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Mermaid Hotel & Club is a beach hotel in a coconut grove at Mahawaskaduwa, just north of Kalutara, with gardens running down to a long golden beach. Open since 1983 and regularly refurbished, it has 81 rooms, two swimming pools, a spa and its own sports club next door, and it is about an hour's drive south of Colombo.
Every room has a king-size bed, an oversized balcony or terrace with a day bed, air-conditioning, a 32-inch TV, a minibar, a safe, tea and coffee making facilities, motorised curtains worked from the bedside and free Wi-Fi. The four categories differ mainly in how close they are to the sea, and the names below are the ones you will see when you choose a room.
Children can share the room with two adults in every category, and baby cots are available on request.
The split-level main restaurant serves both buffet and à la carte menus, with theme nights and plenty of local seafood, and in good weather you can eat outside on the alfresco terrace by the beach. Romantic dinners can be set up in the garden, by the pool or on the sand. There is a lounge bar with live cultural entertainment, a beach bar and a pool bar, plus a music and lounge bar at the Mermaid Club a few nights a week. Sri Lankan cookery classes are held for guests.
The main pool sits in the garden between the rooms and the beach, surrounded by sun loungers. Next door, the Mermaid Club has a second pool used for water polo and water aerobics, a gym, and courts for squash, badminton and volleyball, as well as table tennis, croquet, boccia, darts and a mini cricket pitch; yoga and aerobics classes are held too. The Sahana Spa offers Ayurvedic and aromatherapy massages, reflexology and hand and foot care, with a sauna, steam bath and Jacuzzi. There is evening entertainment, a children's play area, a reading room and games room, and Wi-Fi is free throughout.
The hotel's stretch of sand runs south towards Kalutara Beach and north towards Wadduwa. In Kalutara itself, the great white hollow stupa of the Kalutara Bodhiya stands beside the bridge over the Kalu Ganga, the "black river" that gives the town its name, near the site of the old Kalutara Fort. Inland, Richmond Castle is a grand country mansion completed in the early 20th century, set in its own estate. Further south towards Bentota are Bevis Bawa's Brief Garden, Geoffrey Bawa's Lunuganga and boat trips on the Madu Ganga.
Yes. The coast railway passes close to the hotel, and Kalutara North, about 2 kilometres away in a straight line, is the nearest main station, with Kalutara South a little further on. Trains from Colombo Fort run along the shore all the way, and a tuk-tuk or a pre-arranged pick-up covers the last stretch.
The hotel puts the journey from Bandaranaike International Airport at about two hours, around 72 kilometres; from Colombo itself it is a little over an hour. We can arrange a private car and driver from the airport to the hotel door.
It suits couples and families who want a relaxed, well-run beach holiday close to the airport, with plenty to do on site, and guests who prefer an established, friendly hotel to a new resort. Book a sea-view category if waking up to the ocean matters to you. For more choice along this coast see our places to stay in Kalutara.
We started our stay in the north and ended up at the Mermaid Hotel for 6 nights. We thank the entire staff for this welcoming service and for their daily attention. Bravo to the team of chefs for creating different dishes every da…
A good, clean hotel, we arrived with friends for one night and didn't regret it, I recommend it!
Hamit eveeyting good hotel very Nice evreyting restorant team perfect bar team coll eveeyting thanks
Ratings and reviews provided by TripAdvisor for Mermaid Hotel & Club.
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