We stayed in the cove cabin for most of our stay and the tamarind room for a couple of nights.

The little beach opposite the hotel was fine for us, easy to find the turtles and the bloke with the snorkelling gear for hire lent my youngest a life jacket for next to nothing.

The house is set in a beautiful jungle area with amazing pools just off the main road of Marissa - the main beach is roughly a 10 minute or less walk.

but most of the beach front places along the beach had pretty good seafood meals along with good drinks and welcome shaded beach loungers.

Idealic location, quiet and scenic yet close walk to the amazing beaches.

It’s a 2-minute walk to Turtle Point, which was our favourite beach in Mirissa.

There are several coves nearby and all have lots of bars and restaurants within minutes of the hotel.

but near all amenities restaurants,beach, very close to coconut hill ,truly was an amazing stay , stayed in various rooms all brilliant

The location is walking distance from Coconut Tree Hill and Turtle Beach, and a just a very short tuk tuk ride from the main beach, bars, and restaurants.

It is also a 2 minute walk from the famous Coconut Tree Hill and the beach which has the most incredible sunset.

Mirissa is a nice beach village, with plenty of stuff to do.

Location is excellent, literally 2 mins from the beach.

The garden and pool are wonderful peaceful places to hang about with wildlife between trips to the beach across the road and the delicious meals!

Recommended for a great chill-out near the beach.

It's not right on the beach, a short walk away though.

There is a lovely beach within a two minute walk and their pool is a wonderful oasis to come back to for a swim in a beautiful pool.

Local recommendations for dining and beach swimming.

The beach is just a short walk or an inexpensive tuk-tuk ride away.

Firstly, there was some construction work going on in a building right in front of our room all day from about 9am until 530pm.

Mirissa as a whole is undergoing a construction boom to satisfy increasing tourist demand for the attractive beaches.

And there was some construction going on next door.

I would say the rooms could do with Aircon and there is construction going on next door which is a little bit noisey,

It was relaxing and fairly tranquil (the construction noise wasn't that bad).

We didn't really notice any construction - I guess if you've been travelling around Sri Lanka for a few weeks construction noise probably doesn't register.

but with construction coming directly in front and side of the house I can see the sea view getting ruined and privacy getting affected.

Unfortuantely the swimming pool was still under construction during our stay,

We stayed in Star Anise, which is in the separate building at the bottom of the garden, complete with a seating area with a water feature and small stream with fish in it outside the front door.

Only small (very small) negative was that the balcony doors didn't have any shutters or blinds for privacy or keeping the morning sun out

But keeping doors closed meant we only had a few bites during our stay.

The balcony was also dusty and the balcony doors fitted with windows that were not see through glass, another way ensuring the room stayed dark.

The plants are scattered throughout the jungle getaway with purpose, every door and hallway is custom.

Next disappointment  is room boy was using my perfume while we was out side.we when walking through front door I feel my perfume smell.it's really shame that your room boy miss using our stuffs while we not there,and we left the key in front house to just to clear up the room.as a owner phill,your doesn't have any clue what's your staffs doing when they came to room service.I honestly know he's nicked some thing from us.but still we try to figure out what's that?

but a handle on the outside would be handy to close the door to prevent mosquitos.

but I still found it humid to sleep at night as we kept the door closed (for our own piece of mind).

When we got back the door had been fixed.

Our room was very spacious with lovely big bed, it had a ceiling fan which was a life saver as it was very hot & we would not have slept without it as the bedroom only has doors & we did not feel comfortable leaving them open all night.

At night to feel a bit more secure we had to close the front french doors and unfortunately the fan was a little small to keep the room cool.

Next door there was heavy building ..so there was the hammering and noise from that.

There is an 11pm curfew to be back at the house as the doors are locked and the owners would have to get up for people.

In the morning we open our door and did the same while lying in bed.

Mirissa as a town was a bit disappointing due to the trash around the streets, alleyways and beaches.

My boyfriend and I stayed here in May 2019, when tourism had sadly dipped for Sri Lanka due to the Easter Sunday attacks.

However, what disappointed us most, hence the 1 star rating was due to two primary reasons: 1) Total lack of hospitality, indifference to guest’s comfort, and arrogant attitude the hostess exhibited toward us.

though this may have been due to the storms we experienced during our stay in Mirissa.

But we left early, primarily due to the location simply being not as sold.

although I found taking your shoes off was a pain after having a shower & washing my shoes before breakfast I ended up doing it again afterwards due to the terrace being sandy.

I also believe that due to the haste that the prior guest left and I entered, the bathroom was not cleaned as well as usual, and there was sand and other elements on the floor.

