Jetwing Sea celebrates golden jubilee

Jetwing Sea in Negombo, which began life as the Seashells Hotel in 1972, celebrated its golden jubilee last Saturday (10th). 
The event was graced by Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, Chaudhary Group Nepal and CG Corporation Global Chairman and Jetwing Sea co-owner Dr. Binod Chaudhary and was attended by stalwarts of the hospitality and tourism industry, airlines and state sector organisations. 

Seashells Hotel marked the first foray into the hospitality sector for Herbert Cooray, the founding Chairman of Jetwing Hotels. Working as a building contractor at the time, Herbert was commissioned to build the hotel for G.E.B. Milhuissen, in a bid to increase the room inventory of Negombo, whose popularity was rising in Europe. The endeavour was proposed by Göran Olsson of Vingresor, a Swedish travel agent, whose recommendations led to Herbert concurrently starting work on the Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel, which would later become Jetwing Blue. Seashells Hotel opened its doors in 1972 with 40 rooms.

“Back then, the hotel only operated between November and April, the European winter,” recalled Hiran Cooray, Chairman of Jetwing Symphony PLC and the son of Herbert. 
“However, within a few years of Seashells Hotel’s opening, Negombo and indeed Sri Lanka became known as a year-round destination and tourism really started off in earnest.” 
In 1978, with Milhuissen contemplating retirement, the property was bought by Herbert Cooray and his life-long friends George Ondaatjie, Lucian Perera and Gamini Divitotawela and joined Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel as the humble beginnings of Jetwing’s portfolio. Further development in 1988 added 28 rooms to the resort, bringing the total to 68. The stake held by Ondaatjie, Perera and Divitotawela was purchased by Hayleys and in 2009, purchased by Dr. Binod Chaundhary, who saw the promise that Sri Lanka held for tourism.
“We entered into a partnership with Jetwing at a very tough time for the country,” said Dr. Chaudhary.

“But Hiran and I shared a vision for Sri Lanka and its tourism and I had no hesitation in investing in Jetwing Sea. Over the years, the hotel has brought economic development and job opportunities to Negombo as well as bolstering tourism in the region and I am looking forward to many more successful years with Jetwing Sea.” 
Fernando speaking at the event reiterated the views of Dr. Binod, stating that Sri Lanka has always been tested but continues to be resilient and work its way through challenges. He said he was confident that tourism would return to normalcy and thanked Jetwing Hotels for working tirelessly to put the country back on the map. 

Seashells Hotel underwent a complete rebranding in 2011, becoming Jetwing Sea, with the original 40 rooms making way for a new deluxe wing and a second pool being added to the resort. Currently, Jetwing Sea features 83 rooms, comprising two suites, 53 deluxe rooms and 28 superior rooms, the panoramic Sky Spa on the rooftop, a fully-equipped gymnasium, a spacious seafront restaurant ‘Cafe C’ as well as ‘Lellama’, a specialty seafood restaurant.