Serhs Natal Grand Hotel - Natal, Brazil 

We had a relaxing time, the hotel was a little outside the town therefore you cant get out unless you taxi it or walk along the lovely sandy beach. The hotel entertainment in the evening could have been better, and someone needed to teach the piano player how to play before they let him loose!! The food was OK but the service in the A la carte's was very very slow at times. The Thomson reps were fab and very helpful. They have a lovely pool and the rooms very comfortable.

My Partner and I stayed here for 2 weeks. The air travel with Thompson was very good, however once arriving at Natal, we had to que for over an hour to get through immigration, you somehow got the impression they liked to see you waiting. The flight was full - but there were only 2 people checking passports -so you can imagine how long it took to get out. Once we got our cases, the transfer to the hotel ws about 15 mins. We got our cases and checked in. The room itself was great, we opted for one with a Jacuzzi and it was well worth it. The balcony was also much bigger than the standard rooms with loungers, table and chairs etc. We liked the room so much that we actually spent more or less the whoile 2 weeks up there. The hotel and resort was ok, but not really to our liking, it was a bit too office like, and not really all that cozy. Almost like an airport lounge to us. The buffet foor was not that go0od at all, every dish was cold even those that were under the hot plates. We used to get there as soon as the doors open in the hope of getting something hot to eat, but to no avail. In the end we used to go to Jangada which is located at the back of the hotel overlooking the sea, despite being all inclusive, you have to pay here, but we were just glad of a hot meal. The other 2 restaurants, Tapiro and Manestrum, were very good and can be used as part of all inclusive, with a small surcharge for some dishes. But beware, the staff seem to favour Half Borad guests over the All Inclsive guests, so actually trying to book to eat in these restaurants is very difficult. We would be up and about at 5.30, ring at 6 am, to be told fully booked! We decided to check it out by going to have a look and the restaurtant was practically empty. The staff at the hotel in our opinion seemed very disintrested in you and in some cases rude. In addition no one understood or spoke any english which did cause some problems. The swimming pool area was nice and clean, but we never used it as it was fully of kids. So we would on the odd occassion use the spa pool which was very nice. All in all this hotel is a bit of a distance away from most places so if you want a trip out or just a stroll along some shops you will need to get a taxi. The shopping centre nearby, was not that good - the one further down was better. All in all we dont think we would go back, its not a place for younger people as there is very little to do in the evening and its too remote to wander off at night for a meal/ dance. Yes the hotel was clean, tidy and modern - but you did some how feel quite institutalised. . This report may seem quite negative, but then again, we were expecting 5 star and had paid over ?3000 for the break the hotel was really a posher version of a Travel Inn interior wise. The only thing that really summerised 5 star was the fact that we had our own jaccuzi, the rest was a little too ordinary. Check it out for yourself, you may enjoy your stay, but we have had better times in Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Caribean, paid less, had 3* - 4* accomodation and the hotels/holidays were far more memorable and enjoyable.