More so when I became unwell due to a throat and chest infection and needed medical treatment.

The whole staff is very friendly and smiling.

Also, this hotel seemed to attract lovely guests and everyone else who was staying there was so friendly too.

We loved it here and wish we could stay for longer, the owners were super friendly and the grounds are just glorious!

Staff was universally friendly and efficient and we appreciated the owner’s assistance and good cheer.

The hosts are so friendly and caring, along with all other members of staff.

Friendly and helpful, whilst giving you space.

The owners, Phil and Wathsala are very friendly and welcoming, our Ginger room was super nice and clean, with lovely view on the pool.

The hosts were super friendly as were the other guests.

The rest of the staff is also very friendly, warm and helpful, especially Rosh.

And Wathsala appears to be the perfect host during our stay (always friendly and checking whether everything was oke).

Beutiful hotel with friendly staff and ownership that were always attentive/anticipating our needs.

The owners are friendly hosts and super accommodating, and the surroundings are blissful.

This place is fabulous, the staff lovely, the owners Phillip and Wathsala so friendly and helpful, we could not fault the place.

And the  owners are very friendly and helpful.

The owners and staff are so friendly and helpful.

Friendly and helpful staff, great breakfast and lovely pool.

The hosts were wonderful - friendly and really helpful.

The owners and the staff are really helpful, friendly and willing to share their views on the local life, politics etc.

Small criticisms would be the yellow stain on our bed sheet and the fact that the hot water was temperamental.

There were a couple of minor niggles re hot water, sheets etc

On the second day, when I took the shower, it couldn't provide the hot water.

Fixing the hot water heater in one of the rooms.

Upstairs there is no hot water at this moment,

I was very disappointed to find that there was no hot water in the bedrooms (this will be rectified later this year)

During our stay, there was a problem with the hot water on the second floor so we had to go down to take shower

As for the lack of hot water and air-con, we didn't notice at all, in fact the shower was really refreshing and warm not freezing cold, and the fan in our room was more than enough to keep us comfortable in the night.

Also, keep in mind at the moment there's no AC or hot water.

Amazing views, lovely rooms, brilliant hosts and the jungle all around you.

All the staff were very helpful and always greeted us with a smile.

Phil and Wathsala could not have been more helpful and arranged transfers and whale watching, as well as rearranging everything twice when covid got in the way of our plans.

The house was accessible via a back road which was helpful (however coming back in the evening at night there were a number of stray dogs which were fine

Phil, Wathsala and the Spice House team are genuinely fabulous.

Very welcoming owners with great customer service.

Phil and Watsala, the owner team were so warm and welcoming, and so helpful with arrangements for anything and everything and always with a great sense of humour.

Back to The Spice House - our favourite hotel by far in Sri Lanka, great owners who work tremendously hard.

The hosts are great; organised, willing to share good advice, able to arrange onward travel to Galle at a good rate, etc.

The hosts are very helpful, and the breakfast was great and plentiful each morning.

The owners are wonderful, open, honest and good at what they do
3.

Excellent place to stay beautiful setting ,wildlife amazing , Phil and Wathsala are amazing hosts , lovely breakfast and always a nice surprise , evening meal amazing , this is a must do hotel while in Mirissa we ended up staying for 2 months and just did trips out , very good location quiet

Phil and his amazing wife, Wathsala, were exceptionally welcoming hosts and we had lovely conversations with both of them.

She helps with all questions, supports the guests with everything, e.g.

Located at the end of Mirissa, only a short walk to the beach (turtle point / coconut hill / sunset point).

The Spice House is within 5 mins walk to Turtle Beach where, most days, you can swim with sea turtles.

Overall a quiet retreat from the hectic main Mirissa Road and an easy walk to the closest beach and easily doable walk to the main stretch of Mirissa Beach. Our favorite nearby meal was at 101 just up the street (terrific!)

The nearest beach is a small cove, and is indeed about 2 minutes walk from the hotel, via a small safe alleyway opposite peacock wings guesthouse.

It’s close to everything yet when u walk in you’re in the middle of jungle!

We had the rooftop villa in the newer building which you had a small walk through what felt like the jungle to get to from the main house - we loved this as we got to see lots of monkeys!

Lots of places to walk to, the rest only $2 Tuk Tuk!

We were in Chilli room in the house which is a five minute walk through the jungle from the main house.

We stayed in a fantastic room (Lemon Grass) with ample space, luxury and Zen-like views on the tropical garden, enjoyed it to the max, made walks and loved every step.

It's a 2 minute walk to the beach, where you can swim with green turtles or just laze the day away with lots of food and drink options nearby.

