Who doesn’t love the occasional impulse purchase? Whether it’s a pack of Juicy Fruit at Safeway, a pair of cufflinks made from vintage oil cans at Cracker Barrel, or a Nick Cage pillow on Amazon, an impulse purchase is often the salve that soothes a burning desire. Hey, if instant gratification is wrong, no one wants to be right… right? And, if you add in some drugs and/or booze, the rush of acquisition becomes an unrivaled heady pleasure.
Enter Londoners Gina Lyons and Mark Lee. The cool-ass-duo was on a three-week backpacking honeymoon in Sri Lanka last December when they got a little rum drunk and decided to take up the lease at the rustic beachfront property where they were guests.
Wow. We love rum, but it usually just leads us to questionable hookups, not hotel endeavors.
On the first night of the couple’s stay, they “took to the beach with several bottles of rum,” according to The Daily Mirror. As they knocked back cocktails with one of the hotel’s bartenders, they learned the lease on the property was on the verge of ending. Presumably, that was simply interesting intel on glass one. A dozen glasses later, they decided the best move they could make was to throw down £30,000 (roughly $40,000 American) to take over the lease.
Lyons and Lee didn’t stumble from the beach to sign a lease immediately, but they did continue drinking throughout the negotiations.
The next day we went and met an old couple who we had to speak to about renewing the lease ourselves. We had to take two friends we had made with us so they could translate for us, as the couple didn’t speak English themselves. Because we didn’t understand most of the conversation, Mark and I were just sat drinking more rum and slowly getting drunk again.
Now, the couple are the official owners of the hotel, which is currently called Lucky Beach Tangalle. And the seven-bedroom B&B has had a regular clientele since it opened at the end of July, giving every indication that it was ultimately a sound decision. Though, the couple assured the Mirror they will be making further business decisions sober.
We say, why ruin a good thing? Sadly, no one asked us.
