Hotelier of care and distinction

Appreciation: Athula Senanayake

The sudden demise of Athula Senanayake, at age 64, was a great shock to us. He was a great contributor to the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka. A product of Ananda College, Colombo, where his illustrious grandfather, P De S Kularatne , was the Principal.

I came to know him when I made my first career move, from overseas back to home soil at the Hotel Ceylon InterContinental. He was a bright young man introduced to the gruelling world of hospitality. Those days, the InterContinental hotel was the epicentre of 5- star hospitality., a place to launch a career in the Hotel industry. Athula was introduced to a comprehensive management trainee programmes, along with another Sri Lankan who had come down from Kenya. They had the best days of learning and interacting with many foreign executives there to guide them through. On one occasion two of them were in my department to get the necessary exposure in Food and Beverage Cost Control. I recall an incident when both had to escort, on foot, a bullock cart full of imported flour in bags from Narahenpita to the Hotel via Bullers Road, passing his home. They were not amused. Those were the days when even sugar and flour in 5-star hotels were rationed.

Ambitious as he was, he went overseas, where once I met him whilst on holiday at the Stratford– upon-Avon Hilton, in the UK . He was there specialising in the field of food and beverage management. On his return to Sri Lanka, he worked at the Hotel Lanka Oberoi, and then joined the newly opened Colombo Hilton, where we crossed paths again. We worked together as a very dedicated team of professionals. Under the mercurial General Manager Gamini Fernando, the hotel team was to make the Colombo Hilton, the best Hilton Hotel not only in Sri Lanka, but in Asia as well. The pinnacle of Athula’s creativity and professionalism was displayed when he spearheaded the Food and Beverage team to organise a ‘mini Kandy perahera’ in the Hilton’s Sapphire Ballroom. The occasion was the annual congress of the International Gemologists. It was an event out of this world, with the entourage of drummers, dancers and elephants walking past the dining tables much to the delight of guests. I don’t think this kind of event took place in any Hilton Hotel in the world at the time. He made us all proud.

He had trained so many in the hotel industry, some of whom are in very senior positions around the world, and had excellent public relations skills which made him a true hotelier. Later, he pursued his own interest in Food and Beverage as a business. Named his first 5-star Restaurant ‘DON’s down Horton Place, and later the renowned ‘ FAT CRAB ‘ in Bambalapitiya . He had a very successful catering business. Everything he did was very professional and always maintained 5-star standards, all which he learnt along his long and illustrious career. A great loss to the hospitality industry of Sri Lanka.

We send our condolences to his wife Rosy and family.

May he attain Nibbana!

RANJITH SAMARANAYAKE

Sydney, Australia