Having taken our lives in our hands by walking down the madness that is the main road through Mirissa we subsequently decided that taking a Tuk tuk there and back was the option for us  Very friendly drivers and Wathsala can arrange transfer by tuk tuk to your next destination if not too far.

The location was fabulous, just a few minutes walk to the beach and the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly.

The area itself is stunning, we enjoyed walking up to Coconut Tree Hill and clambering down to the little sandy coves below from where we saw turtles swimming.

but alas it’s New Year and was not open so off we headed me not dressed for beach nor the hot weather, and yes that’s where we end up on the Beach walking along we stopped for a beer at Giragala beach bar right on the beach what a stunning location Marissa is I could see I was going to like being here.

The only area for improvement we could think of was to consider having large containers of filtered water for guests to use, of course at an extra cost, as this is something we had an other accomodation.

It wasnt that appealing for us as it looked stagnant as there was no water flowing.

After the beer we continued the fruitless search for coffee what a fish out of water I was in long black pants on a beautiful tropical beach we walked to the northern end of the main beach before going right and back along the road being New Year many place were closed we head to check if No 1 Dewini Roti was going to be open during our stay sadly they too were having a well-deserved break for 5 days (maybe next time).

We stayed in the Star Anis room, at the bottom of the garden it was peaceful, tranquil and has its own small water feature with guppy fish in it.

Our only niggle was water pressure, which was admittedly a little on the weak side -

Small fridge in the room to keep water or beverages.

Only negative is that they don't seem to recycle or have a water machine to reduce plastic bottle use.

There were cobwebs in the cupboards and the water kettle had insects floating.

A couple of other minor bug-bears:
> The pool is far too chlorinated - it almost looks milky, and the chemical smell from the water puts you off from swimming.

The cottage comes with tea and coffee making facilities including milk and water in the fridge.

Water pressure/warmth in the shower not the best

Flowers in the loo, milk and water in the fridge, mosquito coils and matches provided all of which are more important to us than the flatscreen TV that we never switched on.

Wherever you look there's a little unexpected detail, like flower petals in water bowls and light fixtures in old Sri Lankan clay pots.

The water pressure could have been a little stronger.

The azure blue waters and the secluded nature of the beach meant that there were only a handful of travellers and because of that you have a very good chance of seeing turtles.

The Spice House, Mirissa

door

water

construction

hot water

beach

walk

turtle-point

Good services, superb food , here was good customer service MR  promodya perfect and neat service and lovely care   Friendly with guest .

Very good calm environment, very supportive and friendly staff, They provide good and healthy food with out artificial flavors, it's really feel our taste buds.

But the room was very clean and staff is very friendly.

Pramodya was a great waiter, attentive and very friendly.all the staff were friendly too and the food were very tasty.

The staff & management was seen to be extremely friendly with all guests including us and did not forget to check up on us to see whether we are comfortable.

A/C works well and staff were very friendly.

Samudra, the Sales & Marketing Executive at the resort was also very friendly and supportive and

Good ambience, friendly staff and good food.

Staff was so friendly, especially Sandalu the sous chef, he made our stay unforgettable.Breakfast was really good, just don’t occupy the big tables if u r small group, staff say big problem.

Nothing was too much trouble, the staff were so friendly and helpful, especially those in the restaurant, led by Gayan.

Chef Sandalu was very friendly and gave us our daily fist bump as well as checking we were enjoying ourselves.

The stuff was very helpfull and friendly.

Hotel staff is very friendly and happy to help.

A room facing the beach , staff always at your service with a smile , front office staff Prasad, a perfect friendly chef Sandulu who made my sons trip ultimate with his delicious delight made to perfection and good manager Kamal we’re the icing on the cake of Mandara Resort.

The hotel stuff is very friendly and helpful.

Unforgettable experience at Mandara.Amazing service from Chef Sandalu.Great food and always want to give his best.Amazing service staff and so friendly.

I am very sad to leave here because the staff are always friendly and hygiene protocols are strictly adhered to.

Initially I was unhappy with the room assigned due to poor location and heavy mildew.

Our room was on the first floor and we passed lots of debris,equipment lying by the stairwell.

From then we were moved to a room that smelled as if it were a dirty toilet.

We had to request the sheets to be changed immediately as it was soiled.

Waking to our room there was an awful dirty mop smell in the corridor which was off putting.

The grounds are not well kept, the beach in front is filthy.

however the room it’s self could be better, AC was inadequate, outside shower water drainage bad, insects, ants and flies in room and restaurant.

The first room we had smelt and was so close to the building site that at 6am when they started work we were unable to sleep.

