Amaya Resorts & Spas

History

Amaya Leisure commenced operations in 1981 as Connaissance, a tour operator and then in 1994, built a chalet-type hotel adjacent to the Kandalama lake. The hotel has 106 rooms and has been upgraded to four-star class and rebranded as Amaya Lake in 2005. Hayleys acquired Amaya Leisure PLC on September 1, 2011. Back then, the company consisted of only three resorts, Amaya Lake, Amaya Hills, and Amaya Langdale. In 2012, Amaya acquired the Lake Lodge in Kandalama and was planning to add 400 rooms as expansion. As part of Tripadvisor's travellers choice, Amaya Langdale, a luxury boutique hotel, was ranked amongst the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in Sri Lanka in 2014.

In 2016, Amaya Leisure sold 84.3 per cent of shares of The Beach Resorts Limited to Dhammika Perera, the co-chairman and controlling shareholder of Hayleys, for LKR330.1 million in a related party transaction. The Beach Resorts Limited is a freehold property located in Wadduwa. In the same year, Amaya Leisure ventured into the Maldives by acquiring a 51-villa luxury resort for US$23 million. In 2017, Amuna Ayurveda Retreat won the Best Wellness Retreat at the World Spa Awards. In September 2017, Amaya Hills celebrated its 20th anniversary and Yes FM sponsored the main event held at Le Garage, the hotel's nightclub. In 2021, the long-term director/shareholder, Lalin Samarawickrama, who was the fourth-largest shareholder, quit the company and sold his stake of 9% to Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.