SAMAN VILLAS ... a fairy tale come true

Once upon a time, on a bright and sunny day, an enterprising entrepreneur, *Daya Ratnayake*, obsessed with a dream stumbled on a vacant three and a half acre block of land, butting into the sea at Aturuwella in Bentota.

His dream was to start up a boutique hotel that was on par with the best in Asia and giving it a distinctive Sri Lankan flavour. This particular land had everything he was looking for in terms of location and visual impact. He summoned the contractor who built his other hotel, The Mermaid, and requested him to examine the site and if available, contact the owner.

The man, was not impressed at first, but later thought it was tailor-made for the type of hotel the boss had in mind. Reporting back that the location was ideal and that the land was available, he advised the boss to get in touch with the owner without delay. Daya, wasted no time and clinched the deal before anyone else could beat him to it.

Sri Lankan identity presured

With the first major hurdle of finding a suitable location cleared he got to work fast. Together with Geevaka De Soyza, his architect, they both flew out of Sri Lanka looking at hotels in Thailand, Kosamui Island and Bali, visiting around 100 of the best resorts in the world.

Aman Resorts had 3 luxury resorts in Indonesia each having not more than 30 rooms offering the ultimate in luxury, comfort and style. The tour was rewarding in that Daya and his architect were able to take a critical look at these resorts and choose what was best suited for Sri Lanka. The net result was that the original design was replaced with a totally new concept and design based on what they actually saw and experienced.

Back in Sri Lanka, the plans started taking shape and a 27 roomed luxury boutique hotel opened its doors in December 1995 to the discernimg client who was interested in luxury, comfort and personalised service.

The boutique hotel was named *Saman Villas*, after the flower, Saman Pichcha, commonly known as Jasmine, one of the most fragrant of oriental flowers. The entire set-up in and outside was intended to have a strong Sri Lankan identity, exploiting to the hilt its natural picturesque scenery.

Its decor is mainly out of gokkola and even the welcome letter which a guest receives on arrival has a band of gokkola that gives every visitor the feeling that Saman Villas is exclusively a luxury boutique resort in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. In essence, it is a top end of the market resort designed to captivate the hearts of discerning guests.

Luxurious hideout

Saman Villas was scaled down to include 27 suites out of which 10 would have their own private swimming pools. When Saman Villas was nearing completion its marketing campaign was launched at ITB, the world's largest Tourism Fair in Berlin during February/March with tremendous success.

The pay-off line in advertising very appropriately was *Saman Villas, Where paradise has no compromise.* Its unique features included a Fixed Price and a typically friendly Sri Lankan atmosphere with buyers and local agents giving their fullest support so much, so that the resort's first year in operation yielded a profit !

Saman Villas, is a luxurious hideout pitched on a rock foundation with a vast expanse of golden sand stretching for miles alongside luscious greenery and swaying coconut palms. The atmosphere is one of exotic tranquility disturbed only by the cries of seagulls and the waves dashing against the rocks.

The view from every one of the 26 suites is breathtaking. The romantic setting and its intimacy has made Saman Villas the first choice for honeymooners and is equally popular with those who like to spend a quiet and relaxed holiday.

All suites are provided with a balcony or a terrace with a small garden, a day bed, a dining table, lounge area, sleeping deck, dressing room, open-air bath and shower with a private courtyard, individual climate control, a telephone, CD player, LCD panel TV, data port, hair dryer, make-up mirror, mini bar and a safe. Saman Villas is made up of 13 Superior Suites, 12 Deluxe Suites and a Saman Villa Suite.

Much attention to detail has gone into the designing of this meticulously designed boutique resort and it is not strange for visitors at the point of checking out to swear that they would return to stay longer next time at Saman Villas.

Best in the world

The Sahana Spa, a speciality in the form of a luxury all suite garden spa offers a variety of ancient treatments in complete privacy. They are highly influenced by tested and proven methods using natural ingredients of therapeutic value with a highly trained Sri Lankan staff adding a professional touch to the exceptional service.

Saman Villas, is Sri Lanka's first truly deluxe boutique resort and the first to attract the top end of the market tourists to the island.

It is reputed to be one of the best luxury boutique resorts in the world and so to cut a long story short, Daya Ratnayake has set an example by introducing a totally new concept to hoteliering in Sri Lanka. Whilst SamanVillas has grown in stature, it has also helped the village and the community to grow and develop.

The resort donated a Computer Training Centre and Lecture Room complete with furniture and fittings, to conduct English courses for the benefit of the community and annually offers 12 scholarships to students in the village school and more community service projects are in the pipeline.

Saman Villas has achieved its primary objective in that it is one of the best luxury boutique resorts that is on par with the best in Asia. Being the first of its kind in Sri Lanka it has set the pace and is an example for hoteliers anywhere in the world to emulate. Saman Villas, above all, is a fairy tale come true !

Sri Sangabo Corea