Travel

Earls Regency Kandy:

Undergoes massive refurbishment drive

Shirajiv SIRIMANE in Kandy

The five star Earls Regency Hotel Kandy is undergoing a massive refurbishment drive, investing over Rs. 450 million.

The rooms have been completely refurbished while 30 suites have been added to meet the demand of guests with high expectations. The conference and banquet facilities have been further strengthened with a facility to cater to around 400 to 500 guests and a new lighting system too has been installed.

The new General Manager of the Hotel, Neroy Marso said, this refurbishment would be completed in a few months and is being done in such alway that it would not disturb the privacy of the guests. “Earls Regency undoubtedly is the most popular venue for weddings as we host three to four weddings per day. This is one of the reasons why the management decided to increase the capacity and also to attract a new MICE market from Colombo, India and other regions,” he said.

For the first time in the Central Province, Earls Regency hotel would also offer the option for guests to host weddings under a canopy on top of a new area that is being built near the main restaurant. “This new venue could accommodate around 350 guests and would also be ideal for functions as well,” he said.

The hotel has been performing up to financial expectations maintaining high occupancy levels and the food and beverage market too was up to potential.

The service charge too was over the Rs. 20, 000 mark. Neroy Marso who was in Cinnamon Lake for five years and initiated the Pontoon floating restaurant said that sadly Kandy is still considered a transit destination with guests staying for around two days. “I think one of the main reasons for this is the lack of entertainment,” he said.

The City of Kandy virtually goes to sleeps around 8 p.m. Neroy Marso is taking an initiative to change this. “We are planning to introduce several initiatives which would bring families out and get involved in activates,” he said. One such initiative is the reactivation of the Lady Regency club which would offer several activities, such as cookery demonstrations, fashion shows, Ladies night and several other activities for ladies to get involved in.

A Kiddies Club would be created giving children the opportunity to engage in games and other activities. The Karoke bar would be reactivated. While keeping the Kandy crowed activated this would also bring in revenue to the hotel. “We are the only hotel in Kandy that has a spa,” Marso said.

In a bid to give the foreigners the felling of a true Sri Lankan village a special area would be created offering traditional local food and beverages and live cooking they would also be able to feel the local culture. “This would give them a true Sri Lankan experience,” he said.

He said with peace even Sri Lankans are travelling and he could remember as kids they did not travel so much.

He admitted that the rates of hotels has gone up. “However the hotel has special rates for Sri Lankans as we cannot forget that it was the locals who helped to run the hotels during bad times,” he added.

The hotel now offers 104 rooms including premium rooms and luxury suites located on a 16.5 acre estate and also has one of the largest conference facilities in Kandy with seating for over 1,000 people.

The two restaurants of the hotel, with picturesque views, serve succulent delicacies from the Aitken Spence Cuisine range. The Coffee Shop is open 24 hours a day.

The hotel has a comprehensive energy conservation policy with power cut-off switches, energy efficient lighting, photo active garden lights and solar power hot water systems.

Aitken Spence hotels tops sustainability reporting Awards

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC was adjudged the winner in the Medium Scale Category for the second consecutive year at the ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards and once again joins the ranks of being one of the most transparent companies in the region.

The awards evaluates the companies sustainability reporting under the categories of completeness in scope and coverage, credibility and communication. Reports are evaluated by an eminent independent judging panel consisting of experts in the field of sustainability and environmental reporting disclosures.

Organised by ACCA Sri Lanka for the eighth consecutive year the grand award ceremony was held on February 14, in Colombo under the aegis of Chief Guest, Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives Diarietou Gaye . The World Bank, while the Guest of Honour for the event was ACCA Director, Emerging Markets Asia Lucia Real-Martin, .

This highlights the importance Aitken Spence Hotels gives to sustainability, transparency and accountability and provides a clear indication that the company's ongoing commitment to report on its economic, social and environmental impacts.

“We are delighted to have been adjudged the winner in the medium scale category once again. This commendation reflects Aitken Spence Hotels” track record of commitment to corporate accountability and championing sustainable tourism by producing industry best practices.

Sri Lanka's tourism industry is currently experiencing a boom and has been identified by many of the prominent international hotel chains as a sought after destination. We need to be focused on positioning Sri Lanka as a sustainable tourism destination in order to attract the premium brands which will in turn help position Sri Lanka as an up-market destination. This repositioning will bring vast benefits to the country?s economy and its people,” said Managing Director, Aitken Spence Hotels, Malin Hapugoda.

The ACCA Sustainability Reporting awards are held in over 30 countries and is based on judging guidelines established by ACCA worldwide. It is open to any type of organization encompassing all business sizes.

The ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards are already functional in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the UK and the USA with similar awards, largely based on the ACCA criteria, existing in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

CITRUS launches “Menu of Holiday Packages”

The professional aquatic recreation specialists CITRUS AQUA recently launched its “Menu of Holiday Packages” where holidaymakers and professionals have the opportunity of discovering some of the best waters in the world. At Citrus Hikkaduwa, the first “Discovery Dives” enthusiast kicked off the programme by donning his professional Scuba diving gear and participating in a professional pool training session. For the novice, these training dives will prove to be a “hand holding” exercise whereas the more experienced divers will have the opportunity of discovering some of the most spectacular deep sea dive spots in the Indian ocean embracing the island.

