Pousada Anjali

Anjali is a real gem, and I’d recommend it to anyone visiting boipeba. We stayed six nights in the forest, waking each morning to birdsong. The attention to detail was excellent: our room was cleaned daily, it smelled fresh thanks to an air freshener, and we had soap, fresh towels, and a huge balcony where we could relax. Vinicius was incredibly helpful, even getting a stray cicada out of our room. There was a mosquito net over the bed, so bugs weren’t a problem. The pousada also has its own kitchen, and the balcony was great for breakfast and dinner. We really couldn’t fault the place.

We had a terrible stay at Anjali. We arrived in the afternoon and were met by a very rude guy who seemed eager to finish his shift and go home. Then we learned there was no breakfast because the owner had just returned from Europe and had nothing to offer. Our first night was awful. The mattress was probably one of the five worst I’ve ever slept on. The next day, we told the owner my girlfriend was pregnant and asked politely if they could leave the lights on until 22h so we could get back to the pousada after dark. They didn’t, and by 8 pm the lights were off. We decided to leave the next morning after breakfast, only to find there was no toilet paper left for guests. We asked for a refund for the nights we wouldn’t be staying. The owner said she’d sort it out, but we never got the money back. Avoid this place. There are thousands of better options in Boipeba.

That secluded, lovely location was the only part I liked. The room smelled musty, the power kept cutting out, and the mattress was old and dirty. The price was very high for what we got. Getting there set the tone. The owner hadn't given us clear directions, and although he first offered to meet us in the center, we spent about half an hour lost in the jungle with our luggage before he replied. When he did, he blamed us and said it wasn't his job to help guests find the place. He eventually came to get us, but argued the whole way to the room and never tried to make things right. At breakfast the next morning, which we'd paid for, he said we hadn't booked it and that he'd never heard of Adoga. We showed him the booking, and he started arguing again at 8 a.m. He even followed us back to our house to keep it going, until I asked him to leave. Other guests had apparently raised the same complaints the week before, but he still wouldn't acknowledge any fault. We felt our presence was irritating him and were so uncomfortable in that hostile atmosphere that we asked to find somewhere else to stay. We agreed to a half refund, but he said he couldn't return the money until the 30th. Given how things had gone, we didn't trust that we'd get it, so we declined. I wouldn't recommend staying here unless you want nonstop arguments with the owner. I found the whole experience incredibly frustrating. Update: the owner contacted me to argue about this review too.

Our manager Gabriella gave us such a warm welcome. After dinner, though, Mr. Frog, our neighbor, was sitting in the shower and gave us a much chillier greeting. Jungle life!