Restaurant service was slow as well, they brought us the wrong order, and there was the unmistakeable smell of fish oil in our vegetarian fried rice.

Then we entered the room and there was a strong cement smell like they had just plastered the room.

We could smell chemicals throughout the day.

We smelled chemicals many times while in the middle of the water.

But specifically the beach upfront of the hotel is brownish and stinks.

The balcony was dirty and the bannister was being eaten by termites so that piles of debris was building on the floor.

It was hot had a smell of not being used for sometime

The men serving us lingered around to the point of making us uncomfortable, despite us looking the other way or walking away and would stare at us for long periods of time which made us feel unsafe.

The bar/restaurant had an odd smell, the food was only average, could have done much better.

But there are countless small irritations:

Vague smell of mould and damp cement everywhere.

We would appreciate the hotel  management and staffs for the guest 
well care  with good views  beside the beach  rooms are well neat and clean always  
Thank you 👍🏼

but their employee Mr. Shehan help us a lot to solve it very efficiently.

Specially the front office team is very nice.

I highly recommend the hotel and the staff gave us a excellent service, definitely I’ll be back…… 
Thanks

We had a great stay at Mandara Resort.The staff hospitality is beyond 5* hotel.They welcome us warmly and the rooms are clean and tiddy.The food was delicious and had a superb buffet spread.The location is very quiet and  calm.

Was a great experience, extremely helpful and pleasant staff.

Food & Beverage Manager for being constantly attentive and reachable.

The food was great, the rooms clean and in excellent state, the hotel kept in beautiful shape and amazing staff who were ALWAYS smiling and ALWAYS waiting at your elbow to serve and guide and assist.

Find the right staff who are eager to help- then you stay is sorted!

but the friendliness of the staff compensates more than enough.

The pool is well maintained and cleaned with a bar, very friendly staff all round.

Staff are welcoming with good customer service.

Front of the house need to be more attentive on guest.I reached 12.30pm and I got my room 2.30pm.I have to wait outside with my 8months old baby and daughter..I hope next we can get more details on our stay.

total 1.5 hrs waiting for luggage from reception to room.

Negotiate hard and 1500 rupees will get you there in 1 hour  ;  alternatively walk 50 meters to the main road, turn left for about 150 meters and wait at bus stop  for preferably a no.

Once we ate a la carte and had to wait for over an hour for our meals,

We waited over an hour and a half for our bags to be taken to our room, In the end I carried our bags myself,

As we were in a coach we had to wait for a mini bus or could walk down to this hotel as it is accessed by a narrow road.

After a ridiculously long wait they came out with a plate of grilled fish and vegetables!

We had to wait at the reception for a long time till the receptionist brings relevant documents for check in.

One day we had to wait about 20 minutes for towels as they said "the towels are being dried now".

Had to wait more than 1.5 hours for my Daughter’s lunch as they “forgot”.

If you are lucky, you dont have to wait long to get one.

After we waited for the food to be cleared, I saw in his face that the waiter realised he'd forgotten the parmesan.

There was no wifi in the room and we had to wait until past 10pm to get the babies cots.

but if you plan a trip in the morning and wait for breakfast 40 min than it's really frustrating.

The management was poor and we had to wait quite a bit when we got locked out of our rooms because even with your keys you cannot get into your rooms if you happen to lock it from the inside (this did not make any sense at all).

When we arrived, we had to wait for our room and in doing so, we realise the property was really small and resemble more of a motel.

Waited more than 45 minutes to receive our room after the arrival.

Switched on the A/c and it seemed to blow out hot air , waited for 30 mins no difference , until that time switched on the TV ,  it was not working.

The staff were clearing up around you by 9pm, and this was usually in an annoying way which involved clearing one glass/ fork at a time rather than waiting until every one was finished.

I booked the room for 3 nights, qnd everyday it just became worse.be it service, food, room or water everything is just 0 star.

Rooms were perfect,food and buffet would have been much better (not worth for the price at all) we had to purchase water bottles even during the meal time which was triple the price, better to purchase water from outside (even a 5L can for your whole stay).

Both days we struggled to get hot water for tea and even cups were a precious commodity!

As the water for the hot-tea tasted like metal, we asked for clean, hot water.

We were left for 2 hours in the hot foyer with not so much as  the offer of a glass of water.

The gym advertised is also faulty, the running machines were not working and water was on the floor making it extremely slippery.

Then it might also be possible to do some snorkeling - when we were there, the water was too disturbed, so one only saw sand clouds.

To top it all when checking out I was told I will be charged for a small bottle of water.

but the water was cold and it was in the shade all day so didn't even get any warmth from the sun, so unfortunately we paid extra for something we couldn't even use.

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