Club Hotel Dolphin Crescent Rated

Colombo: Club Hotel Dolphin, Waikkal managed by Serendib Leisure Management Ltd was granted the Halal-friendly ‘3 Crescent’ rating recently for Halal friendliness by the Singaporean based company Crescentrating, the global leader in facilitating Halal friendly travel.

Crescent rating is a rating system established to provide confidence and a peace of mind to the Muslim travellers by providing information on prayer direction and times to fulfilling Halal food requirements and services during Ramadan.

Daniel Ludwig, General Manger of the hotel commented: “We are elated to receive this certification at a time when Sri Lanka tourism is experiencing rapid growth and the destination is increasingly attracting tourists from new and emerging markets. We have been witnessing a greater influx of Muslim travellers from the Middle East region in recent months. This particular market segment accounts for a USD $90 billion market globally with growth projections of US$150-$200 billion a year within the next 10 years. Armed with the Crescent Rating, we can now leverage on our Halal friendly services to attract larger numbers of Muslim travellers. The Serendib Leisure hotel group is constantly seeking to add value to its product offering and this rating is one step closer to fulfilling the specialized needs of travellers.”

The advantage of gaining this certification is that the rating company promotes all Crescent rated hotels on its website and other portals, enabling Halal-conscious travellers to browse through the listing. The company hosts a high social media presence, which is increasingly influencing global travel trends. Moreover, the rating company website also features special promotions and press releases by the rated hotels.

Club Hotel Dolphin, Avani Bentota Resort & Spa, Avani Kalutara Resort & Hotel Sigiriya are part of the 4 properties managed by Serendib Leisure Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings Plc.

COLOMBO: Club Hotel Dolphin has been bestowed with the prestigious HolidayCheck Award 2012 for being one of 99 most popular hotels worldwide in the ‘Beach Holiday’ category in January 2012. A part of the Serendib Leisure Group, it is the only hotel in Sri Lanka to win the HolidayCheck Award and HolidayCheck Top Hotel prize – both of which was awarded at the ITB, the world’s leading travel trade-show which was held early March 2012 in Berlin. The hotel is managed by Serendib Leisure Management, which is a subsidiary of the diversified Hemas Group of Companies.

HolidayCheck officials cited “extraordinary performance exceeding guests’ expectations regarding great products and perfect service on a daily basis – an effort that reflects in hotel reviews” as the main criteria for the hotel’s selection. The HolidayCheck Award is awarded to the 99 most popular hotels worldwide. The winners were decided based on over 530,000 genuine reviews received in 2011. This accolade reaffirms the superior service levels provided by the hotel staff, which is the prime reason for the large number of repeat tourists who keep coming back to the hotel.

Mr. Ranil de Silva, Managing Director – Serendib Leisure, commented on the accolade, “We are extremely delighted to be awarded the HolidayCheck 2012 Award and HolidayCheck Top Hotel prize under the ‘Beach Holiday’ category! Being chosen as a recipient of this award reaffirms the uniqueness of our resort property and our pursuit of excellence in guest relations. This award will ensure that Club Hotel Dolphin becomes the first choice as the best beach holiday destination in the world.”

Club Hotel Dolphin is situated at Waikkal and is easily accessible from the international airport and the commercial capital of Colombo. The Hotel features two swimming pools, pool-side bars and a bar/lounge offering signature cocktails and cuisine. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool and a fitness facility, along with a host of indoor and outdoor activities. There is also a full-service health spa on-site. The property also has a well appointed business centre and 151 air-conditioned rooms and villas with all modern amenities.

COLOMBO: Serendib Leisure Hotels walked away with a host of prestigious awards at Culinary Art 2011, held recently from 29th July to 1st August 2011, in Colombo. Serendib Group hotels – Club Hotel Dolphin, Hotel Sigiriya and Kani Lanka Resort & Spa won a plethora of medals for culinary excellence at the event, reinforcing the reputation of Serendib hotels as epicurean delights!

