Pousada do Riacho

Great.

Really good.

The bathrooms in both rooms were clean and pleasant, and one room even had a little balcony facing the beach. Still, the stay had plenty of problems. In that first room there were no curtains or blackout shades, so daylight came in around 5 a.m. The WiFi was unusable, the marked white walls looked dirty despite the room being sanitized, there were only sheets and no blankets, and the old tube TV didn't work. There was a ceiling fan but no air conditioning. The second room looked out toward a parking area that resembled a yard. Its internet worked better, but the mattresses were very thin and seemed worn, so they felt hard. The ceiling fan rattled, and the white walls had the same marked-up appearance. Breakfast was very limited: French rolls, whole wheat sliced bread, a tray of cheese and ham left out, two standard bakery cakes, and bananas and papaya. The papaya had already been cut and had a few tiny flies around it. Drinks were coffee, milk, and juice. Getting in and out meant calling someone to open the manual gate. That was manageable, but the first time we left, they asked for our room key and said we'd have to pay a locksmith if we lost it. The woman we dealt with at the beginning and end wasn't very pleasant or friendly. The young man on duty at night, though, was attentive and helpful. My family and I could enjoy the city because the inn is well located, but our stay there could have been much better.

The room's ceiling kept making a strange noise, and the PVC lining looked like it was sagging in one spot. Part of a corner had no lining at all. Something that seemed like paint, though I can't be sure, kept coming loose from the fan. The biggest problem was the water. We were told to be mindful of how much we used, which is understandable, but we couldn't properly shower or use the toilet. The toilet tank wouldn't fill, and water kept leaking onto the bathroom floor. We took a quick shower before dinner; when we came back, there wasn't even enough water to brush our teeth or shower again. We went to bed sweaty and with bad breath. There was still no water in the morning, so we missed another shower, though we could brush our teeth that time. We were late for breakfast waiting for it to come back, and left very disappointed, facing a 12-hour trip without having showered. There was a billing mix-up right when we arrived and they tried to charge us extra, but that got sorted out. Breakfast itself was good, the staff were friendly and attentive, and the premises were clean, although some areas were poorly maintained. All in all, it felt like we'd thrown our money away.