Sensational Centara

The newly opened Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lanka is set at beautiful Passikudah Bay on Sri Lanka’s east coast, renowned for its calm and shallow waters, and ideal for swimming and water sports. The outer bay has an extensive coral reef and there are scattered coral formations within the bay, together forming one of the best-known reef systems in the Indian Ocean.

The resort has 125 rooms and suites, most of which overlook the sandy beach, and are designed for couples and families alike, for all rooms offer the option of either a king-size bed or two double beds while the suites comfortably sleep families of five or six and are equipped with bunk beds in a separate children’s area, or a sofa bed. All rooms and suites feature ample living space ranging from 47 to 185 square metres with furnished balcony or terrace.

Reef Café, the resort’s all-day dining restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner is open, as is Aqua Bar, serving drinks and light meals al fresco style and overlooking the Infinity Pool and beachfront. Opening shortly will be Spice Market, serving a myriad of flavours with an emphasis on freshly prepared Asian and Sri Lankan specialties, many of which will be concocted in Elements, an al fresco garden dining venue where chefs rustle up dishes at live cooking stations.Relaxing on the beach is the prime leisure activity, and along with this the resort offers an oversize swimming pool overlooking the beach. Water sports enthusiasts will enjoy kayaking and windsurfing while those who are fascinated by life below the surface will explore Passikudah Bay’s own coral reef or venture further out to the well-known Mushroom Reef. Spa Cenvaree will shortly be opening, offering a range of Ayurvedic treatments and other therapeutic programs using natural ingredients for the wraps and rubs, and with treatment suites available for singles and couples. There is also a fully equipped fitness centre.

As a family-friendly resort there is a supervised Kids’ Club, divided into Camp Safari for the younger ones and E-Zone for the older children and the teens, and there is a children’s pool. 

Groups and parties for meetings and events will be hosted at the fully-equipped Vandeloos Bay Ballroom, a grand venue suitable for a maximum of 150 persons seated theatre-style. Outdoor and beachside functions can also be staged in a memorable setting, with all events planned and managed by a highly experienced team of professionals.

The resort is 35 kilometres north of Batticaloa, and is most conveniently accessed at present via Trincomalee Airport, the road journey taking 90 minutes. Flights from Colombo together with transfers between the airport and the resort are available from the resort at the time of booking, at a one-way cost of US$ 89 and US$ 165 return per person, flights and road journeys included. Flights into Batticaloa Airport are available once a week, with the road journey to the resort taking just 40 minutes and the single fare for flights and road transfers costing US$ 75, or US$ 140 return.

Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading operator of hotels, with 41 deluxe and first-class properties covering all the major tourist destinations in the Kingdom. A further 17 resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Shanghai, Bali Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius Indian Ocean, brings the present total to 58 properties.  Brands and properties within Centara ensure that specific categories such as couples, families, individuals, and meetings and incentives groups will all find a hotel or resort that is appropriate to their needs.

Centara operates 27 branches of Spa Cenvaree, one of Thailand’s most luxurious and innovative spa brands, together with its newly launched value brand Cense by Spa Cenvaree, which provides core spa services for busy travellers. The company’s Kids’ Club is available at all the family-friendly resorts to ensure that the youngsters and teens are taken care of.

Centara Hotels & Resorts also operates two state-of-the-art convention centres in Bangkok, and two in north eastern Thailand, one being located in Udon Thani and the other in Khon Kaen. The latest Centara brand is named COSI Hotels, an economy brand designed for travellers who predominantly make their bookings via the internet and who want comfort and convenience at the most friendly prices available, which is under development with the first property due to open in 2015.