Mermaid Eco-Resort — Hotel in Chattogram Division

We tried to book directly with the resort by email but they failed to respond so then resorted to booking via a 3rd party booking site. Unfortunately this resulted in our initial booking of a 2 bed family villa (Crab Dreamer) for 2 nights becoming a 1 bed studio villa (Green Morning) and 1 bed bungalow (Pink Ice Sugar) for the first night and then transferred in to our original booking for the second night.||||Whilst we were informed of this overbooking prior to arrival by email and by the heartfelt apologies expressed by staff upon check-in; and that Green Morning was given to us as an upgrade (and very nice it was too!); and the sum of the 2 x 1 bed were greater than the 2 bed in value terms - it was somewhat inconvenient not be able to unpack for the first night and split our family comprising of 2 adults + 2 children between the 2 residences in different parts of the resort. Moreover we felt that Pink Ice Sugar being an attached bungalow provided very little noise insulation between the adjoining villa’s bathrooms leaving very little to the imagination lol. However we liked and would definitely recommend Green Morning for couples and / or honeymooners for its space, luxurious bathroom, privacy and close proximity to the restaurant. Our second night at the Crab Dreamer was everything as described on their website (although we could not find the day room?!) with a private garden and close proximity to the reception desk.||||The complimentary breakfast was nice with a vast array of both hot and cold items, and for the first night we’d ordered dinner from the A La Carte menu. The food was OK but a bit pricey for what it was and by local standards. Unfortunately the 2 desserts that we wanted were unavailable but the Calamari Rings (800BDT) and Pizza Bolognese (1300BDT) were particularly nice. There is also a 4 x set meals which present much better value for money but the wording on this menu suggests that they are only available for lunchtime. Not true! 3 are available for dinner too! We opted for the Coral Station Restaurant at nearby Inani (400BDT each way by CNG) on our second night which was fantastic and highly recommended!||||We would have liked to have explored their sister Mermaid Beach Resort for a future trip and understood there to be an hourly boat shuttle from Mermaid Eco to Beach but alas this is now no longer running?! The only excursion now offered is an hourly private boat trip around the lake (3000BDT) and another out to the sea (5000BDT). Kayaking is also offered by an independent company a short walk away off-site beside the bridge but time did not allow us to explore this option further.||||I’m guessing that in coming to an eco resort you’ll be wanting to switch off from the outside world but if (free) wifi is essential for you then the signal is best around the reception desk and restaurant areas.||||So 3* from me but could have been 5* if the above issues were overcome. Overall we enjoyed our stay here, with some nice touches such as the locally made toiletries and complimentary fruit bowl, and found the resort to be very clean and staff to be very polite, obliging and attentive. In making a few informed decisions we hope to make our next visit to Mermaid Eco Resort even more...

We have been there for 3 nights and 4 days. Well we had a mixed experience at the resort. First of all, let's talk about the positives.

This resort is very private. If you want to leave the chaos of city life for a day or two and spend time with your loved one, this might be a good option for you.

This resort is located in the border of Ukhia and Ramu, just before Reju Khal Bridge which is almost 16km away from Cox's Bazar. This place is very quiet and peaceful. Location wise, I would say they selected a prime location, because both Inani and Himchori, two popular tourist attractions of cox's bazaar are just 10-12 minutes away from the resort. So, even though they don't have a private beach, you can reach the beach in no time.

Staffs were well mannered. They need to be a little bit more professional.

Let's talk about the shortfalls.

Breakfast Buffet- Their breakfast buffet is not up to the standard. Number of items were very limited. People don't go to cox's bazar to eat dal vaji for breakfast. If you can't offer a proper breakfast buffet then stop promoting free breakfast buffet.

#Food- While talking about their food, only one word comes to my mind. EXPENSIVE! I guess they offer cheaper rent compared to their beach resort, so that they can rip off people with Food Price because, people won't bother to go outside to eat food.

#Environment - This place is very beautiful. But, their restaurants have one major issue. That is Cat! If you are not a cat or dog lover or if you have allergies then eating in those restaurants is near to impossible. This animals disturbs guests. The reason behind this is that they don't feed these poor Animals. As a result, you will have to take room service for which they will Charge BDT 200 extra each time. During breakfast while we took our food to elsewhere l, so that we can eat in peace their staffs were not happy. After eating food we returned their plates, cups etc to their kitchen to avoid any inconvenience. They really need to handle this animal issue.

Few Tips#

Don't hire CNG/Micro via Resort Staffs. For our first Cox's Bazaar Airport to Resort ride we paid BDT 500 which is at least 150-200 more than usual. You will get enough CNG/Auto in Cox's Bazaar. Just hire one for your whole stay.

Avoid buying food from their restaurant. Try to eat outside while visiting different spots. There's plenty of places available for eating.

Lastly, I would like to request the Mermaid Management to give this resort more attention. This place has a lot potential. This way you won't get any repeat visitors. Your restaurant can be a Hit in the region if you offer food at a reasonable price and allow outside guests. That way guests from other resorts will come to eat here. Your sales volume will...

Having stayed at mermaid beach resort before and dined at mermaid restaurants before several times, I had high expectations from mermaid eco resort. And, for the service part, I must say, we received the same quality top notch service.

We booked the two bedroom family villa (crab dreamers). The photos from their FB and website made the rooms look much bigger than they are in reality. The garden was very small compared to the photos and no sandles were provided for wearing in rooms except bathroom slippers. The rooms were old and worn out and there was no mirror in the rooms. The handshower stand of one washroom was about to fall. The washrooms, when we entered had the floors covered in water and it took a long time for the water to drain.

There was also an electricity issue when we entered. For some work that was going on, both electricity and generator were down. We were told that it would take 10 mins for the issue to get fixed, but it took 2.5 hrs.

Now coming to the overall environment, mermaid eco resort is very serene and beautiful with mangroves and marshes surrounding it. Yes, the boards are worn out and need to be repaired. But the set up, decor and everything else is very scenic. The natural wind was amazing during the time we went. The restaurant overlooking rejukhal is one of a kind in coxsbazar. And the food quality is top notch. Yes, it was a problem when the rain was so heavy. But they let us sit in the buffet table area. They also had umbrellas and were even willing to hold it over our heads. Such is the amazing service of mermaid. All our requests like extra towel, room clean, transport were met as requested. The WiFi was also excellent for such a remote location. There is a spot beside restaurant where you can see rejukhal. The sunbeds are a little damaged but the overall serenity of the place will make you not mind that. They also serve you fruits from their gardens during breakfast and keeps fruits for you outside room basket as surprise. Overall, despite a little disappointing room, i loved my stay at mermaid eco resort and will be back. Thanks to the beautiful location, setup and the always courteous and helpful staff. Mermaid is the only place in Bangladesh that constantly maintains it's services. However, repairing a few things for this old eco resort has become inevitable and sooner they do it the better it is!

Disclaimer: people with cat or dog allergy...