KA BRU Beach Boutique Hotel

On 25.04.2021, we arrived at Ka Bru Beach excited for our stay. The hotel manager and owner Daniela didn't greet us, but instead reacted with an offended, “You came with a child?!” It was the worst hospitality and customer service I've experienced while traveling. I'd never been treated so meanly. Please be careful. We had first booked Ka Bru River Villa for four days for two families with two two-year-old children, and had asked for cribs or extra beds. When the airline cancelled our flights, we decided to arrive three days earlier. I emailed to explain and ask about availability for those extra nights. They said the villa wasn't available, but Ka Bru Beach had rooms, and invited me to book there. I gladly accepted. Since my name was on the existing reservation and our emails clearly said I had a two-year-old, I expected them to connect the two bookings. Instead, Daniella told us children weren't allowed and said we should stay quiet in our room so nobody would see we had a child. She told my husband our son couldn't use the pool, run, or cry. That ruined our mood and made us feel unwelcome. Our son seemed to know he wasn't wanted and was sad, constantly trying to run out of the hotel. The next day, when the other guests had left and the pool was empty, I politely asked Daniela if we could swim. She said no, that she was busy checking another guest out. I told her how we felt, and she asked, “Do you want to check out now?” We packed up and went to Barracuda Beach Hotel, where we were treated on another level. Bahia is known for friendly people, and the difference in service was striking. We met the Director Juliana and one of the Swedish investors, who invited us to lunch with our child. It became one of our best vacations. Barracuda deserves 10 out of 10, and we'll surely return. Ka Bru let us down. Instead of being diplomatic and taking responsibility for poor communication and alignment among its representatives, Daniela chose to make our experience miserable. That's why this review comes from such a sad stay. There were other problems too. Water repairs were scheduled for three hours while guests were there, and the toilet in our room barely worked. There was no beach in the usual sense, with access to the ocean, just a river. Nobody warned us when booking that we'd need to rent a 4x4. The road is bad, and in rain a regular car can't get through. We were only told a day beforehand, after we'd already rented a car. A one-way transfer from Itacaré was offered for 385 reais, quite expensive for an hour's drive. Ka Bru River Villa, which does accept children, also seemed unsafe to me. The deck ended abruptly with no wire or fence, so a child could be badly hurt or worse. One thing I am grateful for is that they refunded the nights we didn't use.