Saraii Village among 10 best treetop hotels

Saraii Village, has been listed among the 10 most extraordinary Treetop Hotels worldwide by TripAdvisor.

CEO and founder of Saraii, Charitha Abeyratne said, "We are grateful to TripAdvisor for considering us worthy enough for a rating. It feels good when you know you are appreciated and recommended by your customers. This makes us very excited about the future of Saraii and the experience we offer our guests".

Founder and CEO of Saraii Village, Charitha Abeyratne was instrumental in building an organic agro-forestry business with her husband Prasanna. This inspired her to create a sustainable tourism business with an agro and eco platform.

After securing a Fulbright scholarship, Charitha made the implementation of Saraii a part of her MBA program which focused on Global Social Sustainable Enterprise at the Colorado State University in the United States. She came back with a mission to create Saraii.

"Building and running a truly sustainable eco-tourism hotel was uncharted terrain, I did a great deal of research to do before deciding on the final model.

Taking a concept from paper to reality is tough with any idea but this was an idea that I had to defend, an idea that needed conviction just to get off the ground. Fortunately I had people who saw the potential in the Saraii Village and here we are today," said Charitha Abeyratne.

Charitha named the venture, 'Saraii', meaning 'the essence', in Hebrew. She hopes to allow tourists who visit Saraii feel the essence of being Sri Lankan.

"The Saraii Village is a dream, a concept, a connection and a business venture all rolled into one. We are an eco-tourism resort in the South of Sri Lanka built for travellers from around the globe to experience Sri Lankan life," she said.

"It's a return to basics and a lesson on how to enjoy simple pleasures, healthy food and sustain a lifestyle that retains a message of giving back to the community, our planet and ourselves," Charitha said.

The hotel was opened in September 2012.

The future of Sri Lankan tourism lies in this unspoilt experience it stands to offer, said Project Director of EU - Switch Asia greening hotels project, Srilal Miththapal. "From what I saw on Trip Advisor and some of the things that have been done on her own, is a great start, for a person who came into the tourist industry recently.

"Saraii upholds the values of the 'slow food' philosophy where 'good, clean and fair' food is of paramount importance. The produce is sourced locally, harvested in a sustainable manner, ensuring a revenue source to the community.

In addition to the safari rides, lake or city tours available everywhere, the experiences offered to guests at Saraii are unique and community based," a spokesman for the hotel said.

"Saraii is ideal for nature loving discerning consumers who appreciate and live a low carbon lifestyle," he said.