Galle Face Group bags four main awards at Tourism Awards 2011

The legendary Galle Face Hotel established in 1864 was the proud recipient of the Best Heritage Hotel 2011, Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year (awarded to Group Chairman of the Galle Face Group Sanjeev Gardiner) and Tourism Pioneer for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism (awarded to CEO/Vice President Chethiya Perera) at the fifth annual Sri Lanka Tourism Awards ceremony, which was held on 30 August 2012.

Sri Lanka’s Heritage in Hospitality – The Galle Face Hotel was awarded the Best Heritage Hotel award and the Hall of Fame Award for winning three consecutive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at this event.

The hotel won the one and only Presidential Award in 2009 for Best Heritage Hotel and subsequently the Sri Lanka Tourism Award as the Best Heritage Hotel in 2010 and another International Award – the first-ever PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Award for Best International Heritage Award in 2011.

The Galle Face Hotel was adjudged the winner of Heritage Hotels on comprehensive evaluation criteria comprising revenue generation, innovation, history and culture.

Sanjeev Gardiner is known to be one of the most charismatic personalities in hospitality and entrepreneurship. He is also the youngest in owning a large chain of hotels and guest houses. Today, what started as one hotel that had many stories to unfold, has become known as the Heritage Hotel in the heart of Colombo under his guidance and leadership.

Sanjeev Gardiner has expanded the Galle Face Hotel Group to many areas and has improved the hospitality trend in his other venture, the Ceylon Hotel Corporations. Every hotel that falls under the Ceylon Hotels Corporation has been refurbished and re-modified to satisfy the people of the 21st century and also please the crowd of yesteryear as well.

The refurbishing and remodelling of the CHC chain of hotels has been carried out by a person who is also no stranger to the hospitality industry – Chethiya Perera, the CEO/Vice President of the Galle Face Group.

Perera has taken all the hotels and guesthouses falling under CHC that are located in the central regions of the country and given them a brand new fresh atmosphere with class, style and of course comfort and satisfaction to all its guests.

The hotels that have already being refurbished are Surf (Bentota), The Safari (Tissamaharama), The Lake (Polonnaruwa), Heritage (Habarana), Heritage (Dambulla), Heritage (Weligama) and Heritage (Ambepussa) and many more are to be completed.

The two iconic gentlemen have proved that hospitality can be given anywhere at any place and anytime by keeping the charm of a place and changing only according to the time of the century.