‘Culinary Art’ is a unique trade show that showcases the best of food and hospitality talent in Sri Lanka and culminates in recognising and awarding medals to the most talented chefs competing in the show. A premier meeting place for culinary artists, the show also serves as a competitive professional platform for chefs to pitch their talents against each other. The competition is a regular event organised by the Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka, where competitors are judged by an internationally recognised panel of judges, both from Sri Lanka and overseas

Mr. Ranil de Silva of Serendib Leisure Hotel Management commented on the extraordinary performance of the group’s culinary staff: “We are extremely proud of each and every award winner at the recently concluded Culinary Art 2011 and commend every participant in the team for their hard work and exceptional display of skills. At a time when Sri Lanka is poised to elevate and expand its tourism offering to the world, this competition helps to raise the bar in culinary perfection and offers all participants and visitors an opportunity to glimpse the intricacy of the craft. Serendib Leisure is uncompromising in its pursuit of perfection in every aspect of its tourism offering, be it our delectable cuisine, sterling accommodation, world-class service or unrivalled ambience. By winning premier awards from amongst talented peers, our chefs have proved their mettle and added a new dimension to the many reasons why Serendib Leisure hotels remain the most sought after destination by local and foreign holiday-makers.”

Chefs from Club Hotel Dolphin won the maximum number of awards at the show, walking away with 3 Gold awards in the Arrack, Apprentice and Ice Carving categories; 14 Silver awards in Sri Lankan cooking, Butter Carving, Artist pastry show, Apprentice, Vegetable carving, Arrack, Wedding Cake and Sun quick categories; and 17 Bronze awards in Five Course, Hot Cooking, Plated Appetizer, Artist Pastry Show, Salt Carving, Ice Carving, Dress the Cake, Apprentice and Sun quick categories.

The 43-year-old A.A.A.N Atampola Arachci, who won the Silver medal for Creative Arrack Cocktail and one Silver medal, commenced his career as a Steward at Club Hotel Dolphin in 1992, rising fast through his desire to acquire new skills, and now works as a Barman at the hotel. He has won several awards in the past as well.

The young 21-year-old H.S.Danushka Fernando, who won a Gold Medal in the Live Cooking Dessert – Apprentice Category, shows great promise at a young age and will no doubt win many more accolades in the years ahead for the hotel.

The Dolphin’s Kitchen Artist Chaminda P.Weerappulige, 33 years, who won one Gold Medal for Ice Carving, 2 Silver Medals for Salt Dough Carving & Vegetable Carving and 1 Bronze Medal for Pastry Showpiece, has won several such awards in the Gulf as well and is fairly well travelled in pursuit of perfecting his art.

Hotel Sigiriya was awarded 1 Gold award for Arrack cocktail; 4 Silver medals for Butter carving, Hot Cooking Live, Vegetable carving and Arrack cocktail categories; and 6 Bronze medals for Ice carving, Five Course set menu, Live Hot Cooking, Vegetable carving, Bear cocktail and Mocktail categories. The 26-year-old P. Wickramasingha from Matale is the Gold medal winning chef from Hotel Sigiriya, who joined the hotel as a Trainee Steward in September 2005 and currently works there in the capacity of Barman. A permanent employee of the hotel, he has won several awards and medals at Regional Bartending competitions.

Further, Kani Lanka Resort & Spa was awarded 1 Bronze medal in the Live Cooking – Meat/Poultry category as well.

About Serendib Leisure
Serendib Leisure group of hotels have already gained widespread acclaim for their eco-friendly tourism practices, with Hotel Sigiriya, which is situated at the base of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Sigiriya Rock, winning the majority of the group’s “Green” awards. Serendib’s beach front properties, Club Hotel Dolphin, in Waikkal, and the Kani Serendib Hotel, located on Bentota’s golden beach make ideal backdrops for rest, relaxation and even exploring the surroundings that are rich in a colourful history that goes back hundreds of years. All three properties along with the newly acquired Kani Lanka Resort & Spa are aesthetically pleasing with in-room amenities and facilities that are above and beyond those provided by other similar class hotels and offer a diverse assortment of activities for the entire family.

All winners with the Management Team

The Responsible Tourism Awards are the most competitive and prestigious awards of their kind in the world and are a collaboration between online travel directory responsibletravel.com, sponsor Virgin holidays and UK media partners The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News, and World Travel Market, who host the Awards ceremony. This year 1900 entries were received across 13 categories for inspiring tourism ventures all over the world that are making a real difference to local communities and the environment. Winners were announced on 12 Nov 2008 during WTM World Responsible Tourism Day at World Travel Market, London.

Hotel Sigiriya is proud to announce that it received a Highly Commended  Status in

Best large hotel / accommodation (more than 50 rooms) competing with many large popular hotels from around the world. Dr. Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University and Chair of the Judges said” ” Hotel Sigiriya has retro-fitted the hotel to increase its energy efficiency and sustainability. It measures its performance as a management tool for continuous improvement and shares that info with others to encourage them to reduce their own environmental impacts”.

