The Northern Province has a charm of its own, a region embellished with a rich cultural heritage and a diverse assortment of spice laden cuisine. Jetwing Hotels Ltd has two beautiful hotels in the heart of Jaffna, each with its own alluring dimensions of hospitality. Jetwing Jaffna opened in 2016 is in the city centre and is the tallest building in town with 8 floors, and 55 cozy rooms. A rooftop lounge gives you stunning views of the lagoon, and also historic landmarks like the Nallur Kovil and the Jaffna Library. The hotel has a restaurant which can seat 100 people. The ambience of the restaurant is accentuated by the solid wooden furniture designed and carved to wield Tamil designs. Even the lobby captures one’s attention with a traditional display of Northern culture. Jetwing Jaffna is ideal for the business traveller due to its location in the centre of the town, from where you can travel around the entire Northern Province.
A few hundred metres away is the group’s second hotel - North Gate by Jetwing, which has 44 rooms including 4 suites. Every room has a captivating black and white image of top tourist locations in Jaffna like the Keerimalai pond or the Nallur kovil. The hotel is only a few feet away from the Jaffna Railway Station and is therefore ideal for families, who can ride a train from Colombo and simply walk over to the hotel. For those railway enthusiasts it is the best venue to visit the station at sunset and talk to the obliging Station Master and witness train operations in Jaffna. This property has a swimming pool and a gym. The main restaurant with seating for 84, offers a blissful dining experience. Both hotels feature a stunning Jaffna theme night, with traditional Northern dishes like Odiyal Kool, the signature crab curry and spice laden prawn curry. The dessert made with rasaveli yam (a light purple coloured sweet local yam) is a must have dish for every foodie. North Gate by Jetwing also has an elegant banquet hall on level 6 which can host 250 guests for weddings and 300 delegates for a conference.
Veteran hotelier Christopher Ponnudurai is the General Manager in charge of both hotels. Having spent 20 years in Australia he comes with a vast industry experience. Christopher explained, “Jetwing Hotels is happy to serve the people of Jaffna and our guests who come from overseas and Colombo. This is an important moment in the history of Jaffna, as the Palaly Airport has been upgraded to an International Airport. This is a positive sign for tourism in this region.”
Nilanthi Wejesooriya, Deputy General Manager for both hotels said, “Within the Jetwing family our staff is an important asset. We understand and respect the local culture and traditions of Jaffna. Our young staff from all areas of the Northern Province was absorbed into the Jetwing Youth Development Program, where we train our staff. At the hotel we celebrate every Tamil festival like Deepavali or Navarathri along with other religious events. We are happy to invest in the lives of these young men and women- for whom the hotel trade is a new industry”.
Resident chefs Sajith Fernando (Jetwing Jaffna) and Keshava Bamunuarachchi (North Gate) elaborated on the dining experiences available for guests to indulge in authentic Jaffna cuisine, with the options of some South Indian and western dishes. Jaffna has so much to offer in terms of sightseeing, including the famous Casurina Beach at Karainagar. An evening walk to the Jaffna Fort or the local market is a fun way to interact with the people. With the opening of the Jaffna International Airport the Jaffna region will soon be a desired destinations in Sri Lanka.
(Dishan Joseph)