Mana Cumbuco Hotel

The food was delicious, and the bar, cleaning, and restaurant service were all 10/10. Rooms were very comfortable too, with the bed, bath, and properly cold A/C all getting 10/10. The pool, shared spaces, family area, and bathrooms were also 10/10. The architecture is beautiful, built around an oasis. The front desk and administration customer service felt trained to hold back. It was a lot of “computer says no,” maybe cultural, maybe to feel important. Either way, I didn't appreciate it. The restaurant itself was really uncomfortable. Most chairs were bad to sit in, there wasn't enough room on the tables, and everyone bumped their heads on the light pendant. It was too big or too low.

We had a mixed stay. The hotel itself is striking, attractive, and well planned, and every staff member we dealt with was extremely polite and helpful. Still, for the high nightly rate, the experience fell well short of what you'd expect from a hotel in this category. The hotel has an impressive setup and a lot of potential, but overall it didn't match what we paid. Better operations, especially around food, maintenance, and service organization, would make a real difference. Some staff seemed unsure what to do in different situations, so more consistent training may be needed despite their good intentions. The food was one of the biggest disappointments. Trying too hard to reinvent traditional dishes left most meals without much flavor. Daytime portions were tiny and very expensive, often not enough for one person. Restaurant and breakfast service were significantly slow on some days, and we noticed leaks from the air conditioning inside the restaurant, which was unexpected for the standard the hotel aims for. There were comfort issues in the room too. The A/C swung between much too cold and much too hot instead of keeping a steady temperature. On two separate days the shower failed: once the water was cold, and another time it was so hot it could have caused burns. Outside, we missed having umbrellas by the beach chairs, which made it hard to stay there. The hotel pool was very cold and unusable at various times.

The view and the hotel's decor are genuinely lovely. Still, having stayed at Carmel before, I found this visit fell far below what I expected. This account is only about my own stay. There were problems with the water temperature: on the first day there was no hot water in the shower, then later both the shower and sink got excessively hot and were hard to use. The pool area looks nice, but the water was very cold and there wasn't much shade. We often had to compete for a spot or sit in direct sun. The beach had the same lack of shade, so we kept changing chairs during the day or staying out in the sun. On the evenings we ate at the hotel, the dishes took over an hour to arrive. Breakfast items were missing on some days, perhaps because restocking couldn't keep up with the number of guests. To me, the food was average, especially for the hotel's standard and nightly price.

The place is stunning, almost like being in a movie, but I expected the five-star experience the hotel promises. From the start, that wasn't what we got. We arrived around 8 p.m. and nobody offered to help with our bags. At reception, staff stayed seated without greeting or welcoming us. Check-in seemed fine until we looked at the booking. We'd reserved the Suíte Pôr do Sol, but were assigned the Suíte Duna. When we asked about it, the attendant came back and bluntly, almost mockingly, said that was the right suite. We accepted it. We got only basic room information, with no details about the hotel's program or welcome treat. The customer experience felt practically nonexistent. The next day, Clarita came over while we were at the pool and asked how our stay was going. We explained what happened, and she confirmed the mistake and offered an upgrade to the Suíte Mar, which was a nice gesture. But when we went to move our bags, the card for the old suite had already been blocked. Even though the hotel had made the error, we got no proper help. We could only sort it out by messaging Clarita on WhatsApp, and it took a long time. This started around 11 a.m., and we didn't get into the new suite until after 3 p.m. The Suíte Mar is beautiful. It came with two cocadas as a courtesy, a nice but impersonal touch. The Havaianas weren't our size, something that could easily have been sorted at check-in. There were no bath products, like salts, for the tub, and we were told the hotel doesn't provide those. I was also surprised that even coffee capsules in the minibar cost extra, R$ 10,00 each, which seems incompatible with a nightly rate around R$ 3.000. The restaurant was impeccable, though. The food was delicious, generously served, and beautifully presented. I recommend the octopus risotto. Breakfast also stood out: it was very complete and organized, with warm service from a well-trained team. At checkout, service was cold again. They took payment and handed us the statement, but nobody offered to help with our bags even though staff were available at reception. The hotel has a lot of potential, but it needs to focus more on the guest experience. I stayed at Carmel next door, from the same group, and the treatment was excellent from start to finish. I expected the same standard at Mana Hotel. I hope these issues are addressed because I'd like to return, provided the experience lives up to this wonderful place.