Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort brings star-class treatment to Udawalawe

By Cheranka Mendis

Marking their first step in to the lucrative hospitality industry in Sri Lanka, Rosen Lanka Limited on Saturday opened its first hotel, the Rs. 750 million Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort Hotel in Udawalawe.

The four-star hotel is the first star-classed hotel in the area bordering the Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces and boasts of 53 rooms and four suites. Ceremoniously opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa the hotel spans across a seven-acre land and amalgamates modern luxuries with the rustic beauty of nature.

Having acquired the property which was initially built by German national Harrow Brown and abandoned for close to 12 years in February 2009, the resort will serve as an ideal location for locals and foreigners traveling to the Southern coast for business as well as pleasure, Rosen Lanka Director Anura Vithanage told the Daily FT prior to the opening in Udawalawe.

“The hotel is built in close proximity to the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, proposed International Airport in Mattala, Ruhunu Magampura Port and the Udawalawe Park,” he said.

“Over and above the usual amenities provided by hotels, the hotel is equipped with a banquet hall with a seating capacity of 400 pax and a restaurant which could seat 250 persons.”

A fully equipped conference hall, a state-of-the-art business centre, specially designed swimming pool, a complete gymnasium, a mini-theatre and a large open air theatre ‘Una Sewana’ designed in a similar pattern to the open air theatre of the Peradeniya University is part of the hotel.

The resort has been designed to conserve the environment with water and waste recycling being inserted into the system and the construction work been done without harming any trees in the process.  Grand Udawalawe Safari also has a main kitchen catering to the restaurant, a satellite kitchen catering to the pool bar, and a banquet kitchen in the upper floor catering to the banquet hall.

Special rates have been introduced for the first six months for both local and international tourists. Vithanage acknowledged that the average room rates will be priced at US$ 120 and that the target for the upcoming winter season is primarily Free Independent Travellers (FITs) and walk in tourists. Foreign groups from Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the Far East have already made bookings to stay at the hotel.

Pix by Nalin Hewapathirana