Hotels Return to Sri Lanka
Back on the radar as a tourist destination, Sri Lanka is on the verge of a hotel building boom with both international hospitality groups and local players launching major projects. Here’s a quick look at what is underway:
Colombo
Shangri-La Colombo: The Hong Kong-based company recently broke ground for a 661-room tower near the storied seafront Galle Face Green in the capital. Expected to open 2015.
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Sheraton Colombo: Starwood Hotels will make its debut with this 306-room hotel opposite Galle Face Green. Slated to open October 2013.
Mövenpick Colombo: The Swiss company’s entrée will be a 180-room downtown hotel. Target opening date is the middle of 2013.
Jetwing Colombo: Local hotel group Jetwing’s project will have 70 rooms and 28 serviced apartments. Opening April 2014.
The South
Shangri-La Hambantota: A 145-acre resort with 315 rooms in southern Hambantota district, with an 18-hole golf course, dive center, and CHI Spa. Scheduled to open in 2014.
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Avani Kalutra: The second property under the new mid-market brand by Minor Hotel Group and local partner Serendib Leisure will be opened later this year. Located an hour south of Colombo, it will have 105 rooms.
Anantara Kalutara: A 138-room upscale resort with a spa, opening late 2013.
Soneva Ahungalla: Bangkok-based Six Senses’ founder Sonu Shivdasani is partnering with Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels to create an exclusive 71-villa project, occupying 10½ acres of beachfront land and the 26-acre Meeraladuwa Island, just south of Bentota. Slated for early 2014.
Jetwing Yala Safari, Yala: The original luxury game lodge at one of the country’s best-known parks was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. The new development will have 70 rooms and 28 villas and is expected to open in April 2013.
The East
Jetwing Reef, Uppuveli: This 68-room property, set to open December 2013, will be among the first high-end resorts to open in the region since the war ended.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2012/06/02/hotels-return-to-sri-lanka/
