Galle Fort Hotel wins international accolades in excellence

The Galle Fort Hotel, situated ‘smack right in the middle’ of the legendary Galle Fort just close to the southern coast of Sri Lanka, has much to offer both local and foreign visitors alike.

The fact that the hotel has won not one but two international acclaims this year proves that it is a jewel in the country’s tourism sector. The hotel has succeeded in securing the title of Sri Lanka’s Leading Boutique Hotel at the 2016 World Travel Awards, and a category win at the 2016 World Luxury Hotel Awards. This double win is an extremely great achievement for the management and the staff of the hotel.

The World Travel Awards happen to be the most prestigious and reputed award in the global travel and tourism industry and for over two decades have supported, promoted and developed the sector. Moreover winning the 2016 World Luxury Hotel Awards category winner is considered to be the ultimate achivement by any property in the luxury hospitality industry, marking the Galle Fort Hotel as one of the finest properties in the country.

Since 2014 the hotel has been managed by Maitland and Knox heritage hotels. As a whole, the managment team comprises of Galle Fort Hotel’s General Manager David Elgar and Maitland and Knox Managing Director Amrit Rajaratnam and General Manager of Operations Shayan Kannangara.

The team emphasised that the awards were received for excellence in service as they pay a great deal of attention to the manner in which their guests are treated and making sure their staff get the regular hospitality training they need. One of their primary goals in achieving excellence in service, was to motivate other hotels to ‘up their game’, so to speak, in order to make Sri Lanka more competitive as a global tourism hotspot.

“There has been a lot of emphasis on training these past two years because are main asset is our staff,” stated Amrit.

The hotel consists of a 75 member staff, and the team made it clear that each staff member focused on ensuring that they made their guests feel at home.

History of the Galle Fort Hotel

The Galle Fort itself is teeming with rich history and culture. Originally a Dutch mansion that was built all most 300 years ago, the Galle Fort Hotel is part of the many buildings that are located inside of the magnificent Fort. For the past few centuries it has hosted multitudes of visitors from many countries and from all walks of life; in the form of an extravagant villa to the Macan Markars, a wealthy family of gem merchants, to a regimental barrack for the RAF and much more.

Rescued from a much neglected state of disrepair by an Australian Home redecorator and his Malaysian partner, who was an expert on Dutch furniture, this ancient mansion was rebuilt in 2003 to resonate the glory of the Fort, stated David.

The property was so beautifully redone that in 2007 it earned the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Distinction, and was hailed as ‘a masterpiece of cultural heritage and restoration’.

Aside from this the hotel has been awarded for being the Best Boutique Hotel in Sri Lanka, and this year it received another award for being the best property in Sri Lanka. It is also a member of the global organisation for Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) since last July. Amrit asserted that this site once again a tremendous achievement for the hotel, because the organisation receives a vast number of applications each year and they accept about five percent of the applicants.

The architecture

The building is a testament to the architectural heritage of the colonial Dutch and British eras and also compliments Sri Lankan cultural influences in its construction.

David revealed that the left side from the entrance has been renovated, while the right side is an exact replica mirroring the colonial style wooden stairs and floorboards and tall wide columns.

The two buildings on either side serve to create a Dutch Courtyard effect and the pillars located on the ground floor and David also pointed out that the  strategically positioned at varying distances away from each other, artfully create the illusion of greater space to a person standing on the veranda in the lobby area.

The rooms

The 12 suite hotel offers seven different types of rooms to the hotels to suit any of the guests needs and each room is complete with a Dutch style interior and antique furniture.

The first category is the Garden Rooms; three rooms which are located on the ground floor of the hotel close to the small pool in the Araliya tree filled court yard. Its close proximity to the pool makes it the most popular set of rooms at the hotel and is ideal for two people.

The second most popular category of rooms is the Loft Suite which is ideal for couples on their honey moon. The four suites in this category, span both floors of the hotel and has a double four-poster bed on the top floor along with a single bed nestled under a wooden staircase.

The 400-year-old rooms

The five ‘400-year-old rooms’ so called because they are located on the renovated side of the hotel, and their historic charm has been left intact.

The first is the massive, 40 square foot Library Suite which includes two very large king sized beds and is perfect for families on vacation. The name was thus given as it was used as a library during the Dutch era. This room comes with an almirah carved from Tiger Satinwood and King Ebony.

Next in line is the Porcelain Suite which features a collection of 19th century blue and white Chinese Porcelain plates displayed on one of its walls.

The Grand Apartment features twin suites that can be booked together or separately and a large shared sitting room in the center of the apartment. Located on the top floor of the hotel the apartment has a rustic look to it complete with wide, old fashioned teak floorboards, shuttered windows, lime washed high ceiling, Dutch style artwork on the walls and even an antique telescope placed on the tea table in the sitting room. Both rooms include king sized four poster beds with attached bathrooms.

Last but not least is The Admiral Cheng Ho Suite, named after a historic Chinese military figure. According to David the room is a favourite among the Chinese visitors at the hotel. The room is framed by tall columns and contains a Chinese Opium bed and Chinese lanterns.

Speaking to Daily FT, Amrit also gave us some insight into the rates charged at the hotel; a one-night stay in one of the Garden Rooms is priced at $ 311 for foreign guests and Rs. 25,000 for locals and expats, while the rates for one of the Loft Suites is $ 317 and Rs. 30,000. For the Porcelain Suite, the ACH Suite and Library Suite the cost of a one-night stay is $ 500 or Rs. 40,000 and for the Grand Apartment it is $ 745 or Rs. 50,000.

The food

Something the Galle Fort Hotel takes pride in, other than its service excellence and the numerous awards it has received, is its culinary expertise.

After our tour of the property we were treated to a beetroot and crumbled goat cheese salad and a large seafood platter featuring batter fried calamari rings, jumbo prawns, a chunk of seer fish and crab baked in its shell with cheese and herbs. The salad blended the sweetness of the beetroot perfectly with the sourness of the goat cheese and the platter was chock full of tasty sea food.

For dessert we had the chocolate and coconut mousse with blueberry compote and the signature coconut and lychee sorbet with mint that deliciously melted on our tongues.

A little bit about Maitland and Knox

Maitland and Knox Heritage Hotels formally took over the management of the hotel in 2014, and at that time they went as the Galle Fort Hotel Group. The purveyors of heritage luxury formally changed their name this year after acquiring two more properties under their wing; the up country Thotalagala Bungalow and the urban Havelock Place Bungalow located on High Level Road in Colombo.

“We associate heritage luxury with our name, therefore we have decided to only deal with properties that have a little bit of history behind them in future, because that is what we want to specialise in,” said Amrit.