Mr Abbas Esufally, Chairman of Serendib Leisure and Srilal Miththapala Director /CEO of Serendib leisure were present at  WTM to accept the plaque of recognition. In May 2008, Hotel Sigiriya won the Green Award from International Restaurant and Hotel Awards California USA, making it the first Sri Lankan Hotel  to have won a Green Award in the USA.

Three hotels were short listed in this category  Kingfisher bay Australia, Frangipani Langkawi Resort and spa, Malaysia and Hotel Sigiriya. Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island, Australia  won the award for demonstrating that a large resort accommodating 60,000 guests per year and with 100,000 day visitors can be managed to have a low environmental impact; and for educating its guests about conservation, engaging positively with the indigenous people enabling them to share their culture and skilling them for employment. Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa, Malaysia also received a highly commended status.

Another Sri lankan project, the turtle conservation project from Rekawa was also highly commended in the category of “conservation of endangered species or protected area”.

Awards were given out to 12 categories and New Zealand was declared the overall winner for proving that it is possible to develop a national strategy which uses tourism to help make better places to live and to visit.  New Zealand has implemented many of the principles of the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations and demonstrated what national government can achieve – working with the private sector, local communities and local government – by harnessing tourism to benefit their people and their environment.

Hotel Sigiriya managed by Serendib Leisure Management a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings Plc, won two awards at the recently concluded Bartenders ABSOLUT Challenge 2009 regional competition organized for the very first time by Periceyl (Pvt) Ltd. The competition was held on the 25th of November 2009 for the members of the Cultural Triangle Hoteliers Association.

The programme held for employees working in the hotel trade, especially in the hospitality industry or the serving stewards of tourist hotels in Sri Lanka, was worked off in two categories – the Classic and Flaring. Mr. Ajith Wickramasinghe was chosen as the 1st Runner-Up in the Classic category while Mr. H.M.G.Jayantha Kumara was selected as the 2nd Runner-Up in the Flaring category. H.M.G.Jayantha Kumara joined the Serendib Group in 2005 from the Village of Thalkote (Sigiriya) and Mr.Ajith Wickramasinghe who came aboard in 2005 hails from Matale. They have been trained by Hotel Sigiriya’s Bar Supervisor Kingsley, a previous winner, and guided by Mr.Sujeewa Basnayake & Chef Zoysa.

Periceyl (Pvt) Ltd is a subsidiary of Group Pernod Ricard which holds similar competitions in various geographical locations around the globe. The main intention in conducting this competition was to encourage and motivate the hotel employees.  From a total of 6 regional competitions, three have been successfully concluded and the others are scheduled for 2010.

The competition was held for the ‘Negombo Hoteliers Association’ and the ‘Kandy Hoteliers Association’.

Nestled at the foot of the rock fortress, Hotel Sigiriya is a haven for those who want to retreat from the pressures of 21st century living, and would rather spend their days basking in the serenity of nature.

Located from a four and half hour drive from the city of Colombo, Hotel Sigiriya has 34 standard rooms complete with air-conditioning, telephone, piped music, hair dryer and tea/coffee making facilities. The 45 superior rooms are additionally equipped with a flat screen TV with DVD, mini bar and an in-room safe.  The hotel has an open-air lounge bar, where guests are afforded magnificent views of the rock fortress whilst enjoying a traditional Sri Lankan arrack cocktail. The hotel also has one restaurant serving international buffets, table d’hote and a la carte and room service is available for those who want to dine from the comfort of their rooms as well.

Hotel Sigiriya is a member of the Serendib Leisure Group, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings Plc.

The Award Winning Bartenders with Their Trophies
In the picture from left: Mr. Dadisan Zoysa — Executive Chef, Mr. S. Anandaraj — Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Ajith Wickramasinghe — Bartender , Mr. Jayantha Gajanayake — Bartender , Mr. Laksitha Wegodapola — Manager and Mr. Sujeeva Basnayake — Manager Operations Coordination

Serendib Leisure Management came away, from the recently concluded Culinary Art 2010, triumphant, with Club Hotel Dolphin, ranking sixth, in the top 10 list. The only non-five star property to feature in the top ten, the hotel ranked ahead of several 5 star city hotels with its participants winning accolades in areas such as Live Cooking, Butter, Vegetable and Ice Carvings, and Set Dinner.

