Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya appoints Suresh Abbas as General Manager

The legendary Tudor styled Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya has appointed Suresh Abbas as their General Manager. Suresh stated that he is delighted to have been granted this opportunity to manage such a prestigious address. The Grand old dame can only be compared with the Raffles Singapore, The Peninsula Hong Kong and the Manila Hotel Philippines. He said that staff welfare and their satisfaction is the number one priority of his and a satisfied staffer will always look after the guest with better hospitality. “I make it a point to greet all staff every morning individually and when it comes to recruitment I personally interview them.” He also said that he is a classic example of ‘reversing the brain drain’ as he took over this job from working in London. “I see tremendous opportunities for youth in Sri Lanka .” He further stated that he looks forward to leading a passionately enthusiastic team across many different departments, as well as making his own contribution to the hotel’s exciting plans to enhance the guest experience by providing unparalleled luxury matched with gracious and intuitive service. High performance individual with a wealth of experience spanning over three decades in operations in three continents, he went on to pursue his higher studies at Ecole Blanc Montreux in Switzerland, his Professional Development Program at the prestigious Cornell University, Ithaca New York, USA and further his studies by doing his Advance Management Diploma at the West London College United Kingdom.

He boasts of a remarkable career spanning a multitude of exciting hotels in countries such as Qatar, UAE, UK, Ireland and Ukraine. His international exposure began in 1991 in Doha Qatar at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel where he was empowered to master the ability to lead motivated passionate teams to deliver exceptional guest experiences effectively across all levels. His last assignment was to open Sadie, a new boutique collection from the Best Western chain in the UK. This unique concept is the first of its kind in the world. The iconic Grand Hotel has 154 bedrooms, four restaurants and 02 bars, a Coffee bar and the Tea Lounge overlooking the prize-winning garden. The Grand Hotel is the only colonial property in Sri Lanka that is Travelife certified for sustainability and has obtained the ISO22000 and ISO9001 and HACCP certified for food safety and hygiene.