Lantern is a well-equipped boutique hotel in Mirissa. The rooms are super comfortable and they have a good location a bit away from the madness of the main Mirissa strip (but still on the beach). The food here is expensive and so-so, but the rooms are great.
The Hotel
Lantern is a small boutique hotel off the main Mirissa strip but still in a beautiful spot. It’s right on the main A2 road and quite accessible from the Expressway.
The beach is nice here and if you walk a bit it’s safely swimmable (in season).
Downstairs is a pool and a common dining, living area.
There’s also a spa across the road. It’s all very well furnished and comfortable.
The Rooms
The rooms are some of the nicest we’ve stayed in down south. Big comfortable beds, powerful ACs, and a TV with lots of channels. The bathrooms are also quite nice, but a bit open concept for our taste. You can open the sink area out or close it, but the whole unit isn’t exactly sealed off.
The shower and fittings are all excellent quality.
Rooms cost USD $207 (Rs. 27,000) and $240 (Rs. 32,000) for suites. While we can’t fault anything in the rooms – everything is nice – this is a bit expensive. That said, budget rooms in Mirissa cost about Rs. 10,000 now while other boutiques are in this price range or more.
Overall the rooms are super comfortable. We usually stay at cheaper places, but what you get are rooms you don’t actually want to spend that much time in. At Lantern, however, it’s hard to leave. This to me is the main selling point of the space. If you’ve been trekking around Sri Lanka it’s nice to go someplace with a good bed, sheets, chilly AC and satellite TV.
The Food
The food here we’d say is about average, and it’s not cheap. We paid around Rs. 14,000 for just two meals (for two people), which puts it up there with the priciest Colombo places. Wouldn’t really call it value for money. Above is prawn with rice and salad. Somewhat basic and not even big prawns. Sorry I don’t have the individual price breakdown, the receipt is long gone.
The steak was the most expensive thing we had and, while OK, it wasn’t an especially good or well cooked cut of meat and the sides were a bit sparse.
Also tried the catch of the day, in this case seer. Usually catch of the day means a whole fish along the coast, but this was just a few filets. Served with the same basic sauce and sides as the prawns, it honestly wasn’t very good.
Overall I was surprised at the quality of the food because Lantern has been known from bringing good chefs down from abroad and the photos they share on social media are good. Our experience, however, wasn’t great and it was quite expensive for what we got.
Location
Lantern has a great spot on the Mirissa beach. It’s not always swimmable immediately in front, but it is swimmable if you walk a little bit. They have a nice pool also.
The location is nice because it’s off the main strip, but still close enough.
Overall
Lantern’s proximity to the highway, really comfy rooms and the lovely Mirissa Beach make this boutique hotel a great getaway for Colambars or tourists winding down their vacation. You can just chill here. The food on our visit was so-so, but everything else is top notch, and there’s enough options in Mirissa.
