Worldlink enters hotel industry with luxury hotel in Kandy

Worldlink Travel Group, one of Sri Lanka’s finest travel companies, diversified into the hotel sector with the recent launch of the AMAARA brand of hotels, opening its first small and luxurious hotel, AMAARA SKY, in Kandy.

Worldlink, which celebrated its 21st anniversary in August this year, aspires to grab the opportunities of the anticipated tourism increment within the next several years with the new hotel chain and is expected to add several more properties in the future.

The newly launched AMAARA SKY is a 12 roomed hotel located in the hills of Kandy, just two kilometres away from the city centre. A four storied building overlooking the Kandy town from one side and the breathtaking Hunasgiriya Hills from the other, the hotel comprises of a penthouse, suite, four deluxe rooms, two superior rooms and two standard rooms.

“The view of the city of Kandy in the night with thousands of lights being lit is a beautiful sight. You feel like you are looking at the city from the sky,” said Worldlink Travel Group Chairman and Managing Director Ahintha Amerasinghe. Delicious food, luxurious rooms with all facilities and able and friendly staff to keep the guests happy are key attractions that will lure in guests, he added.

“The penthouse will be on two floors comprising approximately 2,000 square feet with a large private balcony. The view from the penthouse with huge glass windows is breath taking. The deluxe rooms too are quite large with over 500 square feet in each room.”

The entire hotel is also WiFi enabled. Going a step further, the hotel also provides the guests with laptops to use in their rooms free of charge during their stay. AMAARA will also soon have a mini spa, ‘The spa in the sky’, to offer comfort for discerning travellers. The company is currently in discussion with another company to manage the spa. Noting that the group sees enormous potential in the hotel segment with the dawn of peace and the growth of tourism, Worldlink Director Gerard Amerasinghe asserted that the name of the hotel chain, AMAARA, signifies what the company hopes to create by promoting further the beauty of the country.

“We were looking for a name for our chain of hotels and we wanted the name to be very Sri Lankan. AMAARA means eternal beauty and we thought it was ideal for Sri Lanka, as our country is blessed with unlimited natural beauty,” Amerasinghe explained.

AMAARA stands also for the first half of the family name of the two brothers who have built up the company to its present stage – Amerasinghe with an extra A. “During the past 21 years, Worldlink has been known as a company that serves every customer with honesty integrity and respect. Our customers have become our friends and family. At AMAARA too we will maintain the same tradition and make our guests feel at home. We will ensure that they will love their stay at AMAARA and that they will eventually become our brand ambassadors,” Amerasinghe said.

To ensure consistency and efficiency, AMARAA SKY boasts one of Sri Lanka’s top chefs who has been in the industry both here and abroad for the past 25 years – Srilal Mendis as consultant. He is one of Sri Lanka’s most respected and professional people in the hotel industry.

Promoting the country while touching the community, AMAARA SKY is also a virtual art gallery with over 80 beautiful paintings of various Sri Lankan artists on the walls of the hotel. The Worldlink Travel Group has over the years helped numerous Sri Lankan artists by buying their paintings and now boasts of a collection of over 200 paintings which are displayed in all the its travel offices.  

“We are offering very special introductory rates to tour operators during the period 1 December 2012 to the 30 April 2013,” AMAARA SKY Hotel Director of Marketing and Sales Danukh Amerasinghe said. “We request all tour operators to use our hotel so that our team at AMAARA can prove our worth in the industry.

“We operate under high standards and are continuously driven to surpass excellence. We believe that we have what is needed for travellers and tourists to have a unique experience that is truly Sri Lankan with international standards.”

The hotel has hosted several private functions over the past few weeks and received many compliments about the excellent service offered, he added.