Earl’s Hotels & Resorts in Rs. 4 billion expansionary drive in SL and Japan

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

Earl’s Hotels & Resorts, in a vibrant expansionary drive, has invested over Rs. 4 billion over the last three years to acquire hotels and build several new ones in Sri Lanka and Japan, its General Manager Dinusha Gunasena said.

‘Our latest addition is the Negombo, Earl’s Regent Hotel, which was built with an investment of Rs. 1.2 billion with 31 rooms. Very soon, we will add another 50 rooms to the property for another investment of Rs 850 million. With that the cumulative investment would be Rs two billion, Gunasena told The Island Financial Review.

Gunasena added: “I am quite confident that this property will be one of the most sought- after hotels in the Negombo area not only by foreign tourist but by locals as well, because of its ideal beach front location with additional new unique features, such as, kite surfacing and various water sports activities, organic meals, Ayurvedic treatment, sleeping therapy and many other features for our target clientele.

Dinusha Gunasena

 “We have completed Rs. 850 million of the investment so far, built 31 rooms and will complete the remaining rooms in the next six months.

“We will also add two banquet halls, which are under construction, to accommodate around 700 guests and will actively promote destination weddings and MICE events from the region.”

“We have also acquired two boutique hotels in Japan and this would be our first overseas leisure venture. Both hotels would have around 40 to 50 rooms each and would be marketed for up market clientele.

“We also have plans to branch out to the Maldives and are looking out for an acquisition. The Group has also invested over Rs. 8 50 million to construct ‘Early Kurunegala’, which will be opened at the end of the year.

“The Group has also acquired Hill Top Kandy and has completely demolished the property and is building a new 100 plus room hotel. The investment for this is over Rs. 1.5 billion.

“We are confident that the local travel sector would pick up and this is why we are aggressively investing and expanding in this sector.”