Trained and educated in Hospitality in Europe, he is a Swedish and US citizen – born in Sri Lanka –worked in over 18 countries. Dewapura moved back to Sri Lanka from New York, USA in October 2023 to take Mount Lavinia Hotel to its fullest glory, just as he once did during his period at MLH as General Manager from 2008 to 2012.
Certified hotel administrator
The new appointment comes with great challenges and at a crucial time for MLH as the tourism industry in Sri Lanka as a whole has faced unprecedented downfall due to the global pandemic. Dewapura has turned around distressed properties and several preopening hotels in various locations in the world; he comes well-equipped to lead MLH through these uncertain times and to take the magnificent property towards a brighter future.
Former Executive Chef earned his BA honours degree in International Hotel Management from the University of Manchester Metropolitan UK, Higher Diploma in Catering from Swiss Management Institute in Switzerland and attended the PDP Program at Cornell University in US.
Dewapura is a Certified Hotel Administrator prestigious certification awarded from American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute. He has held key positions at Starwood Luxury Collection, Hilton Curio Collection, Marriott Autograph Collection and independent lifestyle and luxury hotels in Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Caribbean, and North America – undoubtedly, there isn’t a better fit than Dewapura with extensive experience in luxury hotel and resort management, to spear head the much- needed turnaround of MLH properties.
Enhancing the guest experience
As an initial step, Dewapura intends to elevate the reputation of MLH by enhancing the guest experience. He aims to create a welcoming and mesmerising environment from the time a guest steps into the property; create an experience that exceeds their every expectation. To achieve this, he has initiated refurbishment of guest rooms, increase the Hotel’s culinary offerings, and continue further renovations throughout the property by introducing modern amenities while preserving the Hotel’s rich heritage and colonial charm.
Dewapura said, “Mount Lavinia Hotel is a destination. With the Paradise beach and its alluring city views, (also as historians claim) the love story between British Governor Thomas Maitland and Loveena – which has made MLH the most romantic and preferred location for local and foreign weddings, rich heritage, colonial charm, good food, good music, art and culture are the pillars to re-construct Mount Lavinia Hotel; the Governor’s Mansion as a Destination. We will recreate that excitement and experience while serving top class culinary products by bringing guest chefs, artists and reviving our theme dinner concepts; Soul Food, Ape Kema (Sri Lankan Food), Latin Food and Italian Food to revitalise this precious property.”
His commitment for excellence and passion for hospitality with transformational and purpose driven leadership style, core values, empathy, humility, strategic mind, and interest in adapting to new technologies has contributed to many success stories. Among his primary objectives as Chief Operating Officer is to build and foster his team to work towards providing unmatchable guest service.
Eco-friendly projects
He hopes to create a culture of excellence and believes that a strong, well-trained and motivated team will always deliver – therefore, he has implemented various training programs and incentives that aim to empower and inspire his workforce.
Dewapura recognises the importance of sustainable development and responsible tourism and plans to re-introduce eco-friendly practices such as the “Green Going Greener” project which he initiated during his tenure as General Manager at MLH from 2008 to 2012, for which the hotel had received Bronze and Silver certifications for Earth Check Awards in 2010 and 2011.
Green Going Greener was a sustainable effort of MLH where the hotel was committed of being an environmental steward while seeking opportunities to protect resources, reduce waste, and conserve energy and water through the maintenance of quality service expectations of guests. The key performance areas were energy conservation, waste management, water conservation, community development, switching to use environment-friendly products and erosion control.
Being a travel enthusiast, Dewapura has been exploring cultures and cuisines for decades, and finds joy in listening to Jazz and Bluegrass Jazz. Combining his years of experience and explorations he plans the Festive Season 2023 at MLH to be quite unique to its own kind – “Christmas Around the World” being this years’ theme, the hotel will commence the season with a harmonious Thanksgiving Dinner at Governor’s Restaurant which will be serenaded by soothing Jazz music. Christmas Tree Lighting is lined up in the seasonal agenda while Country themed Christmas dinners will be served and their traditions and cultures will be celebrated throughout December. Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day Brunch at Empire Ballroom and Christmas Day Dinner are also organised in grand scale.
Nevertheless the Year end 31st Night is all setup for a glamorous welcoming of 2024.
Under the guidance of Dewapura, MLH is working towards two main targets to achieve by end of 2024. First is to build a strong management team alongside trained service teams where each team member works towards one common mission and vision; to deliver service excellence and a superior product to its guests. Secondly, the hotel targets to achieve its profit oriented financial target for 2024 expecting to rebuild a well-established, efficiently running and well positioned MLH.
