Marriott International will manage several new hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka in Kosgoda, Colombo and Nuwara Eliya soon.
Their first managed hotel Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa is owned by East West Properties PLC which celebrated its first anniversary recently.
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| Elton Hurtis, General Manager of Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa |
“Marriott International manages Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort and Sheraton Colombo which will open soon,” said Elton Hurtis, General Manager of Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa.
Marriott International will also manage the two iconic properties, JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton in Colombo. “We have couple of Courtyard properties which are planned to be open in Colombo and Nuwara Eliya,” he said.
The Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa is situated in Matara Road, Pelana, Weligama is known as one of the world’s best learner’s paradise for surfing.
“We have 200 all sea view luxury rooms with 10 suites and one Presidential suite. Every room has a bathtub, mini bar, safety deposit locker and many modern facilities,” he said.
“Last year we experienced a healthy occupancy rate throughout the year entertaining a good mix of local and foreign clientele. In year 2018 with the property being more established in the market there is a considerable hike in occupancies especially from the local market,” he said.
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| Activity Desk - (Pepper). Pictures by Saliya Rupasinghe |
“Currently Sri Lanka is the biggest market for us. The acceptance that we got from locals is unbelievable. Our hotel is very much popular amongst Sri Lankans and we believe that we are becoming a preferable choice for Sri Lankan travelers in the Southern coast,” he said.
“Out of all the hotels in the Asia Pacific there are only six Marriott properties were chosen including Sri Lanka. Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa has been recognized as a performing asset within Marriott International properties,” he said.
“Sri Lanka is a growing tourist destination and people outside Sri Lanka are keen to visit the country. One of our largest source markets to be remaining is India and China is on the rise and they are the second largest market for us. We do have eastern and western Europe which is a large market. New markets for us are Australia, Middle East and America,” he said.
“The tourism landscape is perfect in the country and especially the Southern part is ideal for tourism projects. Before we came here there were hotels in the country which are in par with international standards.”
“In terms of our service aspect we have on-boarded on a new programme which is run by Marriott International, is called Inventive Host. Inventive Host - we are one of the six groups of concept hotels in Asia Pacific.”
“We were nominated as the Best Coastal Resort, Best Luxury Hotel and Best General Manager under three titles by The World Luxury Hotel Awards,” he said.
“The tourism in the South is booming because of the highway and other infrastructure developments.”
“We do have an Activity Desk which is unique and it is operated by Pepper. Pepper is making tailor-made experiences for customers and they will make sure that the customer is fully satisfied. We have packages like whale watching, snorkeling, diving, Turtle hatchery, virgin tea estate tour, village tours, National wild park tours, sea plane tours and many more other tours,” he added.
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