Two Asia Pacific Hotel Awards for The Fortress Resort & Spa

Sri Lanka’s premiere boutique resort, The Fortress Resort & Spa in Koggala, was recently crowned the winner of the ‘Best Small Hotel’ category for Sri Lanka at the Asia Pacific Hotel Awards, one of the regional awards programmes associated with the International Hotel Awards.

The Fortress, which happens to be The Vallibel Group’s primary luxury tourism property, also received a Highly Commended Award in the ‘Resort Hotel’ category for Sri Lanka at the prestigious awards ceremony attended by hundreds of prominent hospitality industry professionals from the region.

Held on 30 and 31 May at the luxurious Longemont Hotel in Shanghai, China, the hotly-contested awards featured 13 categories for each country, with up to two of the most outstanding entries being given Highly Commended Awards and the best overall entry being given a Five Star Award and re-judged to be shortlisted for the Best International Hotel Award for each category. Categories included those for all manner of different sized and specifically targeted hotels, as well as for the best hotel architecture, interior design, marketing and website.

The International Hotel Awards programme was launched this year in association with Bloomberg Television, having evolved from the long-established International Property Awards which were considered the definitive awards programme in the international tourism property sector

Judged by a panel of 20 experts chaired by Anthony Murkett, Managing Director of The Sloane Club in London, the programme aims to identify and highlight the very best hotels and hospitality professionals across the globe, including boutique hotels like The Fortress.

Renowned for its unparalleled luxury and its reputation for attracting elite international guests, The Fortress boasts just over 50 decadent rooms and suites and has also been a frequent contender in the World Travel Awards, having been a nominee in the ‘Indian Ocean’s Leading Hotel’ and  ‘Indian Ocean’s Leading Luxury Resort’ categories for three consecutive years including this year.

The picturesque resort is one of six hotels in Sri Lanka recognised by ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World,’ a collection of over 520 luxury hotels with exclusive membership for patrons of luxury boutique hotels.  The elegantly luxurious boutique hotel, inspired by the colonial Dutch architecture of the famous Galle Fort, is also a member of The Kiwi Collection, one of the leading collections of the best hotels, inns, lodges, camps and resorts catering to the refined international traveller.

Though already reputed for its legendary service standards and lavish yet understated modern decor, The Fortress continually seeks to better its facilities and has taken several steps to improve its already 5-star level amenities. Increasing its room inventory from 49 rooms to 53, the hotel also recently unveiled a new room category which was christened ‘Beach Splash,’ with ground-floor rooms featuring private indoor plunge pools and decadent daybeds.

Being a mere five-minute drive away from the Koggala Lake which serves as a landing destination for the SriLankan Air Taxi service, The Fortress is now a mere 30 minutes away from Colombo by seaplane for the hotel’s exclusive guests who are flying into the island just for the Fortress experience.

“We are extremely honoured to be recognised by the Asia Pacific Hotel Awards, especially with the Five Star Award for Best Small Hotel in Sri Lanka,” said Sumith Adhihetty, Managing Director of The Fortress. “The Fortress has had a truly landmark year, having increased our number of rooms, maintained 65% occupancy and refined our service even further, and these awards have now put an even brighter international spotlight on our unique little resort. I believe these awards are well and truly deserved, and a testament of our team’s hard work under the guidance of our esteemed directorate.”

“We are expecting great things for The Fortress in the upcoming year, including for our occupancy levels to go up even further, and we are ready to deliver a level of service and luxury that will take the industry by storm,” elaborated Dhammika Perera, Chairman of The Fortress Resorts PLC and the Vallibel Group.

“Sri Lanka’s potential for luxury tourism is indisputable and we are anticipating increasing demand for our most luxurious rooms in particular.” He went on to say that The Fortress is undeniably amongst the greatest treasures of the Sri Lankan hotel industry and that the Vallibel Group is poised to take it to even greater heights.