Pousada Braziliana

The staff were polite and attentive, especially the women who cleaned our room. They were lovely to my wife and me. The rooms were clean and quite good, and the pousada itself is very pretty, close to both the village and Barra Grande beach. Breakfast was great, though we wished there had been more kinds of fruit. We think the pousada makes its own breads and savory snacks, and those were very good. Still, for the nightly rate, we expected a lot more. The pool looked cloudy and oddly colored over several days, and we couldn’t see the bottom. We understand leaves, mosquitoes, and sand can get in when it’s under trees and near the dirt from the road, but removing the leaves didn’t seem to be enough. It looked like it needed some kind of treatment, so we gave up on swimming. There were a lot of insects around the pousada, and we ended up buying Baygon, which did reduce the mosquitoes. At night the place also felt a little unsafe to us, since we didn’t see any staff providing security overnight.

The best part of staying here was the homemade breakfast, all freshly prepared and delicious. Lara runs the kitchen and really makes a difference. Simone is another bright spot, the soul of the place, always smiling, patient, and ready to sort things out. Without her, the atmosphere would be pretty poor. The young owner, on the other hand, moves around the property with very little empathy for guests. The location is excellent, but the rooms are unevenly sized, with some huge and others cramped. The TVs are small and hard to watch, there are no closets, and the showers had trouble heating up. Several drains clogged within minutes, leaving the bathrooms like little pools, and there were no bath mats. Linens are changed every three days. They only serve breakfast, with no other meals available for purchase, and they don’t sell drinks, alcoholic or otherwise.

I spent the Labor Day holiday there, arriving Saturday and leaving Tuesday. During those days I didn’t see the rooms or pool being cleaned. They only emptied the trash and changed the towels. The pool didn’t seem hygienic, and the owners and staff weren’t kind, they didn’t like being bothered. The beds and mattresses were comfortable, even though they were bunk beds. That’s what earned the three stars. There weren’t many outlets in the room, the TV and air conditioner remotes didn’t work, and the air conditioner made an unbearable noise. Breakfast had few options.

Ronaldo, the owner, is a really nice guy, and the breakfast was very good. The pousada is close to the little center and the pier, but it has changed its name and is now Casa do Sol. The information on the Booking site is confusing, and the listed address doesn’t match the place. When you arrive at the pier, call the owner instead of relying on Maps. It feels a little neglected. There’s a decent laundry area, but it isn’t very functional. Toiletries weren’t being provided, and there are no TV channels, just the smart TV function with a free Globoplay account.