“Only a small number of resorts in Sauraha, Chitwan offer the perfect blend of luxury and adventure to their guests. And, fortunately, Jungle Crown is one of them,” says Santos Giri, CEO, Jungle Crown.
The resort was established some 5 years back with a prime aim to serve those national/international travelers who visit Chitwan for a wildlife adventure. Spread in the total area of 16 ropanis, it boasts of one building and three villas which together consist of 40 rooms in total.
The rooms are divided into three categories-deluxe, super deluxe and suit. There are 25 deluxe rooms with basic facilities like private veranda, tea/coffee making facility and air-condition. The super deluxe rooms, which number around 12, have also extra amenities like a minibar and bathtub. Similarly, the suit, which comprises of two bedrooms and one living room, boasts of still more luxuries like high-quality linen bedding.
As the resort shares boundaries with the CNP, all rooms are best suited for the guests to relish this park visually.
Moreover, the interiors of the rooms depict the social, economic and cultural aspects of Tharus, who are the major ethnic community of Chitwan district,” says Giri.
For instance, the room walls of the resort are colored with the mix of red mud and cow-dung like that of the individual houses of such community. They are also featured with the beautiful portraits of their typical lifestyle. Similarly, in every room, ghadiya i.e the device used by Tharus for fishing has been used to put a light bulb. Such things have added something special to the overall ambiance of the resort.
On the other side, its major amenities include garden, football ground, steam, sauna, restaurant, swimming pool, etc.
As far as the swimming pool goes, it is claimed to be the biggest in the entire Chitwan district. The size of this oval-shaped pool is 35 feet wide and 70 feet long. “On the one hand, our guests can comfortably beat the heat by diving into it. On the other hand, they could well organize events in the spacious terrace of the pool, which offers a good view of the building and villas of the resort,” he says.
Those visiting Jungle Crown can also indulge themselves in an eclectic array of food items. It’s a restaurant, which has a capacity to accommodate around 100 people, offers Nepali, Indian, Chinese, Continental and Nepali cuisines along with other special dishes like Duck Chhoila (grilled spicy dish made of Duck meat). Similarly, there is a bar named bodega wherein the guests can enjoy a variety of national/international liquor brands.
The menus of the restaurant also display a range of bakery items including cakes and pastries. The resort has its own bakery unit to produce and serve such items to the guests in the best possible way.
In addition to providing food and lodging facilities, the resort also offers the service of hosting the meeting, conference workshop and other similar events. It is hosting around 15 to 20 such programs annually, which account for some 30 percent of its total revenue.
“In fact, the trend of Meeting, Incentive, Conference, and Exhibition (MICE) tourism-a blend of business and travel- has lately been picking up pace in Sauraha. And, like other hotels and resorts in this place, Jungle Crown is also capitalizing on this trend,” he divulges.
Of the total guests received by the resort annually, 60-70 percent are Nepalese while the remaining portion consists of mostly Indian and Chinese people. According to Giri, Jungle Crown is growing at a healthy clip due to the increasing inflow of guests. “In the last fiscal year 2074/75 BS, it posted a business growth of around 30 percent. As the positive impact of the announcement of Visit Nepal Year, which is being celebrated in 2020, sixty percent of our total rooms have already been booked for September to December. So, this fiscal year, our business growth is expected to reach 45 percent,” he estimates.
To further upgrade the overall service quality of the resort, Giri indeed has a few plans up his sleeve. First, the conference room of the resort will be modified to ensure more effective facilities for hosting various events and programs. Second, the new coffee shop will be opened and the spa facility is also being launched. Third, 15 new rooms are being added in the resort.
On the other side, Jungle Crown is adopting various marketing and advertising strategies to bolster its image in the hospitality industry.
“We are participating and sponsoring various travel and tourism-related fairs being organized by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) in foreign countries like India and the UK. Similarly, the resort mobilizes some 5 percent of its annual total sales for the advertising purpose in mass media,” he states.
The resort is equipped with 40 staffers in total and it is also focused on facilitating them to hone their skills. “For instance, the resort hires senior chefs working in big restaurants in Kathmandu to impart regular training to its cooks on culinary art,” he informs.
Jungle Crown seems serious towards the notion of eco-tourism by preserving and nurturing the indigenous plants and trees of the local surroundings. “After all, one of our guiding principles is to contribute towards the sustainable growth of the entire tourism industry of the country,” he justifies.
