I was about to check my Yahoo! E-mail when a news bit on their site caught my attention: “Resort charges $14,500 for dessert” and I couldn’t help but say “Whoa!” I knew that unique food and cuisine is an important aspect in any travel, but this one beat all the international restaurants I knew and heard of. Intrigue got the best of me so I read on.
The resort mentioned was The Fortress in Galle, Sri Lanka. The resort rises next to the beach and is fashioned in the style of a powerful 16th century fortress, yet is infused with the latest facilities like gardens, water features, an authentic Sri Lankan Dilmah tearoom, a spa, a free-flow swimming pool, wine cellar, boutiques and exquisitely appointed rooms, lofts and residences.
The resort features 49 rooms with 7ft by 7ft super king beds and world-class entertainment systems complete with plasma screens and Bose surround sound systems. Several amenities are also available for tourists traveling with children, dial-up internet access, and cable/satellite TV. There is even a yoga class led by Australian yoga master Jessie Chapman for those looking into a yoga retreat during their stay. But what has really drawn attention to the resort is its dessert, “The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence.”
“The dessert is a gold leaf Italian cassata flavored with Irish cream, served with a mango and pomegranate compote and a champagne sabayon enlighten. It’s decorated with a chocolate carving of a fisherman clinging to a stilt, an age old local fishing practice, and an 80 carat aquamarine stone.”
The resort’s public relations manager Shalani Perera stated that the said dessert was created to give visitors a one-of-a-kind experience. The dessert also had to be pre-ordered, which the resort has gotten calls about it from as far away as Japan, but has never been ordered. The dessert certainly has gotten a lot of publicity, and has even been featured on Yahoo! Answers as one of their discussions.
Varying reviews from real tourists about their stay at The Fortress can be read from numerous sites, including TripAdvisor, Yahoo! Travel, and Sri Lanka in Style.
For the price of $14,500 (or more than half a million in my currency), I doubt if an ordinary fisherman can afford to indulge in such an expensive dessert (lol). I honestly think that the dessert is a little over-rated; after all, it’s just a fruit-infused confection with a chocolate sculpture of a fisherman and a gigantic aquamarine stone. Although the aquamarine counts for most of the cost, the dessert would then be similar to serving a $5 wine in a diamond-studded glass. But hey, that’s just me.
The Fortress
Koggala Beach
Galle, Sri Lanka
PHONE NUMBER: +94.91.438.0909 - You can call using Skype.
FAX NUMBER: +94.91.438.0338
WEBSITE: http://www.thefortress.lk/