In 2000 the rest house saw a new lease of life when it was fully refurbished. Ratnayaka saw to it that the refurbishment did not take away the Colonial splendour.

The Hatton Rest House, which has seven bedrooms, now stands as one of the best tourist locations in Hatton. It is the closest hotel to the Hatton Town, Hatton railway station, Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) and other places of tourist attraction in and around Hatton. It has now become one of the most popular and convenient 'stop-overs' for tourists travelling to Nuwara Eliya.

Holidaymakers cannot surely miss out on Hatton Rest House, especially if you are a train spotter, for Hatton is the ideal location for its climatic and scenic splendour for a stunning view of trains passing Hatton while speeding from Colombo to Badulla. The railway line runs adjacent to the rest house. At night guests at Hatton Rest House get a magnificent view of the lit-up trains.

"The rest house offers the very best in Sri Lankan and international cuisine prepared by expert chefs. Takeaways are extremely popular among tourists travelling from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya and back. Meals are offered at very fair rates," Ratnayaka said.

Managing Director Hatton Rest House Anura Ratnayaka is also the Treasurer of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Rest House Managers' Association.

Text and pictures by Lester Jansz

Grand ladies of Kandy go Hi-Tech

KANDY: Queen's Hotel and Hotel Suisse, two of the oldest hotels in Kandy are now Wi-Fi hotspots. Guests of these two hotels are now just a click away from the World Wide Web.

With a history of over 160 years, the Queen's Hotel built by the British stands only a stone's throw away from the sacred temple of the tooth relic. Its in-city location gives visitors ready access to the many beautiful attractions within the Hill Capital.

At the Queen's Hotel, one would experience rich cultural heritage coupled with a service more modern counterparts envy. The hotel is truly a fascinating and wonderful "living" memorial of a bygone era.

A Colonial Hotel steeped in history, ideally located commanding a magnificent view of the famous Kandy Lake, and only a few minutes walk from the city centre, Hotel Suisse continues to maintain its old world charm that captures the atmosphere of Kandy's past glory cradled amidst three acres of landscaped splendour.

It is truly the grandest architectural structure of colonial uniqueness with a service that has been unrivalled for over 130 years.

The Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) manages both Queen's Hotel and Hotel Suisse while the General Manager for both these hotels is the veteran hotelier Kumar Thambyah.

Thambyah, who counts nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry, said the Gardiner Group, which purchased the majority of shares in the CHC, has gone into an aggressive marketing strategy to promote these two hotels.

"Fifty-four rooms out of the 100 of the Queen's Hotel have been upgraded so far. Although the West Wing of the hotel remains closed it too will be refurbished and put into service very soon," Thambyah said.

He said that more permanent refurbishments are done at Hotel Suisse such as tiling floors. "Despite the current situation in the country both hotels recorded a substantial profit during the August Perahera season," Thambyah said.

Since Thambyah was put at the helm of both hotels last year, hard work put in by him has brought in the desired results. Thambyah has certainly put in a new lease of life to both Queen's and Suisse.