Amongst Dolphin’s 30 medal haul, were 4 gold medals, 9 silver and 17 bronze. The group’s other properties, Sigiriya and Serendib, also won 5 medals each in the silver and bronze categories, bringing the group’s total medal count to forty.

In preparation for the competition the group’s management had procured the assistance of Motivational Speaker, CEO of Sri Lankan Catering and incumbent President of the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association, Sarath Fernando, whose motivational talks encouraged the group’s chefs and aided them in honing their skills for the competition.

The Culinary Art competition is a bi-annual event organised by the Chef’s Guild of Lanka and this year’s competitors were judged by an internationally recognised panel of judges, both from Sri Lanka and overseas, who weighed the contestants on the WACS international standards. The competition which ran from the 5th to 8th February focussed on new areas this year and participants were expected to display knowledge of the science of food, as well as an understanding of diet and nutrition, in addition to showcasing their creative presentation skills.

Serendib Leisure group of hotels have already gained wide-spread acclaim for their eco-friendly tourism practices, with Hotel Sigiriya, which is situated at the base of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Sigiriya Rock, winning the majority of the group’s “Green” awards. Serendib’s beach front properties, Club Hotel Dolphin, in Waikkal and the Serendib Hotel, located on Bentota’s golden beach make ideal backdrops for rest, relaxation and even exploring the surroundings that are rich in a colourful history that goes back hundreds of years. All three properties are aesthetically pleasing with in-room amenities and facilities that are above and beyond those provided by other similar class hotels and offer a diverse assortment of activities for the whole family.

Seated from Left:

Mr. Jude Fernando – Senior Sous Chef, Mr. K.J. Trevor Fernando — Executive Chef, Mr. Ronald W. Perera — Director — HR Management & Admin, Mr. D. Chamin Wickremasinghe — GM — Club Hotel Dolphin, Mr. Abbas N. Esufally — Chairman, Mr. S. Anandaraj — Chief Operating Officer, Mr. T. Thivakaran — Director — Finance, Mr. Jude Silva — Assistant Manager, Mr. Chandra N Wickramathanthri — F&B Manager, Mr. Anton Rosman Perera — Sous Chef

Club Hotel Dolphin managed by Serendib Leisure Hotels a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings Plc, became runners up in the hospitality sector at the recently held National Business Excellence Awards 2008. The hotel also won the Gold Award for customer satisfaction from UK’s largest tour operator First Choice for the 4th consecutive year in August 2008.

Picture: Chamin Wickremasinghe, Srilal Miththapala Director/CEO — Serendib Leisure, Ronnie Perera, T Thivakaran, Gayani Perera and Thishani Jayatunge

Hotel Sigiriya won First Place in the category of Green Award for value hotels in the International Restaurant and Hotel Award (IRHA) USA.  This is the first time a Sri Lankan Hotel has won a Green Award in the USA.

This is indeed a very prestigious achievement for Serendib Leisure Hotels, given the fact that many hotels from all over the world competed for  this award under  multiple categories, including Best Design Hotel, Best Family Friendly Hotel, Best New Hotel etc.

Hotel Sigiriya has been in the forefront of energy and environment conservation activities for several years now, and it is only fitting that the hard work, motivation and perseverance has now paid off with this recognition the hotel has received. The hotel has implemented several energy conservation and renewable energy projects, such as Solar Water Heaters, Biological Sewage Treatment Plan, Composting of garbage, replacing of diesel fired boiler with a Bio mass Gasifire etc.  The success factors of all these initiatives had been the dedication and perseverance of the staff, proper documentation and record keeping, which has enabled the hotel to carefully track the results over the years.  It is estimated that due to these energy conversation initiatives, the hotel is saving approximately 10% on expenses annually. Hotel Sigiriya is also the first hotel in Sri Lanka to have calculated its carbon foot print which also has been successfully reduced from 240. 2 MT in 2006/07 to 166.8 MT in 2007/08.

Srilal Miththapala, CEO Serendib Leisure admitted that most of these initiatives were begun primary to reduce energy costs, but as the projects developed, we found that there were greater benefits accruing not only directly but indirectly. This has become a useful marketing tool now, where discerning travelers are beginning to choose hotels, which are more environmentally conscious. He went on to say, that he was happy of the very dedicated and motivated hotel operations team, who genuinely believed in what they did and relentlessly pursued with their initiatives, in spite of many obstacles, therefore, this award is a truly  fitting reward.