Banyan Tree to sprout alone in Sri Lanka

World famous Banyan Tree is looking for new sites to set up its own operations in Sri Lanka following the termination of management contract with Deer Park Hotel in Giritalle.

Banyan Tree said it has terminated its hotel management agreement in Sri Lanka, in order, it says, “to focus on the development of its own projects on a larger scale”.

The 77-room Deer Park Hotel in Giritalle, the cultural heart of Sri Lanka, was being managed under the Angsana brand.

Banyan Tree’s plans for Sri Lanka encompass either single-hotel projects in iconic, pristine areas, or an integrated resort with several hotels, golf course, residential developments, and retail and spa centres.

The model for its envisaged Sri Lanka integrated resort is Banyan Tree’s Laguna Phuket project which was one of the first integrated resorts in Asia.

Laguna Bintan with two hotels and a golf course in Indonesia was also developed by Banyan Tree. Laguna Lang Co, a 300-hectare integrated resort in Central Vietnam also spearheaded by Banyan Tree, will open in mid-2012.

A delegation headed by Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree, was recently in Sri Lanka to visit possible sites.

 “We were about to open a beach resort near Colombo when it was destroyed by the Asian tsunami,” said Ho.  “We are happy to be back and are optimistic about the prospects for this beautiful and now peaceful country.”