Travel

Avani Bentota Resort and Spa welcomes 1000th guest since launch

"One of the hottest travel destinations of 2012" - 'Travel and Leisure' magazine

The Avani Bentota Resort and Spa announced the arrival of its 1000th guest, two and a half months after its launch on December 1 last year. Located on the southern coast, Sri Lanka's first-ever Avani property - Avani Bentota Resort and Spa - was launched by Serendib Leisure in partnership with Minor International. This property which is the former Hotel Serendib Bentota, underwent a massive Rs. 650 million refurbishment and now exudes a chic and contemporary ambiance.

The Avani Bentota Resort and Spa offers visitors the best in relaxed comfort and contemporary style with 75 guest rooms and suites, three bars and two restaurants - 'Frangipani' and 'Breeze'. Private dining on the beach is also possible. Complementing the experience is the exclusive Wine Lounge, while meeting rooms seat up to 100 people.

Managing Director, Serendib Leisure Management Ltd Ranil de Silva said, "As an organization, we have always strived to offer good value to our guests, as we feel that this is key to building a sustainable business model. Serendib Leisure has invested heavily in its hotels with the recent renovations and upgrades, and endeavors to provide an enhanced guest experience at all our hotels.

The launch of Avani Bentota Resort and Spa is part of Serendib Leisure's moves to rejuvenate its hospitality offering, and thereby cater to the varied needs of local and international travellers. This, in fact, blended perfectly with the Minor Hotel Group's launch of its newest international hotel brand - Avani Resort and Spas, with the first hotel opening in Sri Lanka. We've done very well since our recent launch and this is no doubt indicative of greater times to come".

Serendib Leisure Management is a subsidiary of the Hemas Group, one of the top diversified listed conglomerates in Sri Lanka with a focus on five key sectors - FMCG, Healthcare, Transportation, Leisure and Power.

The company was also ranked fifth in a recent survey, as one of Sri Lanka's most respected entities. Serendib Leisure owns and manages a wealth of hotels and resorts in several strategic tourist locations within Sri Lanka. Other hotels in the chain are Club Hotel Dolphin - Waikkal, Avani Kalutara Resort (former Kani Lanka Resort and Spa) - Kalutara and Hotel Sigiriya - Sigiriya.

Avani is part of the Minor Hotel Group (MHG), a hotel owner, operator and investor with a portfolio of 37 hotels and 36 serviced suites under the Anantara, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Elewana, Oaks and Minor International brands in Thailand, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tanzania, Kenya, UAE, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Avani was created to complement MHG's five-star Anantara brand, which currently offers enriching destination experiences in 17 locations, with a pipeline of 50 properties by 2015.

'Travel the way you like':

SNT Tours on track with fast growth rate

Jayasri JAYAKODY

SNT Tours, with the catch line 'Travel the way you like', is a very young travel and rent-a-car company, run most efficiently by a retired Chief Inspector of Police with a long law enforcement back ground, Jagath de Alwis.

Jagath de Alwis

The organization has a fleet of 35 vehicles consisting of cars, jeeps, double cabs, vans and buses.

"After the end of the thirty year war, where I also played a key position as the officer in charge of the Muttur police station, there is renewed interest among the locals in inland travel. In fact, there were long weekends during the past couple of months with the demand for buses so high that there were no buses left for hire in any rent-a-car company in the city," said de Alwis.

'A rent-a-car company must always build up trust and a reputation for reliability. That is the reason the Standard Chartered Bank, a well known financial entity in Sri Lanka and overseas, has contracted SNT Tours for their staff transport needs," said de Alwis. He selected the travel field after leaving the police because there is so much scope to develop in that field.

Asked about threats to the industry he said, "The rent-a-car and travel field is suffering due to the small time operators who own a couple of cars, and who operate unethically to earn some money in whatever way possible," he said.

The government should look at ways and means of regularizing rent-a-car and travel companies, as more and more tourists and cruise ships are coming to Sri Lanka and the demand for vehicles is increasing," he said. 'In fact, two cruise ships are coming to the Colombo Harbour next week and we are supplying 20 buses for the tourists arriving in those ships to travel in Sri Lanka," he said.

The threats to the industry, he said, are varied. "Formerly, it was straight forward theft. But now, the criminals have got smarter. Now, they are tampering with the engine and exchanging engine parts. This is almost impossible to detect, till the vehicle falls to pieces. Despite strict instructions not to tamper with the engine and even take the vehicle to a garage without the company's approval, still there exist organized gangs that prey on rent-a-car companies. That is a new threat for our field," he said.

Rent-a-car company organizations, must work for the well being and the upliftment of the whole field, instead of working for their own ends, he said. "At present, the rent-a-car organizations in the country are catering to one or two individuals in order to further their own ends," de Alwis said.

Speaking of the future plans of SNT Tours de Alwis said that they are planning to start a taxi service with a difference and a transit hotel where guests can enjoy some much needed relaxation to offset the stress of travel is in the pipe line. The travel and tourism market of the country is growing at a very fast rate, and I feel that we are strongly supporting Sri Lanka's endeavour of becoming the 'Wonder of Asia,'' de Alwis said.