Hotel Praia Azul Mar Reviews

This was our first time in North-East Brazil but it certainly won't be our last.

Ponta Negra is just outside the City of Natal, which we found to be quite safe to travel about in. The Hotel Praia Azul Mar is in the Thomson brochure as 2-star but we were delighted with it. It was extremely clean, the food was good and the staff and facilities were excellent. The hotel is situated right on the beach which gives fantastic views over the Atlantic. It is a 10 minute walk along the 'promenade' to the centre of Ponta Negra where there are many shops, bars and restaurants. The beach itself is lovely and clean {they are always tidying up any litter etc) and there is always a refreshing breeze to cool you down. You can spend all day there as beach-sellers offer you all types of food and drink, from kebabs to corn-on-the cob, to fruit juice and whisky!

The locals are extremely friendly and are keen to talk to tourists so that they can improve their English language!
There are some great shopping centres in the area which you can get to by bus or taxi. A taxi into Natal City is 13 Reals (£3.25p)The one peice of advice I would give is that the brochures say the hotels offer money-exchange facilities, but none of them do yet. Take either Reals (if you can get them in the UK), US Dollars which you can change at banks etc or use a Money Change machine at the PRAIA SHOPPING CENTRE in Ponta Negra. We found it no problem to use it and the exchange rate was excellent.

All in all, this was a great Hotel, lovely beach resort and friendly locals and we will certainly be back.