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| Sunday, 11 April 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Ramboda Falls Hotel : The waterfall paradise with a new look by BEVERLEY JANSZ Some of the most spectacular sights of Lanka's hill country are its waterfalls. Among them is the Ramboda Falls which is well-known for its special beauty.
Many of us bypass the major part of the waterfall which is hidden under the boulders downstream. There is one place to give you a broader view of this wonderful work of nature - the Ramboda Falls Hotel. Located in the idyllic setting of the central hills, in the cool climes at an altitude of 3200 ft., Ramboda Falls Hotel is ideal for those who seek a carefree holiday away from the din and dust of the metropolis. True to its name, the hotel offers a full view of the Ramboda falls and in addition to that, three more waterfalls, namely Devithuru Oya falls, Wedamulla falls and Poonawa falls which are also major waterfalls. They can be seen from close up. The 10-acre wooded parkland of the hotel is bounded by Devithuru Oya and Ramboda Oya. Ramboda Falls Hotel is 162 kilometres from Colombo on the Colombo/Nuwara Eliya highway. Beyond Kandy, the road meanders through verdent tea country, lust greenery, more waterfalls and hills. The hotel is perched on a meticulously planned precipice under the shade of tall trees facing the Ramboda waterfalls. As you enter the hotel's reception foyer, to your left is the main upper floor restaurant facing two waterfalls gushing froth and foam, namely, Ramboda at arms length and Poonawa at a distance. The stairway down takes you to the rooms in the new wing where six super deluxe rooms were built recently, making a total of 22 rooms in the hotel. The new rooms offer all facilities of a star-class hotel, including hot/cold water, piped music, TV, mini bar, telephone, private balcony, heater and fans. The new rooms have been tastefully designed with beautiful interior decor to blend with the romantic atmosphere of the hotel. The 16 rooms in the old wing consist of two family suites, five deluxe rooms and nine standard rooms. Every room has a balcony facing the Ramboda falls and wide valley that extends upto the Kotmale reservoir.Ramboda Falls Hotel which opened its doors on December 20 as a restaurant became so popular in a short period that within six months, five rooms were built to cope with the demand from tourists. The hotel has two more spacious open-sided restaurants and a well-stocked bar adjoining the ground floor. International cuisine and spicy Sri Lankan dishes created by Executive Chef Nishantha Samaranayake, are offered to guests with heart-warming hospitality. Manager, Ramboda Falls Hotel, Chaminda Amarasinghe, a Hotel School product, said that many of the major tour operators have chosen the hotel for luncheon on their way to Nuwara Eliya. Daily lunch buffets with a wide spread of International cuisine, are offered to hotel guests and others who patronise Ramboda Falls Hotel as a popular stopover. Amarasinghe said that Ramboda Falls Hotel is a haven for honeymooners with the natural pools and streams around the hotel's garden adding more charm to the surroundings. Above all, Ramboda Falls Hotel is economical for the average traveller, Amarasinghe said. Ramboda Falls Hotel is owned and managed by Ramboda Falls (Pvt) Ltd. Its directors are Sasanka Sigera and Ananda Karunaratne who have blended their talents to make Ramboda Falls Hotel a tourist paradise. ************* Dine in the 'David Lean' restaurant : Kitulgala Rest House The Kitulgala Rest House, owned and managed by Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) has been fully refurbished giving it a contemporary, star class look. Rest-houses and motels owned and managed by the CHC have been built in some of Sri Lanka's most scenic locations. The Corporation has drawn up a program to compete strongly with privately-owned hotels and rest-houses, CHC's Senior Manager, Marketing, Ranjith Balasuriya said. All 20 rooms at the Kitulgala rest-house have been fully redecorated and upgraded with hot/cold water, TV, mini bar and room service, with four of the guest rooms being equipped with A/C. All guest rooms have been given a modern look with beautiful interior decor. Manager, Kitulgala rest-house, Saman Alwis, a versatile hotelier with over 17 years experience in Sri Lanka's hospitality industry, is working round the clock to popularise the rest-house as a popular stopover for tourists visiting Nuwara Eliya on the Colombo/Hatton highway. The latest addition to the rest-house is a new restaurant named