Moroccan Chefs lay out a feast at Cinnamon Grand

A Moroccan feast in all its exotic splendour will be part of the indulgence experience at Cinnamon Grand from September 14 to 21.

The special feast will be turned out by master chefs Malika Akharfi and Issam Sedouk from Jumeirah, Dubai; internationally renowned for their Moroccan culinary fare, and especially flown into do the honours.

The duo, will offer a spread of over 40 different types of traditional Moroccan dishes during this nightly feast from 7.30 p.m to 10.30 p.m.

The fare will be prepared the Moroccan way using tagine pots and a range of flavoursome spices. Their authentic specialties will bring about distinctive tastes and intriguing blends of flavours from this exotic land.

Some of the dishes that are sure to find favour among those who like a bit of spice would be Fish Tagine A La Fastilla - marinated fish in citrus and spices with mixed Capsicum and Hara sauce, Chicken Hammer - braised and roasted marinated chicken in onion, saffron and ghee butter, served with roasted chili and potao, Beef Tagine with Artichoke and Green Peas - braised beef shank with fresh tomatoes, onions and olive oil, artichokes and green peas, Lamb Tagine with Prunes - lamb braised with chopped onion and mrozia spices garnished with glazed prunes, tosted almonds and sesame seeds as well as the Meshoui - slow roast whole lamb marinated in saffron butter and Mixed Kebabs.

A range of delicious soups, salads, meat and fish based dishes, special breads and Moroccan desserts are also on offer.

The hotel, recreates a little piece of Morocco for this special promotion at the Atrium Cafe with belly dancing stints by Mariam adding to the ambience!

Diners will also have the opportunity to go for traditional dining with floor seating, and the option of Shisha Pipes, Mint Tea and Moroccan Sweets to complete the evening.

Family that plays together stays together!

Confifi Group Hotels, in Beruwela, Sri Lanka encourages and inspires family togetherness with its host of family activities.

Spending time learning a new sport or activity as a family helps to not only create lasting memories but can also be fun and educational as children learn or develop skills they never knew they had. While the travel industry is still recovering from the effects of various unfortunate events, the demand from the family travel market seems to be slowly growing.

Traveling with Children can be a challenging proposition, as many parents know: if the children are not "happy campers" on a vacation, then no one's happy.

To address these needs, Confifi Group's Riverina Hotel (4 star) and Club Palm Garden (3 star all-inclusive) have incorporated innovative, interactive, fun and recreational activities for parents and children to experience together.

Everyone in the family - from the 4-year-old to the young-at-heart grandparents - can participate in and enjoy pool and beach games.

The resorts' popular core activities, which run at different times of the year, include Cooking with the Chef (where the hotel chef invites kids to prepare a special something for their parents), Parent-child golf, beach volleyball, tennis, basketball tournament, Camping on the beach, A tour of the mini-eco park (with a picnic lunch), Visit to a turtle hatchery or the popular "brief gardens can also be arranged, Kite making competition, Children's disco with cartoon friends.

Movie night for the kids, Face painting, Swimming competition, Animation programmes and a bike-riding adventure may be just the thing for families who like to be on the go. Horseback riding at the Riverina Hotel to riders of all ages and abilities are also available.

The resorts offer a sort of "Kids On Us" promotion - enabling kids 06 years and under to stay, eat and play FREE in parents' room on all standard room categories. For kids from 07 - 12 years, you can also enjoy a 50% discount when sharing parent's rooms. There is a benefit for every child.

Second winner of Mt. Lavinia Hotel bicentenary celebrations

WINNER: Sudath Sanjeewa, a poultry farmer who sells eggs in Madampe, Chilaw was the second lucky winner of the jackpot prize awarded by the Mount Lavinia Hotel on behalf of its bicentenary celebrations.

To coincide with Sinhala New Year celebrations, Mount Lavinia Hotel released one thousand balloons on 14th April this year from Polonnaruwa, Negombo, Kandy, Mount Lavinia and Hambanthota.

Five of these balloons carried special jackpot vouchers, each comprising a prize value of Rs. 100,000, 500 balloons contained vouchers valued at Rs. 1,000, each and the remaining, a five percent discount on weddings taking place before 31st December 2006. The total prize value was Rs. 1 million.

Sudath secured one such voucher that had a jackpot prize, which was lying in a drain adjoining his farm, on August 18 almost 4 months after releasing the balloons.

"This is like a dream come true for me. I believe I won this reward because I cared for my mother so much when she was sick," said the winner.

The prize was handed over to Sudath by Udara Wickramaratne, Resident Manager of Mount Lavinia Hotel who was part of the team of staff releasing balloons from the Mount Lavinia Hotel.

Mount Lavinia Hotel is famous for creating memories and touching people's lives in a very special way and is proud to be involved in this type of an effort during our bicentenary year," a spokesperson from Mount Lavinia Hotel commented.