Wish Natal

The pool was the best part of our five-night stay in early January. It was huge and very clean, with a lovely ocean view from above. The fitness room was well kept and air-conditioned, and the air conditioning in our Superior Dune View room worked properly. The waiters were friendly and worked hard to serve everyone. The room’s minibar, microwave and capsule coffee machine were handy, though the bathroom was cramped and had no ventilation. Despite the room category, the “dune view” was mostly of the parking lot. The website photos use particular angles to make it look different. We arrived tired, and before we even saw our room, a so-called concierge offered to organize activities and “take care of us.” It turned out to be a sales pitch for an Executive Vacation Club subscription. He said, “By this, you make marketing for us and everyone benefits from it.“ They offered a “free” buggy ride in the dunes and a cheese platter the next day, alongside more talk about “business“. We politely declined because we didn’t want a scheme that involved promoting the hotel chain to our relatives. The property feels old and below a five-star standard. Some wooden pool walkways were broken and needed repair. I got stuck in the elevator once; it started working again eventually, but I took the stairs for the rest of the stay. Room furniture and sunbeds looked basic and ready for replacement. Dinner also fell short on variety, even though the hotel seemed full. There were basically two buffets, about four meters each, one for hot food and one divided between salads and desserts. There’s a noticeable divide between Executive VIP Club guests and regular guests, with exclusive areas, separate sunbeds and pools used to bring in more money. To me, that two-class setup wasn’t worth paying for. This felt closer to a four-star hotel than a five-star one. I’ve stayed in much better five-star places, including elsewhere in Brazil, and won’t return to a hotel in the Wish chain. I gave it three stars because the rating, price and “extremely good” Google reviews had set my expectations much higher.