A view of the Hotel Triton at Ahungalla.
Among the many things to do to ensure a trouble-free holiday, the first is choosing a good travel agency, Once this is done most other matters become mere detail. But the selection of a good travel agency which can serve your special needs is no easy task. One is often assaulted by an avalanche of brochures offering tours, discounts, concessions, and many promises, which all means a good deal of fine print too. A time-tested method is to act on the recommendation of a satisfied friend. But not all have the advantage of having much travelled and well satisfied friends. It is here that the range of services of a travel agent can be a good yardstick of judging service and efficiency. A travel agency which is really a comprehensive travel service, looking after the details of airline bookings, hotel reservations, itinerary planning, meeting, greeting and transport, assistance in frontier formalities, good advice on local customs ……. a travel agency which treats you as a special person. Finding such a travel agency is certainly not easy, but the fact that they do exist is borne out by the many who have discovered Aitken Spence Travels Ltd., in Sri Lanka. The efficiency of Aitken Spence Travels and the serious attention it pays to all details of travel is no accident. What I found out was that it comes from a very old tradition. It is part of the larger Aitken Spence & Co. Ltd which was founded over a century ago as a traditional British Agency House dealing in Shipping, Insurance and Plantations. Three spheres of business where inter-personal relations matter. That tradition is still continued by Aitken Spence Travels Ltd., with all the advantages of a modern, fully equipped travel agency, with a very friendly staff.
Giving a complete service to a visitor comes easy to Aitken Spence Travels with several associates in the related fields of Air and Rail ticketing, hotel ownership, and manage e . Freight Forwarding and Courier services. Shipping and Insurance, Rent a car services and Taxis.
It is about the widest range of tourism related services, that any travel agency can have easy access to, which brings all of this within easy reach of its clients.
Today, Aitken Spence is one of the largest travel agencies in Sri Lanka. It has all facilities to handle ground arrangements for the most demanding of clients, from arrival to departure and even beyond.One of its associates, Aset Airways Ltd., is among the oldest of airline agents in Sri Lanka, and is today the General Sales Agent for Singapore Airlines.
Aitken Spence manages several hotels which include some of the finest beach resort hotels on Sri Lanka’s beautiful West coast -the Neptune and five -star Triton. The Neptune, at Beruwela, 57 km from Colombo is a 100-room luxury coast hotel, situated by an inviting stretch of beach. Each of its air conditioned rooms with a balcony view of the beach and surf, has telephone and hot and cold water. An ample swimming pool for relaxation, plus facilities for sea-sports, as well as Tennis and other recreational sports, all combined with a quality of service leaving little to be desired. But the star of Aitken Spence is the Triton Hotel -the only 5-star resort hotel on the beach. That tells a lot. But it deserves spelling out. The Triton is an experience. Sited at Ahungalla, 115 km south from the international airport, it is situated beside one of the best stretches of beach on Sri Lanka’s beautiful south-western coastline, in an area where there is still much to be discovered. The Triton’s 125 excellently appointed rooms, and six luxury suites, all air-conditioned and with private balcony looking onto the sea, are complete with telephone, hot & cold water and piped music.
The Triton’s unique swimming pool is the largest in Sri Lanka, and doubtless the largest in many other countries, as well. Its concept is both dazzling and inviting. Nothing has been spared in making Triton the great sun and fun spot it is. The beach is excellent. The sea provides the opportunity for skiing and surfing. Tennis, Badminton, Sauna and a Health Club, Hairdressing Salon, and Shopping Arcade and plenty of indoor games, are among the five-star facilities of the Triton, making up the mood of all round relaxation.
The Restaurant and Coffee Shop are noted for good international cuisine, as well as the pick of Sri Lankan specialities – very specially the choice, fresh sea-food preparations. The Poolside Bar and the cocktail bar – Bacchus – are always well stocked with the drink of your choice. With all these facilities it is natural that the Triton is also a good Convention Centre. And for this it caters with special interest, with an auditorium seating 150, secretarial service, audio-visual equipment, and special lounge and bar facilities. Other beach properties managed by Aitken Spence are Pearl Beach Hotel, also at Beruwela, a very pleasant complex of 40 beach cottages each taking the seaside location to full advantage, the Palm Village, at Uswetakeiyawa, a 55-room hotel by the beach mid-way between Colombo and the International airport, set amidst palm groves offering the ideal place to relax after an exhausting flight, or the comfortable stopover before departure, and a 60-room beach property -Hibiscus Beach Hotel – at Kalutara, set amidst groves of hibiscus and coconut palms. There is an impressive array of foreign Tour Operators who are represented in Sri Lanka by Aitken Spence Travels Ltd., which include TUI – Germany; Ultramar Express – Spain; Jet Tours -France; Voyages Jelmoli Reisan and Tropic Tours – Switzerland: Cox & Kings- UK: Trivsel Resor Sweden; Finnmatket – Finland; Astropa – Australia; Bute Tours – France; and Caravan Tours – Saudi Arabia. Two new tour operators who will commence operations with Aitken Spence this month are Rev-vacances and Akion – both of France. It’s itineraries cover well-planned city tours, with plenty of time for rest and shopping, and well-co-ordinated excursions which cover all the main visitor attractions of Sri Lanka such as beaches and mountains: ancient cities and wild life, gems festivals, bird watching, and even Buddhist studies for those with the special interest. So if you are still looking for a reliable travel agency, with plenty of experience, and good associate services 😮 plan your holiday in Sri Lanka, it would be bard to do better than write a letter to Aitken Spence Travels Ltd., at Lloyds Building, Sir Baron Jaya hilaka Mawatha, Colombo 1.
Tel : 27861 – 8, or Telex : 21598 CE.
A view of the Hotel Neptune amidst all its greenery at Beruwela.
