Namala for sale

Six years ago, restless with a bulging bank balance, I invested in a small "eco-resort" in Dambulla, about a 3 hour drive from Colombo. Fawzia and I stayed a couple of nights there, were charmed by the quaint facilities and the friendly manager and staff, and ended up buying into a partnership. We didn't stop to check the accounts, the appliances, or the assets. An impulsive buy which never paid off . Sri Lanka's civil war was at a standstill then with another ceasefire, and tourism was limping along if not thriving. But, soon after we bought into the partnership, the ceasefire collapsed, bombs began to explode everywhere, and the few brave tourists who ventured into the Cultural Triangle virtually disappeared.

The manager Kanthi (not the one at Pondside with the same name) bravely kept the place going. None of the staff was fired, and when guests didn't show-up, the staff were diverted to cultivating vegetables and minor repairs of buildings. The Sri Lankan style curries were splendid as ever and we would visit for a few days each year, more to bolster the morale of the staff and to leave a generous tip which would be added to their service charge.

The civil war has now ended. Both the New York Times and the National Geographic gave Sri Lanka rave reviews in tourism earlier this year, and tourism is booming. In Kandy, above my house at Hantana, I visited a boutique hotel where rooms range from US$250 to $450 per night. Namala certainly isn't nowhere near that range but it needs a substantial investment in order to meet new demands and challenges. Having seen no returns in the past six years and needing to consolidate my assets now that I am retired, I realize that the only way to recover my investment is to sell Namala, and the other partners have agreed.

On a recent visit, I took these photos of Namala at dawn. There's 12 acres of land waiting for development and a great opportunity awaits the right investor. Running a tourist hotel is no easy task in Sri Lanka. The government imposes high taxes and tourist drivers and guides are abominable parasites, squeezing (small) hotel operators at every opportunity. But, at Namala, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. In Bali, I saw how charmingly small hotels could be run.

As for me, the lesson learned is that one does not have to buy a hotel to stay in it.