Aldeia Do Mar Hotel

“Beautiful Location and Relaxing Stay, but Not a Resort Experience”

We stayed at Aldeia do Mar (now called Aldeia do Mar Sensorial Hotel) and overall had a nice experience. The location is very good, right in front of the beach, with a small lighthouse nearby that creates beautiful sunset landscapes. The beach itself is excellent: calm like a swimming pool and easy… more

We stayed at Aldeia do Mar (now called Aldeia do Mar Sensorial Hotel) and overall had a nice experience. The location is very good, right in front of the beach, with a small lighthouse nearby that creates beautiful sunset landscapes. The beach itself is excellent: calm like a swimming pool and easy to walk along. Our bungalow was quiet, surrounded by greenery, and at night the only sounds were the waves and nature, very relaxing. The bed was OK (the mattress a bit too soft for us), but we slept well. Breakfast was very good, with plenty of options. The hotel’s restaurant is also very good. The prices are high, but in line with the best restaurants in town. It’s about a safe 10 minute walk to the city center (just avoid carrying expensive items). Contrary to some reviews we had read, the road to the hotel and the street in front of it are fine. Just remember, this is the Northeast of Brazil, not Germany. Free of noise, beautiful setting, and overall peaceful atmosphere. There are some important points to note. This is not a private resort: the beach is public and shared with locals and tourists. It’s not a problem, but sometimes the way it’s advertised can be misleading. Some bungalows require climbing stairs, which could be challenging for people with reduced mobility. While staff can help with luggage, daily movement might be complicated, so it’s worth asking for a ground-floor bungalow. When we arrived, the room setup wasn’t as agreed despite confirming in advance, though housekeeping kindly fixed it by adding an extra bed for our child. Communication with staff isn’t always easy, but with patience it works. Also, there’s a small stream right in front of the hotel that looked quite dirty (not smelly, but clearly not clean). We understand it isn’t part of the hotel, but for the price charged, one would expect some maintenance of the surroundings. We enjoyed our stay, did a cocoa farm visit and a boat tour, and had a good time as a family. That said, it didn’t leave us with the feeling of wanting to return like other places we’ve visited. It’s worth staying once and enjoying the experience, but probably not a “come back” place for us.

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“Over priced, dated, noisy crowded beach”

DO NOT be fooled by the drone shot of the hotel making you believe they have a small private bay. The beach is for locals,I didn’t have a problem with that, everyone should be able to share nature;however don’t deceive customers in order to massively overprice said ‘resort.’ The locals enjoyed the… more

DO NOT be fooled by the drone shot of the hotel making you believe they have a small private bay. The beach is for locals,I didn’t have a problem with that, everyone should be able to share nature;however don’t deceive customers in order to massively overprice said ‘resort.’ The locals enjoyed their beach time but be warned 10 loud speakers playing different Eurotrash all day is not my idea of R&R. One staff member spoke English, I saw her twice. Some of the male (yes clearly a gender thing,) waiters are trying desperately to learn English and do well. I was the only English person here, and once people learned that, I was actively ignored at tables and lounge areas (I think out of fear of having to communicate). Some will oblige with Google Translate but it’s no way to spend a holiday. I tried 3 different approaches,Spanish, French, Italian all badly but at least I tried, I was simply barked at in Portuguese, I felt so isolated I left early.I’ve been in enough Lockdowns thank you, I’m not paying extortionate prices for to feel like I’m in another one. Rooms are dated, stains on sofas. NO vegetarian options and a complete unwillingness to adapt. I.e Chicken Salad, can you remove the chicken? A chicken salad arrived. Loud music blasts from the next door cafe along with people’s iPhones blasting out music wherever you sit. Again all of this I don’t mind, but don’t charge extortinate prices. House keeping, a joke. They made the bed, nothing else. Over priced dreadful food. Breakfast options are limited.

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“Severe Service Problem Entire Visit”

We stayed here because family recommended it and prefers it over others in the area. But, I have no idea why! The service from the beginning til end was terrible. The positives: - It was within a mile or two of Itacare so you could easily walk or get an uber to the city. - The breakfast was … more

We stayed here because family recommended it and prefers it over others in the area. But, I have no idea why! The service from the beginning til end was terrible. The positives: - It was within a mile or two of Itacare so you could easily walk or get an uber to the city. - The breakfast was unmatched, and very very good quality. The only issue was that the juice wasn't kept stocked and glasses were regularly not available. They rotated the foods daily so there were the normal choices but a new selection most days. Although not as many options as larger resorts, the quality was excellent. - The grounds were very well maintained. - They had live music some days which was very nice, and it was not overly loud so it was enjoyable. The negatives: - Service really lacked, see below. - The rooms were dated, although clean they seemed dingy and dirty. - The wifi was very spotty, only near the restaurants was it reliable. - We had issues with the hot water for days and complained, told it was fixed and there was no communication that they had fixed it (and they had not actually done anything). Finally after the 3rd attempt and waiting for maintenance to show up it was fixed and we got hot water. - They nickel-and-dime for things like water, use of the in-room safe, etc. - The drinks were beyond TERRIBLE, and took 20-30 minutes after being ordered. They did not have the ingredients handy for a couple of their featured drinks either. The pool-side bar had staff that would just run to the main bar to slowly make your drink. Upon arrival, we had a group that had 5-6 rooms. Rather than checking in each room with multiple staff they had one person process all rooms for our group. So as other people arrived they were placed ahead of our other rooms. It took 45-60 minutes total for our check-in because of all the other rooms which were placed in front of us (but arrived after). The follow through on problems did not happen. The front desk would request help, but then not keep us updated. Took many tries to get hot water turned on, after maintenance told them it had been fixed over multiple days. Finally they replaced the hot water element and it worked. Other people in our group had problems too, including a broken toilet that eventually cracked in half, and they were moved to a new room after days of complaints.

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“Wifi is a disaster”

Staying three days. Nice hotel, fair restaurant, marvellous crew, good location, clean, bar at the beach. Why do some hotels still don’t care for good wifi ? Recommendable place if you want to be disconnected. I didn’t.