Arif Ahmed, GM, Kuakata Grand Hotel and Sea Resorts, says Come and enjoy luxurious stay in scenic holiday destination Kuakata

After the stressful period of lockdowns and travel restrictions, the country has reopened its tourist destinations to offer domestic travellers some room to breathe fresh air and enjoy. This is exactly what people need now when international travel still remains in doubt. Thus emerges a comparatively new tourist hot spot Kuakata that offers a panoramic sea beach, unobstructed view of sunset and sunrise, delicious sea food, wildlife and a journey full of adventure. And in this scenic place, Kuakata Grand Hotel and Sea Resorts offers the most luxurious stay one can imagine.

Arif Ahmed, General Manager, Kuakata Grand Hotel and Sea Resorts said this while taking to The Bangladesh Monitor in an interview at the hotel premise.

The hotel and resort offers its guests five-star standard services across 60 rooms in different categories: presidential suite, chairman suite, royal suite, executive suite and family suite. All these come with two bed rooms and are well-equipped with state-of-the-art furniture. They are particularly popular among the hotel's high-end guests.

Apart from these, the hotel also offers superior deluxe, deluxe and standard rooms which are crowd-favourites. These come in twin beds as well.

The rack price for accommodation starts at BDT 16000++. However, in this pandemic period, the hotel is carrying out some promotions, offering guests up to 70 per cent discount on standard and deluxe rooms and up to 50-55 per cent on suites. Meaning the accommodation cost under the promotion would be BDT 5,500 to BDT BDT 40,000.

But what truly makes the hotel stand out is its grandeur. It has a huge open space in front where lie a top-notch swimming pool, a tennis court, a jogging track, a kid's playground, two helipads, a beautiful garden and an eye-catching lake. There is also a fully equipped gym with sauna, steam, and jacuzzi. With accommodation, guests can avail all these facilities and services complimentary.

Let's not forget about the exquisite cuisine the hotel offers. One of the biggest attractions in a sea beach destination is its seafood. And Kuakata Grand Hotel surely delivers that. Guests can indulge in mouth-watering BBQ, grills and curries of hilsha, coral, rupchanda, pomphret, crab, prawn and so on. The hotel offers buffet at breakfast which is complimentary and a la carte menu at lunch and dinner. It has a wide range of menu: Thai, Chinese, Continental, Indian and, of course, Bangla. Also, in this winter, poolside BBQ dinner parties seem to be a huge hit at the hotel.

Soft opened in 2014 and going fully operational in 2016, Kuakata Grand Hotel and Sea Resorts was closed for six months during the lockdown period this year. Three months ago, it reopened and that is when Arif Ahmed joined the resort as the new General Manager.

The hotel welcomes both foreign and domestic travellers, Arif said. Of the foreign business travellers the hotel receives, many come for work purposes at Payra Port. For the same reason, the hotel also gets to facilitate public and corporate officials.

On the other hand, the domestic guests mainly comprise of leisure tourists who come to Kuakata to unwind and enjoy the abundant attractions and activities it offers. 60 per cent of the hotel guests come from Dhaka, Arif mentioned while the rest are from Patuakhali, Barishal and Khulna.

Also since the property is an ideal resort, it witnesses more occupancy during on weekends. The general manager noted the occupancy on Thursday-Saturday to be up to 70 per cent while it drops down to 10-20 per cent on weekdays.

Moreover, the property receives many repeat or chain guests since it strictly complies with WHO and government health guidelines. This satisfies the guests and instills a certain level of confidence and faith among the travellers which in turn ensures their return to the hotel. Not to mention, Kuakata, so far, has not recorded any single case of Covid-19, making it a perfect destination for travellers in the post Covid era.