Asia Leisure, a fully owned subsidiary of Asia Capital PLC (ACAP) today announced the construction of a 100 room luxury resort in Galle, which is expected to be the largest hotel property in the southern coastal town. Asia Leisure currently owns and manages four globally acclaimed luxury boutique hotels in the south – Shinagawa Beach, Tamarind Hill, The River House and Taprobana (opening in 3 weeks). Asia Leisure at present has a 70 room inventory and the new property will more than double its inventory to 170 keys.

A press release said: ‘The property will be built on 2-acres of fine beachfront real estate and will be financed equally by Asia Capital and its Japanese partners. Construction is expected to begin at the end of the year and will take approximately two years to be completed.

‘Speaking about the launch of this new property Stefan Abeyesinhe, the CEO of ACAP said, “As Sri Lanka surges towards becoming a tourism hub, the country has commanded keen interest from global tourism players, with its room inventory expanding through large volumes of foreign direct investments. Given the bullish prospects for tourism, our growing expertise in the leisure sector is of immense strength to the Group’s future. It is with a sense of optimism and accomplishment that we unveil this, our fifth and largest property to date.”

‘Explaining the reasons for investing in this project Jin Sashida, the Chairman and CEO of City Creation Holdings Inc said, “The main reason I chose to invest in this project is because I realized that Asia Capital and City Creation Holdings share a very similar goal and vision. Also, Sri Lanka’s economy has been showing healthy growth over the past few years and we are fully confident that under this government this trend will only improve. This is promising for Sri Lanka as a whole and we are very happy to be part of the development of this country.”

‘The resort will consist of 100 sea view rooms/suites with all luxury amenities including the options of double bath or plunge pool and will be built under the ‘without boundaries’ concept. The hotel will also consist of a large swimming pool overlooking the Indian Ocean and will feature a Pool Bar and Water Lounge. The spa will offer the finest of therapies and treatments one could ask for while the restaurants add more spice to the stay in the hotel, coupled with the sea breeze and excellent service offered by the hotel staff.

‘The company is also in discussions with two international hotel operators for the management of the property but may also opt to undertake the management themselves considering the experience and knowledge gained from managing its other four properties. Given that Asia Leisure already engages in hotel management, the company has implemented a strategic plan to manage other properties. Asia Leisure has already negotiated for three more hotels in which Asia Leisure would either manage the operations of or have minority financial interest depending on the hotel’s requirements. Hotelier Reyhan Morris, the CEO of Asia Leisure and his team have been brought in due to their expertise and capabilities to take Asia Leisure to the next sphere.

Source : http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=108850