Pousada Sargaço du Maraca

Stay away from this place.

This place was awful. Walking in was alarming: the environment and rooms were dirty, and the bathroom looked like it hadn’t seen water in ages. The water was very dark, and they told me it came from a well. The chlorine smell was terrible. My mother came out of the shower with a bad cough from the smell, I got itchy all over, and my five-year-old son couldn’t bathe because it was not fit for him. The pool was filthy, with dark water. Breakfast was terrible, and the juice was warm. We asked for ice and were told they had none. The same person was handling breakfast and reception. There were spider webs in the room, the curtain was torn and broken, and the floor was dirty. The photos are very misleading. I demanded my money back and left that filthy place. Don’t make the same mistake we did or let yourselves be fooled. It was a terrible place.

My experience in Porto de Galinhas wasn’t very pleasant. I expected the residents to be more hospitable. I’m from RJ, and usually people from the Northeast are friendly, but this was my first trip to the Northeast and I’m disappointed. I found everyone very unfriendly and unwelcoming. The pousada was so-so. A young man greeted us but barely looked at us and didn’t smile. Everyone there seemed the same. Breakfast was bad.

For Porto de Galinhas, this pousada offers good value. The nightly rate is lower than other nearby options, breakfast has a range of choices, and the place has a more modern look after a recent renovation. The receptionist who helped me and my group was always polite, made us feel at ease, and suggested some great outings. I’m giving it only 3 stars for three reasons. First, a couple of friends booked a room just for the two of them, but had to sleep with me because the inn had taken reservations for more people than it had rooms for, almost like overbooking. Another couple had to use a room without air conditioning because of this. Second, they give you one pair of towels for your whole stay and don’t change them. Third, they didn’t have even a towel or basic floor cloth for us to use after showering, so we wouldn’t leave the room floor wet.