21 Sep 2026 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
From left: General Manager of Fairway Colombo Avinga Wanigasekara; Chairman of Fairway Holdings Virath De Alwis; Owner of the Trincomalee Beach Resort & Spa (PVT LTD) Kumar Jeyakumaran; Chief Operations Officer of Fairway Leisure Gemunu Cooray; Chief Executive Officer of Fairway Leisure Sector Basheer Cader
Trincomalee Beach Resort & Spa will be rebranded as Fairway Trinco and upgraded to a four-star standard under a long-term management agreement with Fairway Holdings, a deal that deepens the real estate developer’s push into hospitality and hands it a beachfront foothold on the island’s fast-growing east coast.
The agreement between Trincomalee Beach Resort & Spa (Pvt) Ltd and the conglomerate’s leisure arm was signed at Fairway Colombo on Friday (18). The partners aim to position the property among Sri Lanka’s leading coastal resorts while strengthening Trincomalee’s standing as one of the country’s fastest-growing tourism destinations.
The resort is owned by Kumar Jeyakumaran, Chairman of Platinum Group of Companies. His interests extend into travel through Platinum Travel Networks Sri Lanka, a business that has been courting travel agency partners in India, Malaysia and Singapore for pilgrimage tour programmes.
“This partnership represents far more than a management agreement. It is a commitment to the future of Trincomalee’s tourism industry,” Jeyakumaran stated. He expressed confidence that the collaboration would bring economic benefits to the Eastern Province, create employment and encourage further investment into the region.
The 46-room resort sits on the beachfront along the boardwalk, with an outdoor pool, a children’s pool, a beach bar, spa facilities and a conference centre with two meeting rooms.
Its standout asset is a 1,200-seat marquee, which Fairway Holdings Leisure Sector Chief Executive Officer Abdul Basheer Cader intends to market aggressively to the destination wedding segment. At roughly 26 seats for every guest room, the venue gives the resort an events capacity far beyond its accommodation base. The operator views that mix as central to driving occupancy through large celebrations and the room nights those come with them.
The owner will invest a minimum of Rs.60 million to Rs.65 million in the refurbishment, covering linen, air conditioning and bathrooms, while the operator project manages the works to ensure the finished product meets its standard. The outlay works out to roughly Rs.1.3 million per key. Cader pointed out that the existing rooms were already in sound condition, which keeps the bill relatively modest for an upgrade of this scale.
Beyond the rooms, the partners have lined up upgraded dining and leisure offerings, professional management systems, stronger international and domestic marketing, and new experiences aimed at both leisure and business travellers.
The deal marks a sharper focus on hospitality for a group best known for vertical living, having developed and sold close to 1,600 apartments. A management contract lets it grow its hotel business on operating expertise rather than capital. Leading that push is Cader, a hospitality industry heavyweight with decades of senior leadership in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
The partners tie the timing to the east coast’s momentum, citing rising tourist arrivals, expanding infrastructure and growing international interest in the region.
Fairway Trinco joins a leisure portfolio anchored by Fairway Colombo, a 181-room city hotel in Colombo Fort near the World Trade Centre and the Dutch Hospital, which opened in September 2016. It is billed as the first hotel in Sri Lanka to integrate robotic technology. The hotel marked 10 years of operations on 15 September and averages 85 percent occupancy, Cader noted.
The group also operates The Planter’s Legacy, three private three-bedroom cottages in Nuwara Eliya around 50 metres from Lake Gregory. Its wider leisure interests include Fairway Travels, a tailor-made tour operator; Go Outdoors, which rents motor homes, caravans and trailers; and Kamu at Fort, a 10-stall food court in Colombo 01.
The leisure sector sits under Fairway Holdings, chaired by Virath de Alwis, who took the helm in 2025 following the passing of his father and group founder Hemaka de Alwis.
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