Sri Lanka Tourism Blog

Hotel Lanka Supercorals - Hikkaduwa is ideally situated in close proximity to famous marine sanctuary with exotic coral formation in Hikkaduwa.Hundred kms South of Colombo Hotel Lanka Supercorals sited on a spot marvelously landscaped green garden.

It is a prefect stopover for those who seek the pleasure of sun sand and surf. The hotel has been refurbished and opened last year after the damage caused by the tsunami.

Hotel Lanka Supercorals, which originally had 100 guest rooms has had soft opening with 40 guest rooms, and is over looking beautiful Hikkaduwa Beach.

Thirty one rooms are directly sea view and all rooms are equipped with A/C, hot/cold water shower, balcony, high speed internet facility, International Sports Channel on Cable TV, mini bar offered for Sri Lankan holiday makers during the coming Avurudu season.

The hotel has two spacious specialty restaurants serving all meals. Western, Chinese and oriental cuisine along with B.B.Q, buffet is the specialty of the main restaurant, while fresh seafood and Sri Lankan cuisine serves at the other restaurant.

Coral bar offers a well stocked range of wines, spirits, liquors, beer and fresh fruit juices.

Apart from that, pizza hut and super café are the two popular places for snacks.

As a part of a recreation and animation, hotel offers two separate swimming pools. One is specially designed for kids and the main pool separately for animation programmes, water polo and other water based activities.

Beach Volley Ball and indoor games too are popular with overseas travellers.

Hotel Lanka Supercorals also offers excursions for travellers and there are tailor made programmes for holiday makers.

‘Half a day excursions to Galle Dutch Fort, Maadu Ganga River Safari, sightseeing tour of popular Moonstone Mine off Kahawa and sea safaris are some of the popular trips arranged by the hotel’ said Rohan de Silva, Manager of Hotel Lanka Supercorals

The other most popular attraction is the Cinnamon Trail and Eco Tour.

The guests are taken to a large cinnamon cultivation owned by Devmith Kaggodaarachchi, the Managing Director of the hotel for a tour.

‘This is quite a popular event, especially with foreigners. They love to see cinnamon cultivation, cropping and other processing up to packing. This is unique to this area’ said Mr. Kaggodaarachchi.

Photo Credit: Pradeep Jeganathan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/51797733/)

Arugam Bay was awarded the Highly Commended Best Destination award at the World Travel Market Responsible Tourism Awards Ceremony at Excel in Docklands, London on 14th November 14, 2007. Out of the thousands of nominations received, Costa Rica and New Forest were the other two nominees.
Arugam Bay is classed among the top ten surfing destinations in the world. The village itself is a delightful experience. There are no big hotels. The community has developed tourism by dint of their own hard work and imagination.
Three star establishments rub shoulders with low-key stilt cabins and coconut palm leaf cabanas, and tourists share the beach with local fishermen.
The wild and rugged scenery, elephants meandering at the edge of the village, abundant birdlife, and mysterious archaeological sites have made this a long-time favourite destination for travellers.
The three ethnic groups - Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, work and live in harmony. The population of 3,000 families is made up mostly of small family managed hotels/guest houses and restaurants.
The President of Arugam Bay Tourist Association (ABTA) Abdul Raheem, said that “ this award is the best thing that has happened to the Arugam Bay tourism community”.

The tourism sector is not threatened by the war and the number of tourist arrivals has increased during the past two months. Tourism in the Eastern Province will develop if there are more domestic aircraft services, said Managing Director Arugam Bay Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd., A.M. Jaufer.
Arugam Bay which offers the best setting for discerning visitors with its stretch of sandy beaches is a popular tourist destination for water sports, wind surfing, surf riding, snorkelling, scuba diving and bird watching.

The Lahugala National Park for elephants, historical sites such as the Magual Maha Viharaya, Mudu Maha Viharaya and the Kudimbigala Viharaya and the Kumana Bird Sanctuary are some of the prime sites for tourism in the East.

The East coast stretching over 300 kilometres rated as the best sea coast in the country is one of the main tourist attractions. The East coast season spans from April to October.

The tourist season in the Eastern Province begins in April and continues up to November. The annual tourist arrivals in Arugam Bay are over 2,500.

“The number of tourists visiting the East can be increased with better infrastructure and hotel facilities”, Jaufer said.

Roads, electricity, water supply and other infrastructure facilities will be developed under the Nagenahira Navodaya program.

Arugam Bay Travels and Tours will receive an award for responsible tourism at this year’s World Travel Mart at the ExCell Exhibition Centre in London.

Honoured with the Brand Excellence Award at the 2006 SLIM Awards for his enterprise, Jaufer also runs the Arugam Handicrafts (Pvt) Ltd. which was launched in 2005. “Helping rural women to develop their cottage crafts will be more beneficial to the cottage industry than encouraging women to leave their homes to work in institutions”, Jaufer said.

He said it was after the tsunami that people realised the potential of the rich natural resources that surrounds them besides the sea.

The objective in launching the organisation is to provide employment to make quality products and capture international markets.

Arugam Bay Handicrafts was launched realising the raw material available in the area which could be turned out into handicrafts and utility items, he said. Sea shells, coconut shells, ‘hana’ (hemp) and reed growing close to the sea shore are turned out into attractive handicrafts to delight local and foreign tourists.

Colourful hemp mats in varying sizes and patterns for carpets, wall hangers, mats, bags, baskets, table mats and ladle holders are some of the other items produced by the organisation.

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Not all vacation deals are meant to suit everyone. Most of the time, families are looking for economical vacation packages. That does not mean resorts or luxurious cruise deals. Just a comfortable travel lodge and other leisure activities as well as reservations for car rental