Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
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We spoke to past and present officials of the Ceylon Tourist Board (now known as Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority) to verify the truth. Mr. Dobbs has claimed that he started Sun House 17 years ago. That makes it 1997, more than a year after Saman Villas opened. Tourist Board officials remember that latter part of 1990s or in 2000 he was operating a guest house without a license. Later on the advice of the Tourist Board he registered Sun House as a guest house and obtained a valid liquor license.
The Dutch House is not known to have been registered with the Tourist Board. In May 2007 Sun House was officially classified at a slightly higher level as a Boutique Villa, but has never been recognised as a Boutique Hotel. Guest Houses existed in Sri Lanka long before Geoffrey Dobbs was born.
Development of Saman Villas and Boutique Hotels
In the first half of 1990s the concept of Luxury boutique hotels was slowly taking root in a few popular Asian destinations and some islands in the Pacific Ocean. About this time Saman Villas was designed as a 72 roomed 4-star hotel. The plans were rejected by me as the oversized hotel destroyed the beauty of this unique location.
Mr. Geevaka De Soyza, the newly appointed architect was taken to Koh Samui (Thailand) and Bali (Indonesia) to introduce the new concept that was evolving. Outcome was Sri Lanka’s first luxury boutique hotel with 27 suites spread out on the most beautiful location on the South-West coasts of Sri Lanka. Though opened for business on 25 December 1995 it was introduced to the local market on 13 February 1996 with full page supplements in the Island and Daily News. A concept which no investor wanted to risk his money on, at the peak of the war on terrorism and the Board of Directors of a Development Bank refused to lend its money became an instant success generating profits in the first year of operation. Success of Saman Villas paved the way for the boutique hotel craze and growth of tourism in the luxury boutique sector.
Second luxury boutique hotel, Elephant Corridor in Sigirya opened in 2003. The Cease Fire Agreement of 2002 engaged a few foreign and local investors and several luxury boutique hotels were constructed such as Amangalla and Amanwella of Aman resorts fame, Galle Fort hotel, Vil Uyana etc.
Saman Villas has undergone two major upgradings in 2004 and 2010. New additions include an All Suite Luxury Spa and 10 rooms have been provided with 22 foot long private lap pools.
Marketing luxury boutique hotels
Saman Villas, like standard style hotels could not depend on travel agents to sell rooms. Sri Lankan travel trade has never marketed all-suite luxury boutique hotels. For Saman Villas own success it had to develop new marketing techniques and a strategy. Ten months before the opening, a brochure with real photos of an operating hotel was printed to introduce Saman Villas to the foreign and local travel trade at ITB Berlin on 04 March 1995. The same year, the only marketing association of small luxury hotels invited Saman Villas to its fold and on 1 January 1996 it became a full member of this exclusive group of 204 hotels worldwide known as Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH).
In 1996 SLH members included such renowned properties as Raffles in Singapore, The Ritz in London, Boulders in Arizona, The Observatory Hotel in Sydney and Turtle Island in Fiji to name a few. SLH Asia Pacific Chief Executive Richard Rosebery, writing in the Island and Daily News supplements said, “Saman Villas brings to Sri Lanka the first truly deluxe resort experience in that country and the first property capable of attracting the discerning up market frequent traveller worldwide outside Colombo.”
Additionally advertisements in foreign travel magazines and news items in magazines and newspapers firmly placed Sri Lanka as a luxury destination in the world. In 1996 Saman Villas was the only Sri Lankan managed hotel which could be booked from anywhere in the world toll free via a Global Distribution System. Today a total of 153 travel agents and tour operators worldwide sell Saman Villas through brochures and websites.
Contribution to the economy and coastal management
Saman Villas’ contribution to Sri Lanka Tourism and the economy extended beyond boutique hotels. We shared our profits with the community undertaking projects throughout Sri Lanka, covering varying fields such as a Computer Training Centre, an Irrigation Scheme, Health, Organic Home Gardening, Education in particular IT and English, Children’s programs, etc. Details are available in the Saman Villas website. Saman Villas at the request of the Secretary to the Treasury with the Ceylon Tourist Board initiated a seminar on 09 July 1993 on Coast Conservation to address concerns of the hotel industry.
The key presentation was made by me and we were supported and guided by Sri Lanka’s most qualified person at the time on coastal management Dr. (now Prof.) Samantha Hettiarachchi. Building set-back lines at the time were discriminatory. For example, in the Panadura-Kalutara Coastal Zone houses were allowed at 10 metres from the edge of the beach, commercial buildings at 40 metres and hotels at 60 metres. These standards were neither scientific nor rational. End result of the seminar was a unified standard for all buildings.
The revised standard for the Panadura-Kalutara Coastal Zone which is applicable to this day is 35 metres. Hotels had additional 25 metres which resulted in construction of additional hotel rooms particularly in the heavily populated South-West coast where land is scarce.
Pre-opening brochure launched at ITB Berlin in March 1995 and the recognition granted by exclusive small Luxury Hotels of the World in the same year firmly established Saman Villas as Sri Lanka’s first Luxury boutique hotel.
(The writer is Chairman and Managing Director, Saman Villas Ltd.)
