Pousada Viva Vida

The scenery was the one thing I liked. The place itself was dirty, including the rooms, where there were bugs on the floor. The pool area is also where breakfast is served, and it was full of dirt and flies. We arrived, and the mess from breakfast the previous day was still there the next day. The breakfast items that needed refrigeration were warm and left out in the heat for hours. There was just one employee serving breakfast and doing all the cleaning. The listing leaves out how hard it is to get around, with steep stairs and ramps that could be difficult for older people or anyone with a health issue. The good reviews shown on the booking platforms give a misleading impression.

I left before my stay was over because the place was so dirty and poorly maintained. There was no staff around, so I cleaned the room myself before I could use it. The bathroom outlet was loose and the toilet leaked. The pool table was falling apart, and its edge nearly landed on my foot, which seemed dangerous for children too. The breakfast area was left with dirty pots and garbage all day, and an ashtray had been packed with cigarette butts for days. I cleaned that myself as well. It could have been a great inn, but it badly needs better organization and more staff.

I can't understand the positive reviews or the score Booking gives this place. Everything felt neglected and dirty, from the rooms and bathrooms to the pools and breakfast area, where there were lots of flies. Breakfast was awful: nothing was kept chilled or warm, and milk, yogurt, fruit, and cold cuts sat out for hours. There were even cakes past their expiration date. It was all very shabby and uncared for. A frustrating, awful experience. Stay away.

One of the beds had a sunken mattress, and the price certainly wasn't low. The listing on Booking draws you in with pretty photos and a supposed jacuzzi, but the owner kept the jacuzzi closed so guests couldn't use it. The ad is misleading, breakfast is very basic, the facilities are poor, and the service was awful. There was only one employee, who was very rude, plus the owner, whom I found to be a terrible blowhard. In my more than 20 years of travel, this was my worst lodging experience. Booking only shows the positive comments, so it's hard to get an honest picture, while the Google reviews make the many problems clear. Booking should remove this place from its platform. It's a disgrace.