Pousada Borakay

We really liked the location and the rate, so I tried to arrange rooms for a family group, including checking whether a child could stay in a room and what the extra charge would be. I didn’t book online because I wanted to confirm that first. Over two or three weeks, I spoke with several different people, but they never sent the rates when I asked so I could share them with everyone. After getting several different quotes, I was told three weeks later that the price would be double the amount first mentioned because we were a group. They knew from the start that we were traveling as a group, and nobody had said that would affect the price. Each family could have booked separately, which made the explanation frustrating. I said I’d book online to avoid more hassle, but then group bookings were no longer available there, and the site only allowed five rooms at a time. By then we’d lost other options we were considering. The whole process felt unprofessional, and I was left feeling that foreigners were being quoted inflated prices. It was very disappointing to see customer service take a back seat to greed.

I miss it.

The reception staff were attentive, which was the one thing that saved the stay for me. The rest was really disappointing, especially for the price. We came with a group of 30, and on arrival each apartment had to have someone fill out a form, followed by photocopies of every guest’s documents. It felt like they thought there was gold in the rooms. Once we were allowed in, the bathrooms were filthy, with grime built up on the walls and mold all over the ceiling. The shower screens covered only part of the space, so water flooded the rest of the bathroom. In other rooms the air conditioning didn’t work, and a bathroom bulb was out. We reported both problems at reception and were told they’d check, but nothing was fixed before we left. The upstairs apartments looked awful, like unfinished construction. Breakfast was just so-so, and some of the food was spoiled. I’d read the other reviews and didn’t want to believe them, so I paid to find out for myself. I’ve stayed at Mareia, Brisa do CaitáCairá, Borboleta and Ilha do Sol without these problems. We were very poorly received.

The room was spacious and clean, with fresh sheets and towels. The bathroom fixtures looked a little old, though the shower was new and worked well. Breakfast was delicious and surprisingly good for the nightly price, with a buffet included. The atmosphere was really pleasant, and the reception was excellent. The women at check-in were very kind, and I was welcomed with that warm, cheerful Bahia hospitality. I’ll definitely come back.