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| Sunday, 28 March 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Glendower : The 'Tudor-style' country manor by BEVERLEY JANSZ After a five-hour drive from Colombo along winding roads and steep climbs, it was indeed a relief to reach our destination, Hotel Glendower, a beautiful country manor type hotel overlooking Nuwara Eliya's famous Golf Course, built in the 19th century.
A log fire glowed warmly at Glendower welcoming us in from the chill of Nuwara Eliya. The comfort of our room confirmed our first impression that Glendower is a special place, more like a 'Tudor-style' country manor than a hotel - it has rooms and suites with Teak floors, hand crafted polished Mahogany furniture and beds that are made for a good night's rest. Even the guilts are filled with silk. Each has its own ensuite bathroom. It would be amiss, of course not to mention the hospitality and the professionalism of the staff of the hotel, from manager, Ajith Wickrematilleke right down to the care-takers. You can have a hotel with beautiful furniture and all the 5-star comforts, but would not feel at home without the right mix of staff. At Glendower I found that hospitality blended with star class comforts. At glendower guests find a link with the past in the venerable 130-year old snooker table in the billiard room above the bar. Built in the 19th century, it was used by tea planters in Colonial days. The 19th hole with its solid wood counter, stools made from barrels, has become a popular 'Pub in the Hills'. It has wide screen karaoke, satellite channels and superb movies with 'Surround Sound'.Glendower is the ideal place for discovering Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka's number one tourist destination. It overlooks the famous 18-hole golf course and is only a five-minutes walk from the town centre. Sri Lanka's famous Hakgala Botanial Gardens, St. Clair, Devon and other enchanting waterfalls, tea plantations and Horton Plains are within easy reach. Sri Lanka's highest mountain, Piduruthalagala looms majestically over it. Each evening guests relax gracefully into the deep comfort of the velvet armchairs in Glendower's lounges - one of which has a unique fireplace hand carved from Granite. In the dining room, with its fireplace, wooden tables made of large 'mara' trunk slices, the popular King Prawn Restaurant specialises in Chinese cuisine. Guests are also offered Western, Eastern and Sri Lankan favourites, prepared by master chefs. Glendower has a unique prize winning garden. It won the first prize in the Medium Commercial Garden Competition at April Bloom-2003, held in Nuwara Eliya. ********************* A reader's view : Truly "God's Little Acre" "We write to thank your newspaper for the wonderful article by your journalist, Beverly Jansz which appeared in the Sunday Observer. Having read the article, several of us decided to visit God's Little Acre. It took us forty-five minutes from Colpetty to get to our destination. The last bit of the road was through Moratuwa's carpentry heartland and we in fact wondered where we were heading. When the Galapitahaboda Road in Kadalana ended at a large green gate with a sign saying 'God's Little Acre', we knew we had arrived. As the gate was opened we could hardly take in the splendour of the site before us. We settled down in a delightful cadjan roofed hut where we had a continuous blowing. At times it was as if we were on Galle Face green with a nicer setting. Our lunch was a curry buffet, which was exceptionally tasty. It was far better than I have had at many a big hotel. The pool is just fantastic and I felt that we were at Kandalama since it too has the same continuous water effect and you look out on several kilometres of water. The crowning glory were the English Scones that were served with our evening tea. They came hot hot from the oven. After our initial visit, we have visited many times and stayed over on a couple of occasions. Staying over is quite definitely the best since you can sip your morning tea enjoying the beauty of sunrise shimering on the water". Suren De Alwis, Colombo 4. ********************* British couple opt for wedding at Elephant Corridor When British born Angela Gelham and Nicholas Spark got engaged, they did not opt for a wedding in the busy metropolis of London where they lived. Instead , they chose a much more exotic and unusual venue -an eco-friendly luxury hotel resembling with individual rooms resembling small villas set amidst two hundred acres of virgin jungle land in Sri lanka.
"A wedding is a special occasion for any bride and bridegroom.We were looking for that special place when our travel agent in London told us about this luxury style lifestyle designer hotel built in the heart of the jungle. The Elephant Corridor has truly lived upto our expectations and made our wedding day a memorable one for us", they told this writer who was present at their wedding last week-end. Dressed in a cream organza saree worked with pearls and dressed as a Kandyan bride, her hair knotted into a konde and embellished with jasmines, the bride looked a picture of happiness as she stood under a canopy of flowers on the specially erected poruwa with her handsome husband dressed in a cream sherwani suit, while the kapumahattaya chanted pirith and tied their hands with a thread , after they had been registered and had exchanged their wedding rings. "Getting married in the middle of the jungle surrounded by nature and wild animals is something a nature lover can only dream of.Our dream has come true in this beautiful hotel which is a combination of the picturesque countryside and friendly people . We are truly delighted by the beautiful ceremony and grateful for the loving care and planning that went into making this a memorable day for us", Nicholas told this writer shortly after the ceremony. |
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