The elite Professional Fishing Community who are well networked and keep their ears open for new coastal and deep sea “Fishing Hotspots” in the world are just beginning to take notice of Sri Lanka and its virgin salt waters, where the largest fish of the deep seas await a battle for supremacy.

Surf and Body Boarding come in a variety of offerings, with attractive course packages as well as tailor-made outings. Fully equipped with gear and know how, manned by the most experienced and certified instructors, Citrus Aqua is undoubtedly a safe, reliable and customer centric facility to organize a special aqua-holiday in Sri Lanka.

As an integrated aqua-based recreation company, which is a fully owned subsidiary of the Citrus Leisure Group, Citrus Aqua also offers Jet Skiing facilities, Yachting, Speed boating and exclusive Cruises in the Sri Lankan waters.

LAUGFS makes strategic investment in leisure sector

LAUGFS Leisure Limited a fully own subsidiary of the LAUGFS GAS PLC in its strive to become one of the dominant players in the leisure industry acquired the company Mag Consultants and Agents Private Limited (MCAPL) and its assets, comprising 15 acres of prime sea front beach property at Waskaduwa Kalutara with an investment of Rs. 500 million.

Chairman of the LAUGFS Gas PLC W.K.H. Wegapitiya said that Laugfs Leisure is aggressively investing in the leisure sector.

“Our Strategic decision to enter into the re-emerging tourism industry sector in the post conflict environment, put into action with the commencement of the construction of the first star class 90 roomed luxury hotel in Chillaw which will be operational by December.

“With the acquisition of this new land, we intend to commence our second star class hotel at Waskaduwa shortly. Besides, we intend setting up a few other star class hotels in the pristine beaches of southern Sri-Lanka and will focus on other attractive tourists destinations including that of the northern and eastern provinces of the country under our medium to long term plans for the sector.

“This particular land in Waskaduwa was previously earmarked to build a five star luxury beach resort by a renowned international hotel chain, but did not materialize due to the security situation, prevalent at that time”, Chairman of the LAUGFS Gas PLC W.K.H. Wegapitiya said.

“LAUGFS Leisure will soon embark on building a 200 room, state-of-the -art luxury resort hotel in this newly acquired, 15 acre property at Waskaduwa.

“Commenting on the acquisition of the MCAPL, a spokesman from LAUGFS indicated the move adopted by the company considered critical and important since this was the only stretch of land available, for the construction of a hotel of the magnitude planned in the most promising, out of all coastal and other tourist destinations in the country.

“We see a great potential in Sri Lanka tourism development. Current industry figures indicate sustained growth for the third consecutive year in the post war era, with January 2012 showing an increase of 15% with a tourist arrival of 85,815. Predictions for the current year indicate that arrivals will surpass 1 million and the revenue to be generated from the industry will reach one billion US Dollars. Therefore, we have had no hesitation about entry and ability to grow in a booming industry A company spokesman said.

Australian tourismqualification in Sri Lanka

The recent boom in the tourist industry in Sri-Lanka has created a vacuum in the availability of hoteliers in Sri-Lanka. The provision of a good hospitality service is essential with Sri-Lanka becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination. As such there is a huge demand for qualified hoteliers who are well versed with international hospitality standards.

This was the need to fill the void in the hospitality industry that motivated Harvard Institute of Management and Technology (Pvt) Ltd, and Harpo Productions to offer this unique course, to the youth of Sri-Lanka in collaboration with Australian education provider Princeton Institute of Education.

Harvard Institute of Management and Technology (HIMT), is a registered private provider of education in tertiary education, post-graduate studies, and vocational skills development. HIMT is located on Flower Road, Colombo 07 within the Harvard Group Complex.

The Campus Director of Princeton Institute of Education, Ms. Timple Jain who visited Sri-Lanka said, they will be sending trained lecturers from Australia, so that there is a blend of local and international teachers”.

“We want our students to be well groomed for the international sector with no compromise on quality” said Ms. Jain reiterating on the international training standards that will be maintained.

Speaking about future prospects made available to students, Ms.Jain said “Since students also receive an Australian qualification, once they complete our diploma in a year, they are entitled to gain admission into the second year degree programme.”

Harpo Production is behind the success of Colombo's popular Bay Leaf restaurant, The Common's Coffee House, Park Street Mews, Cafe Che, Harpo's Pizza (Sri-Lanka) and Colombo Fort Cafe, newest addition to the group.

Managing Director of Harpo Productions Harpo Guneratne said that his focus is to train competent young people who has the passion to serve.” Students can also, if they wish, self-fund their education “The advantage for students is while training, they can work and earn the money to pay for their course” said Harpo Guneratne.

The Harpo School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is also involved in a variety of education projects with the most recent being a three-month hospitality training programme for youth in Batticaloa and it will also take place in Galle and Dehiwala in the near future.

Princeton Institute of Education, established in 2004, is a leading vocational education provider in Melbourne, Australia which offers quality education and training.