Marulhos Resort by MAI

We spent a couple of days here enjoying Muro Alto beach after renting a room from an individual owner. The resort itself is beautiful, with several pools, a game area, sauna, gym, and a private stretch of beach. It's really well equipped. We paid separately for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast had lots of fresh, tasty choices, while dinner was pleasant but much less varied. It was mostly pizza, some salad, and heavier dishes like rice, beans, meat, and spaghetti, with no real lighter option. Both meals run from 7 to 10. Our room was attractive and generally well kept, though there was some wear, and the stovetop didn't heat properly. Service was decent, but staff often seemed unhappy and could be abrupt with guests. Still, we really liked the facilities.

We felt unsafe here. The windows in our room wouldn't lock, and some had large gaps. Someone broke in, so we left four days early and our vacation was ruined. The owner refused to refund us or fix the many problems. There were also three separate water leaks. The wristbands show your room number, so anyone can see it. The gym is tiny and only okay because of one machine, and you need a reservation just to work out. The restaurant food was bad. The chicken parmesan was no good and made us sick. We couldn't enjoy the pool or beach, which seemed like the only nice part and the hotel's only appealing feature. This isn't a resort, it's unsafe, and I wouldn't rate it above one star, if even that.

There's a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, and we paid extra for breakfast and dinner. The food was worth the price. Guests get a small wrist tag that lets them access the property, and parking is free. The place has a lot for relaxing, including several pools, tennis, volleyball and soccer courts, a well-kept gym, and full bar service on the beach. There's security around the clock, too. Rooms are spacious enough and have good air conditioning. Reception is open 24 hours, and staff speak other languages.

The room had everything we needed, and the place is nice for being so close to a good swimming beach. The pools are pleasant, especially the swim-up bar where you can get drinks, including coconut water. Breakfast costs 28 reais per person and has plenty of choices, including hot food and fresh tapioca. The fruit, though, was unusually hard and seemed unripe for Brazil. Dinner is offered as an all-you-can-eat meal for 50 reais, but the choices are pretty standard and there's no separate meat dish, so I don't think it's worth the price. You can order à la carte, and some dishes look good, but the portions are tiny for what they cost, about a quarter of a restaurant serving, and food takes around an hour to come out. Their fries are among the worst I've had. I'd eat at a proper restaurant instead. The stay itself is nice, but the food isn't. The key system also doesn't always work. Sometimes you can't get into your room and have to go to reception.