Pousada Recanto Do Bem Te Vi

Douglas and Cida welcomed us warmly and were very friendly. The inn is simple but cozy, with a good bed and shower, and towels are available. The only issue is that the rooms don't have air conditioning, except for one; they said installing more is in their plans. Breakfast was simple but tasty and complete, with bread, cake, fruit, coffee, milk, and juice. The location is good too. It's not right by the beach, though it doesn't seem far. I drove to Riviera, about 15 minutes, because I preferred it. I liked the stay, and it's worth it if you don't need much luxury and want to pay less.

The place doesn't look like the photos on the site. This felt like misleading advertising. The room and bathroom looked poorly cared for, with dirty walls, and the broken bathroom door meant we had no privacy. Breakfast was basic and not very good, and we were charged for it. Parking was charged too, and we had to move the car in the morning. None of that was mentioned on the site. The pool was the one saving grace, though even there a cockroach was crawling around. I don't recommend it.

The inn itself was good, but the booking and checkout mess ruined our weekend. My boyfriend and I booked through the site for Friday night into Saturday morning through Sunday. He contacted them to ask how to enter in the early hours between Friday and Saturday and leave Sunday, and they told us to book Friday to Sunday. We arrived around 3:30 Saturday morning and paid for two stays, thinking we could leave Sunday afternoon. We also paid for parking, even though cars have to be outside during the day and parking is only available at night. Around noon Sunday, while we were at the beach, the caretaker called to say our stay was ending and we had to leave. My boyfriend explained we'd arrived at 3:30 that morning, hadn't come Friday or spent the day there, and had paid for two stays. The caretaker checked with the owner and called back to say we had to pay another 50 reais to stay until 6 pm, which they said was the agreed checkout time. We had to pay, even though that wasn't what we'd agreed. What if we hadn't had the extra 50 reais? The site needs to explain this clearly so nobody else pays for two stays but gets only one and then has to pay more.

It's a pleasant little place with a good pool, but the shared kitchen doesn't really work for me. I'd rather have one in each room. On a rainy day like the one when I stayed, going from the room to the kitchen meant walking in the rain. The street out front isn't paved, and there aren't many shops or places to walk to, like a bar or bakery, so it feels somewhat isolated. Still, if you just need an inn to sleep at night and spend the day out, it does the job.