A honeymooner’s paradise:

Hotel Suisse

Beverley JANSZ

Hotel Suisse began in 1850 as the “Haramby House” Kandy, a guest house, operated by a Swiss Lady in Ceylon, who later renamed it “Hotel Suisse”. The hotel reflects a combination of old world charm and modern hoteliering.

Though it is a city hotel, it has been built on the Sangaraja Mawatha Kandy Lake. Built on a slight elevation, away from the hassle of the town. Overlooking the Gorgeous Kandy Lake, Hotel Suisse provides a scenic view of the world renowned Dalada Maligawa.

This colonial hotel, rising amidst three acres of landscaped splendour, is cradled between two well-weeded mountain ranges, yet amazingly, it is but a few minutes walk to the Kandy city centre, Dalada Maligawa and other places of tourist and historic interest.

Steeped in history, Hotel Suisse has a charm of its own that catches the atmosphere of Kandy’s past glory. In the 17th century, it was the residence of the chief minister of the Royal Grarany.

In 1818 this property was acquired by the British and occupied by an officer of the British Administration who named it “Haramby House”. Years later “Haramby House” was sold to a Swiss Lady, Madam Burdayron, who ran it as a guesthouse. This then was the beginning of the present Hotel Suisse.

The first phase of the extension and renovation program completed was the construction of a new shopping arcade, 35 additional rooms, expansion of public areas, installation of an ultra modern lift, modernisation of the main kitchen and installation of telephones in all guest rooms.

The proposed second stage which concentrated on the rooms and bathrooms, and at the same time preserving the colonial atmosphere of the hotel, was completed, and the Food and Beverage outlets were given a face-lift.

All this designed to add to the standards and facilities of the most fastidious individual, who demands nothing

 less than the very best!

Hotel Suisse offers five suites and 95 spacious standard rooms equipped with all modern facilities. Surrounded by beautifully landscaped garden and an English lounge, the hotel has a character of a colonial architecture, and with the recent refurbishment, it has preserved the features and character of the old world charm.

It is a popular venue for weddings and honeymooners due to its romantic setting. It is an ideal destination for pilgrim families visiting the Dalada Maligawa. The hotel is also popular for workshops company picnics, and a popular stay-over for golfers who patronise the Victoria Golf Course.

Chef Ivan, with his experience kitchen brigade offers the very best in International, Western, Chinese and spicy Sri Lankan cuisine. The hotel also offers BBQ nights by the swimming pool, overlooking the beautiful Kandy Lake.

Versatile hotelier Ranjan Peiris who is the General Manager for Hotel Suisse and Queen’s Hotel, with his experienced manager Suisse Hotel, Gamini Senanayaka, Assistant Food and Beverage Manager, Gopendra Herath and Executive House-keeper, Lalith Damunupola, takes special care to treat all guests as VIPs.

Suisse is one of the two hotels owned by the Kandy Hotels Co (1938) Ltd. The other is the Queen’s Hotel, Kandy. These two hotels come under the Galle Face Hotels umbrella.

Dining 24 x 7 at Taj Airport Garden Hotel

Imagine serving a portion of freshly steamed Idlis with Sambar and Chutney at 7.45 p.m. or a steaming hot Nasi Goreng at 9.30 a.m. or a medium-rare T-Bone Steak at 4.15 a.m.!! Sounds strange.... more like a dream? Well, at Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Seeduwa, they turn such dreams into reality for their customers.

Customer is the “King” and anticipating and meeting his/her unique preferences is out motto says, Sales and

 Accommodation Manager, Ashok Fernando.

To prove that as an organisation we have truly imbibed a Customer Centric Culture, Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Seeduwa launched 24x7 Menus in Society, our 24-hr Coffee Shop and In-Room Dining.

Being a hotel situated close to the International Airport of Colombo, as the name suggests, our hotel plays host to a high number of airline crews, transit passengers and corporate clientele who are regularly flying in from various locations all over the world.

When they land up at our hotel at odd hours, their body clock would be functioning at an entirely different time zone.

Taking this into account, we had previously introduced a ‘Jet Lag Menu’ as part of our IRD Menus. Now the F&B team is proud to take the next step forward by making the entire menu available 24hrs a day so that our discerning customers get to enjoy a meal of their choice any time of the day or night, says Ashok.

The entire team took it up as a challenge when our GM, Sanjay Singh proposed this unique concept which even established hotels in India and all over the world find a difficult one to implement even today.

The team displayed our core values of Passion for Excellence and a Sense of Urgency & Accountability by planning the new menus, designing attractive new menu cards, printing them, conducting food tasting sessions for the staff, photography sessions of all the new presentations and lots more in a very short span of time... all this while keeping that single goal in mind - to Exceed Customer Expectations.

Finally after a lot of hard work, the new menus were ready and launched on Wednesday, October 10. We have already received many a positive comment from our regular patrons, who were delighted to know that we have taken this unique but strong and sure step forward towards achieving a Customer Centric Culture, said Ashok.

Theme Nights at Cheers Cinnamon Grand

Cheers Pub at Cinnamon Grand is offering a special theme nights menu with some great grub combinations throughout the week. This is in addition to the Pub’s usual menu which gives you great choice.

Theme nights include typical British grub evenings of Butty Night, Fish and Chips Night and Pie and Chips Night, to a more Sri Lanka - style snack of Rotti and Roast Chicken! An ideal opportunity for those of you who like to tuck into your choice of grub to your heart’s content with our favourite drink!

Doner Kebab Night is for those who prefer a meaty indulgence and Pizza Night is for the pizza fans who fancy a quick bite - be it a delicious Marinara, Hot and Spicy Beef or even a Chicken and Mushroom combination. You also have the option of asking for your own choice of pizza toppings.

Care for Tacos treats the Mexican way? Then check out the Tacos Night with a choice of Beef, Prawn, and Lamb or Chicken options.

That’s not all; if you like a good roast, try Cheer’s special Roast Chicken Night experience. The Pub’s offering a roast at its best.

Whatever your preference- is it a hearty meal or light snack- Cheers offers value for money. All this coupled with the Pub’s lively ambience and beverage range.... Good enough reasons to say Cheers!

Far Eastern Food at Ceylon Continental

Cafe Emerald of Ceylon Continental Hotel Colombo will host a yet another delicious food festival of Far Eastern delicacies from November 16-21.

Taste an array of mouth-watering dishes from Malaysia, China, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia in the form of a buffet.

Thai & Chinese rice & noodles, Malaysian & Philippines delightful dishes, Indonesian satays, meat dishes, salads, soups and tempting dessert buffet will be offered to all guests at the Coffee Shop - Cafe Emerald during the festival.

Far Eastern Food Promotion will be on from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. with an action station too throughout the promotion.