Pearl Resort Mirissa

The breakfast was good, with omelet, toast, butter, jam, fresh juice, and tea or coffee, and the staff were friendly. The beach is about 300 m away. But the place has serious downsides, and I'd only consider it for a short stay after weighing them carefully. It's under 100 m from the very busy A2 and about 10 m from a side road where scooters and tuk-tuks make noise much of the time. A nearby temple held loud events twice, once with drumming from 7 a.m. and another that went until 10:30 p.m. Wi-Fi was weak, the air conditioner noisy, the bathroom smelled strongly of sewage, and there were ants in the room. At breakfast there were lots of flies; once I found ants on my omelet plate and toast. The staff didn't seem attentive to guests' comfort. They talked loudly from 6 a.m., opened the gate, and started tuk-tuks and scooters. From 7 a.m. they moved tables and chairs, and their dog sometimes barked early or at night. They were friendly, but not effective at handling even small requests. I had to ask repeatedly to get a light bulb changed, and although they did something each time, nothing improved. On the second day, a serious privacy and safety issue happened. While I was away, staff went into my occupied room without telling me or getting my consent, then moved all my belongings to another room. There was no emergency. My things were unpacked around the room, including my clothing and underwear and my daughter's clothing and underwear. Staff handled those intimate personal items, which was a severe breach of our privacy and trust, especially with a child involved. I only learned what had happened when I returned. Our prior agreement to spend one night in a different room was only a goodwill gesture. It did not give the hotel permission to enter our room or move our things without explicit consent. I spoke with the manager, but she didn't acknowledge wrongdoing or seem to grasp the seriousness of it. The overbooking caused the problem. After we came back, she told us she'd moved our belongings. When I explained how serious that was, she blamed us for not checking in on time and tried to make it sound entirely our fault. I left feeling that the management didn't understand basic rules and was unprofessional and rude.