Ara Mar Praia Hotel

Facing the sea, close to amenities and restaurants.

I spent 4 days in Fortaleza and stayed at the Ara Praia Hotel, and it's excellent for those seeking comfort combined with affordability. The breakfast was made with great care, and the room service was nice. The hotel is located in front of Iracema beach.

We stayed at the Ara Mar Praia Hotel for seven days and want to share our experience honestly and constructively. The hotel has positive points, but it also needs some improvements. The main positive point is the location, which is excellent! It's one block from the beach, close to a supermarket, pharmacy, and restaurants. The 24-hour reception is another strong point. On the day of check-out, the receptionist stored our luggage until our flight time, free of charge, which was very kind. The housekeepers are friendly, the air conditioning works well (although it needs cleaning), and the minibar is great. Now, regarding the points that need improvement: the structure is old and poorly maintained. In room 204, the shower stall was incomplete (only part of it was there), which meant the floor was always wet. During our stay, there were no towels on some days. The towels available were very old and thin, and on certain days I had to ask at reception because they weren't left in the room. The toilet paper was also of very low quality. The cleanliness left much to be desired. The sink was clogged on the first day, the shower stall had mold, and the bathroom mirror remained dirty all week. Even with daily cleaning, the room didn't look or smell clean. The bathroom floor seemed to have been painted, with a rough finish. Another important point is the noise. The hotel is located at an intersection with a traffic light and, since the room window didn't close properly, street noise came in all night. For those seeking rest, I recommend requesting a quieter room. The TV isn't a smart TV, so you can't watch Netflix or mirror your phone. The hairdryer needs to be requested at reception and returned immediately after use. The breakfast is simple, but could be improved with small changes: there are no labels with the names of the food items, and the service could be friendlier. On some days, the tapioca flavors were unavailable. It would also be good to identify the drinks, as I confused the milk with coconut yogurt and ended up wasting some. Finally, communication with reception is difficult. The room phone doesn't work and the hotel doesn't offer WhatsApp contact, so any request requires going down (stairs, no elevator) to reception. Overall, the Ara Mar Praia Hotel has a lot of potential because of its great location and the helpfulness of the staff, but it needs renovations, maintenance, more thorough cleaning, and management that pays more attention to detail. I'm not leaving this comment to disparage the hotel, but rather to help improve it. With a few adjustments, it could become a truly pleasant place to stay.