after the famous film director of Bridge on the River Kwai, 'David Lean.' Week-end buffets with a wide spread of Western, Eastern and Sri Lanka delicacies are on offer with live music, Alwis said. by Beverley Jansz ************* East, West, home's best By Karel Roberts Ratnaweera East,West, home's best -That seems to be the guiding light of some local travel agents, one such being Bandula de Silva of Target Travels who is behind the organisation of attractive packages for Sri Lankans who want to see more of their country and get to know its beauty and rich history better. Bandula worked until recently for another agency before going on to Target where his local tours are getting very popular. Tied to Ranfer Teas,Target is manned by a group of people who have been associated with the tea industry for several years. Target organised a tour to Dambulla for the inaugural match between Sri Lanka and England which formally opened the Rangiri International Cricket Stadium. It has been doing so for all matches between Sri Lanka and visiting teams. But cricket is not all - recently for instance, there was a one-night stayover package to Dambulla, but this time not for cricket. It was to experience the unique thrill of seeing the land from a high-flying hot-air balloon. The tour leftby luxury, air-conditioned coach from Colombo after breakfast with first stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, Tewatte, Ragama, which is a type of church not often seen in Sri Lanka. Onto the elephants next and where else but Pinnawela? It was lunchtime for both humans and pachyderms,so after seeing the small elephants lunch off milk, it was onto Pinnalanda restaurant for rather more substantial fare! After lunch it was onto to the delightful Na Mala Restaurant which is five minutes drive from the Rangiri cricket grounds. The next morning, wake-up before the birds to leave for a site near Kandalama to board the balloon. Unfortunately, the winds were not conducive for sailing over Sigiriya, which was to be the high-point of the 'air' tour, but the rock seemed as if it was at touching distance, compensating to some extent for not being able to fly over the top, which was Captain Allen's expert decision. A delicious buffet lunch at Kandalama Hotel with swimming and exploring the gardens - including a herb area - before leaving for Colombo. ************* Abacus wins "Best Country Award" On a regional level, Abacus International Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. was awarded the Best Country award for its outstanding booking performance in 2003. the award was presented at the recent Abacus Kick-Off conference held in Singapore by CEO/President of Abacus International, Don Birch. The selection was based on the booking volume generated under three separate categories. Abacus was rated No one in the below 500,000 booking category for the highest number of reservations through Abacus CRS. Abacus' core business lies in providing a fully integrated one-stop service for all travel booking needs, including airline, hotel, car rental, cruise and insurance. Abacus knows the region and the ever-changing travel industry and provides innovative solutions and services to ensure challenges are tackled head on. In keeping with its vision to be the No one, facilitator for the travel and leisure industry, Abacus is hot on the heels to introduce a new product called, "HotelSmart." Abacus "HotelSmart" is a wholesale service provided by Abacus - designed to help travel agents offer their clients the best hotel deals possible. Singapore-based Abacus International is Asia Pacific's leading travel facilitator with more than 10,000 agency locations in 20 countries. Founded in 1988, Abacus has 15 years of experience infusing international best practices and local expertise with global and local partnerships. Abacus provides travel information and reservations specifically tailored to the Asia Pacific region. Abacus partners include a consortium of Asia and the world's leading airlines - All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, EVA Airways, Garuda Indonesia, DragonAir, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines. Abacus is also backed by US owner Sabre Inc. With a 35% stake in Abacus, Sabre is both a partner and technology provider, best known for developing dynamic and innovative information technology solutions in the travel industry. Abacus Sri Lanka has been in operation for over five years and is a joint venture with Softlogic Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. (BJ) |
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