Casa Grande

The location is brilliant, the rooms are okay, and the staff are nice.

One of the most beautiful places I've ever been to!

I stayed here last year and am only getting around to leaving a review now. The place is simple but good, and for the nightly rate it's worth being right by the sea. The air conditioning cooled the room very well, which matters in extremely hot Galinhos. There was no TV, but that's understandable since the salty sea air would probably shorten the life of the equipment. Breakfast was decent, with few choices but enough for the basics. The staff were attentive and helpful. The biggest problem was privacy. The rooms face the beach, where residents and visitors pass all day. When the tide comes in, a kind of lagoon forms in front of the inn and makes it hard to walk along the sand. People then come through the inn's balconies, jumping the low wall or opening the little gates, crossing the guest balcony area and leaving through the restaurant to get to the other street. I wondered if it was a public path. I'd never seen anything like it at another hotel or inn. During the day, there was very little privacy. I couldn't leave the room door open without strangers passing practically right in front of it. What really disappointed me and made me not want to return was what happened later in the day. Teenagers who live on the island would arrive in the late afternoon and stay until night. They took over the room balconies, used even the hammocks meant for guests, played ball, and listened to loud music right outside the rooms. Honestly, if I'd known anyone could use the facilities like that, I wouldn't have paid for a night's stay. After the restaurant closed at night, the same young people stayed inside the property, using the restaurant area even though everything was closed and dark. I heard from a staff member that sexual encounters had even happened on the property, involving people who weren't guests. I was also told that the owner's daughter organized some of these gatherings there. Usually they didn't cause more serious trouble, but one night the noise and shouting got so excessive that we had to contact management. The group dispersed then, but the next day it all started again as usual. I sincerely hope the owners have taken action and resolved this. During my stay, it felt like there was no control over who entered or stayed on the property. An inn should give guests peace, privacy, and security, and unfortunately that was its main shortcoming for me.