Comfort to INFINITY and BEYOND

Getting out of home to get that right needed holiday after weeks of hard work is something one would plan on doing while thinking of getting their ‘annual leave’ once a year. Well…now with so many properties giving the best of comfort for a holiday – even if it’s just one night away – one does not need to wait for the annual leave to escape the city and noise.

Just a two hour drive the North West from Colombo will take you to an area that is famous for its lagoon, prawns, golden sandy beaches and most importantly the peaceful surrounding it has to offer people a little away from the main town. Entering Chilaw and making a left turn from Karukupone, Bangadeniya, you slowly drive through developing land projects with the lagoon on your right and the never ending Indian Ocean on your left.

Nestled right in the center of the lagoon and the sea and surrounded by palm trees and araliya flowers you find a hidden paradise Anantaya Resort and Spa. This 87 room property which is owned by LAUGFS Leisure (subsidiary of LAUGFS Holdings) was opened on February 15 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Laugfs Chairman W K H Wegapitiya and other distinguished guests in a grand scale.

A very cool and refreshing watermelon was waiting for us as welcome drinks and I must add that for any hangover – a cool watermelon does the trick. After getting our keys sorted and luggage numbered, our host Laugfs Leisure General Manager Aruna Jayalath and Sales & Marketing Manager Musthaq Ahamed took us on a golf cart ride around the property (as the sun was too hot to walk, unless you’re a tourist and looking for the right tan then walk right ahead).

“Anantaya means Infinity and it was designed by architect Vinod Jayasinghe. This land was taken over three years ago with construction starting mid 2012 and coming to a completion this January with 87 rooms and two banquet halls”, Musthaq Ahamed said. When I asked how they found this location and why here, he added that the Chairman and the MD were searching for some places and this was found by one of their contacts. Chilaw is not so familiar and tourists are more familiar with places like Negombo, Kandy etc. But if you look at the Chilaw route one will see that Anuradhapura, Kalpitiya and Dambulla are just 2 to 3 hours drive from the property and only a few minutes’ drive as you get off from the airport.

Musthaq added that there are tour operators considering changing their schedule starting from the airport, coming to Chilaw and do the Cultural Triangle or either they come on the last two days of their tour and stay at the Resort. For six months they have had leading tour operators who have come and been very interested with the property. They will be coming in their brochures in the winter season. The first booking was done online and they (Russians) stayed here for 17 nights. They also get direct bookings from their website.

When it comes to human resource we have top and trained experienced in the trade. And as a CSR project 40 percent of the staff is from the area. HODs have been given in house training prior to the opening. We came in august and we have four to six months to groom them and also it’s very hard to retain some staff as some who get the experience quickly go off to another country.

They have a large restaurant called the Ocean that can seat up to 170 people. We have the pool bar specialising in theme events. And depending on the occupancy we have theme nights happening on Italian, Thai and in time to come we will have a fixed schedule as occupancy is picking up. Their conference room has the state of the art facilities and if you take Chilaw one will realise that they are running out of unique properties for such function and even people from Wennapuwa have to go all the way to Negombo to have a reception or meeting etc.

There is a fully quipped gymnasium that in-house guests can use for free, two pools that Musthaq stated “if you combine the two pools (15meters and 53 meters) together, you will have the largest pools in Sri Lanka. And the advantage of two pools is there are two blocks for the rooms and if there is a corporate function, they can separate the pool too.

Soon after the ride (the return ride was taken over by a colleague that got our hearts racing with his driving) we headed off to the Ocean Restaurant (famished after the tour) and were served our favourite Sri Lankan rice and curry to satisfy our hungry bundies (belly). Then it was straight off to the room where some snoozed off immediately. The rooms are all equipped with the basic amenities (iron, bathrobes, slippers, safes, tea/coffee) and bathtubs that you want to get in and never come out of. There is your own living room space to enjoy some gossip view of the pool and ocean from your room.

The rooms are separated into 19 Superior (which give the sea view) while the other rooms (deluxe and premium) give the lagoon and sea view. And out of all the rooms I was shown nothing could beat the suite that is located on the second floor and corner of the property. Honeymooners or couples just wanting to romance will find how truly romantic it is…especially during sunset, starry nights and experiencing the Jacuzzi on their balcony.

Speaking on adventure and sight seen – there is excursions to Wilpattu National Park, Anavilundawa bird sanctuary, Kalpitiya (dolphins and whale sightings), Muthurajawela wetlands, places of worship to Madu, Talawila and Munneswaram Temple, Dutch fort and canal in Negombo town.

Plans are being made to come up with two more properties – a 110 room property in Passikudah (first batch will consist 50 rooms) and one in Waskaduwa with banquet facilities which will be opened in two years to come. Arrangements are also being made to have a seafood wadiya on the beach.

So now, instead of heading down south to the usual beaches look up North and you will see that there is beauty up there as well that needs exploring and love.