Travel

Albatross perched on hilltop

Fine place to spend an evening:

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Last week we checked into the Albatross Boutique resort overlooking the spectacular Victoria golf complex at Digana in Kandy. A panoramic view of the victoria reservior dam and the Mahaveli river can be had from the resort located on the slopes of the “Coconut hill”. Albatross resort is fully owned by the Ranfer group of companies.

The Victoria Golf Course

The resort consists of five elegantly furnished rooms with attached toilets. The Diners Deck overlooking the dam is a fine place to spend an evening. The Head Chef Ranjith Benedict Wijetilleka, a veteran chef had worked for seven hotels owned by John Keells Ltd. He had even worked for the Club Oceanic hotel in Trincomalee when tsunami hit the area. The chef says a selection of Set menus and Ala Carte menus with a selection of a wine list is available for customers. The main attraction at the Albatross is the 18 hole Victorian Golf Course located on a 517 acre land. “It is a 9 kilometre golf course that takes around 4 hours to walk around”, said Chef Wijetilleke.

Albatross is a large seafaring bird with a large wingspan. The birds usually soar above seas and travel great distances with little exertion.

Albatros’s Marketing Coordinator, Ranil Seneviratne says the name Albatross was chosen for its grandeur in rarity. Perhaps the other plausible reason why it was named Albatross is attributed to the location of the hotel where it is perched on a hill top. Albatross has a bird’s view of the 18 hole golf course and the picturesque Victoria reservoir below. The Hulu Ganga (river) joins the Mahaveli river a little farther beyond the golf course.

Pidurutalagala, the country’s tallest mountain is visible in the distant horizon at times. The mountain is located in the Nuwara Eliya district. It is a picturesque sight to notice the mountains looming in the distant stretching from south to the east, the Udu-Dumbara, Medha-Maha-Nuwara, Hunnasgiriya, Hantana, Galaha, Deltota and Nildandahinna in a gorgeous natural backdrop. Pundits say the soul of a country is in the provinces and so is the Victoria waterway.

The Victoria reservoir was far below the spill level last week due to the prevailing drought. Relics of the Teldeniya town are visible these days owing to the drought. The landscape bordering the Mahaveli is full of greenery. However during the monsoon season the land is submerged in Mahaveli waters. Albatross is located far across the Victoria dam but the sluice gates can be seen from a distance. The Mahaveli water flows through a deep tunnel built underneath the river that feeds the Randenigala turbines for power generation. Beyond the Randenigala dam is a vast forest reservation, which had been declared as a high security zone. Even the road to Mahiyangana via Randenigala is closed during the night as wild elephants roam the area. A few years ago small sea planes that brought in tourists landed on the waterways of the Mahaveli but the scheme was subsequently abandoned due to security concerns.

Confifi Hotels enhances facilities for Muslim guests

Confifi Group Hotels, with its three Beruwela coastline properties - Eden Resort & Spa, Riverina Hotel and Club Palm Garden - have long been a popular destination among both Sri Lankans and resident expatriates especially for their delicious Sunday Buffets and memorable Overnight Stays. Among this large and rapidly expanding clientele is also a growing segment of Muslim travellers who also often repeat their visits either as a Day’s Outing or as Overnight Stays.

Director/General Manager - Marketing & Sales of the Confifi Group Hotels, Tony Maheswaran said, “Muslims today form an integral part of the Sri Lankan and international community and are involved in almost every industry across the corporate world. Since we at Confifi have a tradition of catering to the diverse needs of our multi-ethnic and multi-religious clientele, we thought it fit to introduce some special features to cater to the unique needs of these patrons - both from Sri Lanka and overseas”.

Among the recently introduced features at the three Confifi Hotels are special facilities as the Quiblah direction marked in every resort bedroom. A copy of the Holy Quran is placed in the bedrooms booked by Muslim guests and is also available at the hotel’s reception on request. All three hotels - Eden Resort & Spa, Riverina Hotel and Club Palm Garden - also have an exclusive Prayer Room with Prayer Mats. Furthermore all Confifi hotels abstain from serving pork products in their menus and are strict to ensure that all other kinds of fresh meats are Halal and procured only from Halal certified suppliers.

SriLankan Engineering awarded contract by IndiGo

SriLankan Engineering, the aircraft maintenance arm of SriLankan Airlines, has been awarded a major contract to carry out a series of important maintenance checks on the aircraft fleet of the fast-growing Indian carrier IndiGo.

IndiGo is India’s largest domestic low-fare carrier, and is now that country’s third largest airline in terms of passengers carried.

SriLankan’s CEO, Manoj Gunawardena said: “We are delighted that IndiGo is the latest long-term customer of SriLankan Engineering, which has been positioned as a top quality aircraft maintenance provider with the strongest credentials and capabilities. We are now ready to carry out work for all airlines in the region, and it is our intention to develop our Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility to be a centre of excellence.” The project is being carried out at SriLankan Engineering’s main hangar complex at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). The first C-check commenced on February 9 and was successfully completed, with a second scheduled later in the same month.

Tacos and Corona at Cheers Pub

Cinnamon Grand throughout the month of February offers a tasty peek at Mexico’s spiciest and crunchiest traditional dish: the Taco. Along with a special Corona promotion of three Coronas for the price of two, the Cheers Pub indulges customers from 11.00 am to 1.00 am with this unique combination of sizzling flavours and ice cold beer.

Given the varied range of taco fillings on offer, there is definitely a choice for everyone regardless of taste preference.

Choose from fillings such as seafood filling, lamb filling, beef filling, chicken filling, pork and pineapple filling, prawns and black beans filling and saute mushroom filling. Enhancing the flavour are the toppings and side dishes included as palate pleasers.

Each portion includes two Taco shells along with a plentiful serving of your chosen filling giving your meal an overload of flavours. Each Taco is topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado and cheddar cheese and served with sour cream and tomato and onion and chili salsa on the side.

The Corona Promotion offers a free Corona with every two you buy.

Skywards recognised for innovation
 

Ravindra Bhagawanani, Managing Director, Global Flights, Shahab Shadman, Director Travel Intelligence, Amadeus, Martin Gross, Area Manager Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Emirates Airline, Mark Pilling, Editor Airline Business.

Skywards, the frequent flyer programme of Emirates, has been declared one of the winners of Airline Business’ Loyalty Awards, announced at the publications loyalty event in Vienna last week.

Skywards won the `Loyalty Innovation Award 2009’ for their Instant Upgrade reward - a last minute upgrade option allowing Skywards Gold and Silver members to upgrade to a higher cabin class either at check in or onboard the aircraft. Of 30 entries, Skyward was among three winners.

“We are honoured to have been selected for this award and we thank the judging panel for their consideration. We have received positive feedback from our members on these additional reward options and are very proud to offer them the ability to upgrade at check-in or onboard. Skywards has always been committed to providing the best in rewards and exceptional benefits to our loyal customers,” said Brian Labelle, Senior Vice President, Skywards.

Commenting on the award, judge Herbert Verschuren, Director Flying Blue, Air France KLM, said: “Emirates have done what many airlines would love to do - offer seat upgrades on board.”

The judging panel were Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flights, Santiago Ontanon, General Manager, Mexicana Loyalty, Herbert Verschuren, Director Flying Blue, Air France KLM, Ian Webster, Loyalty Business Development Consultant.