My wife and I have just returned from our third (yes, third!) stay at D Beach Resort. I'm an English guy married to a Brazilian and we live in Recife just to the south of Natal. We love the city and have stayed at D Beach the last three times we visited.

Overall, we have really enjoyed our trips to D Beach. It's location is fantastic - right on the beach at 'Ponta Negra' which is a popular place with lots of good restaurants, bars and shops.

Like others have said the rooms are actually chalets set on a hillside surrounded by lovely gardens and some great views out over the bay. There's actually no difference inside the rooms between 'luxury' and 'standard', it's just that the luxury chalets are closer to the reception and pool whereas the standard chalets are a little bit further up the hill (get those legs ready!). If you have difficulty walking then definitely request a chalet near the reception. We've stayed in three different rooms/chalets up and down the hillside and all of them have been very clean and well kept. The chalet where we stayed this time (on the 4th row) had a great sea view from the balcony. The beds are large and comfortable and there is a large wardrobe in the room. The only thing I would change would be the TV - I think that nowadays (and especially for a hotel/resort like this) you would expect to have flat-screen TVs rather than the older 'box' version... but perhaps I'm being a bit picky!

The hotel's pools are great and the entertainment team are around most of the day doing things with the young kids and also with the adults who want to get involved. A very funny guy called Valder is in charge of the entertainment and really goes the extra mile to put some good stuff on for the guests from dance lessons on the beach and bingo round the pool to water aerobics and other little games with free Caparinhas up for grabs! In the evening there's usually something on like a magic show in the theater area (which is actually very good - some jaw dropping illusions!) or Valder will get some dancing going in the restaurant area. If you don't want to hang around the hotel all day then there are some great trips out (I'd recommend hiring a car which will give you more dependence), especially to the dunes to the north of the city.

Breakfast is very good and has a great variety. D Beach is Italian owned and so you get some 'strange' stuff for breakfast such as mini-pizzas etc... but the rest of it is traditional NE Brazilian breakfast food which includes lots of cold meats, fruit, cake, cous cous, sausage and egg! There are chefs in different parts of the restaurant ready to rustle you up a toasted sandwich, eggs, omelets or Tapiocas... there's also a 'Smoothie' corner where another chef will whip you up a fresh fruit smoothie - fantastic for breakfast!

The hotel doesn't serve lunch in the restaruant but does serve pool side food like burgers etc... which are very good and resonably priced. My wife and I only had dinner once at the hotel (on our first visit) and we weren't too impressed - very pricey and not a great selection on offer. I'd recommend going out and trying some of the fantastic restaurants near by which are very reasonably priced such as Pinga Fogo, Camaroes and Mangai.

The hotel also has another large bar/entertainment area called L'incontro, unfortunately, we've never seen it open! There's a bit of work been done on it at the moment and we were told that it would re-open in August which I'm sure will bring some more nocturnal activities to the resort.

All in all we've been very happy with D Beach. Of course it's not 5 stars but it's a great place to stay whilst you visit Natal. A relaxing day by the pool followed by a lovely meal out finished off by a few caparinhas back at the hotel joining in with the evening's entertainment is a fantastic way to spend a few days... I'm sure it won't be too long before we're back for our 4th visit!

I have just returned from a week stay with my wife. First I´ll tell you a little about the hotel, which I do not recommend although price is good, and a couple of places you must go if you are planning on going to Natal.
This hotel has certainly seen better days. I choose this hotel after by mother in law recommended it from a 3 year ago vacation. When she went, I guess the hotel wasn't in the state it is now. The way she described the hotel to me seemed like a perfect place for a week get away: nice pool, great service, good night life with great shows and so. I could not experience that.
The hotel is old and everything seems to be falling apart. Old furniture, noisy air conditioning, terrible towels, and a poor entertainment.
All of those issues could be skipped if service was good. Service is TERRIBLE. You have to wait for a life time if you want service by the pool. The same guy taking orders is preparing drinks and cooking. It is incredible! If you don't wake up really early, expect to have no towels and no coffee at breakfast. Speaking about breakfast, it is one of the worst buffets I have ever tried. And the fact that is not good is added to the fact that it ends one hour before it should so, again, if you want to eat, get up early.
Another down side is the beach in front of the hotel: totally polluted. My wife had blisters after swimming there and no one warns you (there are signs from the local authority and it was saying that it was ok to swim that day).
To be fare with the hotel, I have to say that a couple of people are trying to make things happen even without structure: a really funny guy in charge of entertainment (Walter) and a girl at front desk called Melinda. I am not sure about the names but one could see that they were going an extra mile to surpass the hotel flaws.
Well, if even after that you still want to came to this hotel, make sure to ask for a room on the top floor of the bungalows and to be as close as possible to the lobby. There is a lot of climbing to do and if you need extra help to do so, they cannot provide.
About Natal, there are a couple of places you must go. Starting with restaurants: the better is Camarões, with two restaurants nearby. Make sure to arrive early (around 7:00 PM) or you will wait for over 1 hour. The second best is Mangai, but it is far away from this hotel (R$ 25 cab fare) and the third is a pizza place called Cipó Brazil. Trendy and nice place. Avoid at any cost two restaurants: Mazzano and Tiberio´s. It is, with the breakfast, the worst food I tasted in Natal.
Another place you must go is a beach called Pipa. It is 85 km away from Natal so plan a sleep over. The South beaches are better and less crowded, like "Praia do Cotovelo". Make sure to go there.
Natal is a great city with really nice people. Enjoy your stay and make sure to find some place else to stay than D Beach.

No rooms available on arrival;bad customer service by phone and even worse in person.
Travelled during the Carnatal(out of season Carnival). Note: We booked the rooms inJune 2009 and the system they use is far complicated and does not give you an instant response/confirmation with your reservation number;stayed elsewhere arranged by the managers who were concern about this problem;it has been going on for a long time...no date for solution yet.
Decoration too old,smelly rooms,the area around the reception looks like a bus terminal...a shame really,the view from there is breath taking.
The food is good,price is OK,friendly foor staff,but receptionists are not.