Marriott Signs its First Hotel in Sri Lanka

Marriott has signed an agreement with Weligama Hotel Properties, a fully owned subsidiary of East West Properties, to open an hotel in Sri Lanka, the Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa in 2014.

The hotel will be Marriott’s first property on the Indian Ocean island.

The 200-room, 11-storey Weligama Bay Marriott Resort and Spa, will be operated under Marriott’s flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand.

With some 640sq metres of flexible ballroom space, the hotel should prove popular in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) market. While those travelling to Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa on holiday, will be able to take full advantage of the wide leisure offering at the hotel which includes three restaurants, a pool with a pool bar, spa, fitness centre and a beautiful stretch of beach.

Commenting on the project Mr. Nahil Wijesuriya, Chairman, East West Properties PLC said, “We are among the first companies in Sri Lanka to sign up with an international branded hotel company and to open as early as 2014. The resort is being built according to Marriott International’s five-star brand standards, with a beach frontage of 115 meters on the Galle-Matara road in the South-East of the country. The construction is being carried out in-house by East West Engineering Services (Pvt) Ltd. so we have direct control of every aspect of the construction of the resort and are confident that it will be of the highest standards and quality.”

Weligama, located 144km from Colombo is a popular tourist destination renowned for its sandy beaches. Famous for its stilt-fishermen perched on a cross bar of a single pole planted into the sea bed, this attraction has been captured in every corner of the world depicting Sri Lanka as a preferred destination of choice for travellers from all over the world.

The hotel will be located in Weligama, a part of Matara which is one of the largest cities on the south coast of Sri Lanka, where tourism and fishing are the two main businesses.

Tourism is the mainstay of the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. The services sector is expected to be the primary engine of growth in coming years which is expected to be led by tourism.

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