Galle Face Hotel Chairman upbeat on CHOGM developments

Friday, 15 November 2013 05:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The young and effervescent chairman of the Galle Face Group Sanjeev Gardiner was full of praise for the Government and is upbeat about the benefits that the country would reap by Sri Lanka hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) 2013. His heritage Galle Face Hotel(GFH), which is often referred to as ‘Sri Lanka’s Heritage in Hospitality’ – for having hosted royalty and international dignitaries in its 150 years of elegant operations in Colombo has not seen a convention of this magnitude before in the country. He remains convinced that the

enormous positive publicity Sri Lanka would receive by this prestigious convention attended by Prince Charles and heads of 54 nations of the Commonwealth would have an unprecedented effect on the economic development and tourism of the country. The GFH, just as most other such hospitality providers now look forward to a future with confidence. It holds a long and illustrious historical affiliation with Royalty. The Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Emperor Hirohito of Japan and several other heads of state have stayed at the GFH, all of which is recorded on beautiful marble and wooden plaques around the hotel. Kings and Queens of the celluloid era and those who put thoughts to words have also called the GFH while they worked on their master pieces led by Anton Chekhov in 1910. Alec Guinness, Ursula Andress, Laurence Olivier are among the Hollywood celebrities that made the GFH their home in Colombo. Being the oldest hotel in the country having been built by the British during the colonial regime in then Ceylon ‘in 1864’, the GFH has also stood

by and supported many of the great endeavours the country has undertaken. Be it International summits or globally recognised sporting events GFH has housed world leaders and celebrities over its many years of existence. It is no doubt then that the hotel endorses and supports the nation’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting or CHOGM 2013. This year, CHOGM is taking place in Sri Lanka, the first time an Asian country is hosting the summit in 24 years. GFH is proud of its heritage and affiliations with both local and global leaders and sees this summit as the dawning of a new era for Sri Lanka. The Hotel still continues some British traditions that have prevailed over the years. Its museum has among its exhibits, the first car that Prince Phillip – The Duke of Edinburgh – owned when he was stationed in Ceylon in the 1940s. To date it enjoys sizeable patronage from British tourists and business travellers.