Sri Lanka has a new hotel on its north eastern coast, an area which is seeing a marked growth in tourism following the end of the conflict, in 2009.

Passikudah Bay, opened by the Thai company, Centara Hotels and Resorts has 126 rooms and suites, each with a private balcony or terrace.The beachfront site, which is still in the soft opening phase, also has an infinity pool, a cafe and a bar. Coming soon is another restaurant, the Spa Cenvaree, a fitness centre and ballroom.

The in-house brand, Spa Cenvaree, specialises in Thai treatments and creates signature blends using only pure essential oils and hand picked garden ingredients, such as ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime and basil leaf. The 476sq m spa, due for soft launch in June, will have seven treatment rooms, including three couples’ rooms, an Ayurvedic treatment room, with shower and a traditional Thai massage room. Further to this, there will be a relaxation lounge, herbal steamroom and sauna and an ice fountain.

Among the signature treatments will be the Ceylon Sea Sand and Senses Signature Massage, which begins with a foot ritual, with sea sand, seasalt, fresh mint leaf and Neem tea to wash away negative energy, followed by head to toe massage with virgin coconut oil. Swedish massage techniques are combined with hot sand pouch therapy, filled with heated sea sand, crushed sesame, grated ginger, warming black pepper and dipped in coconut oil to aid muscle relaxation. Meanwhile, the face is revitalised with the use of cooling stones.

Centara Hotels and Resorts is also renovating its Centara Sappaya Design Resort Rayong, in Thailand. This beachfront site, which currently has only 13 rooms, is having an eight storey building added, housing a further 30 rooms, a Spa Cenvaree, fitness centre, restaurant and meeting room. It is slated to be re-opened in November 2014.

Centara has 40 deluxe hotels in top destinations in Thailand and 17 more in popular tourism destinations, including the Maldives, Vietnam and Bali and 27 Spa Cenvarees.The company has recently launched a new spa brand offering core spa services to busy travellers, Cense by Spa Cenvaree.