Pousada Summer Beach By Aft

The breakfast was good, and the women preparing and serving it were kind and polite. We were also moved when we asked, but the first room, number 11, was a windowless cubicle on the ground floor by the kitchen entrance, with no ventilation, a broken door handle, a cramped bathroom, and a TV that didn’t work. My husband is claustrophobic and started feeling unwell within five minutes. That room shouldn’t be used. The replacement was acceptable, as far as these things go, though the inn itself is only average. Its shower walls had mold and the toilet wouldn’t flush properly. It’s in Maracaípe, near the surfers’ beach, where swimming isn’t really possible, and a ride is needed to get to central Porto de galinhas. There’s a bus stop right outside, or you can take an Uber. The reception desk is often unattended. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. There are better inns.

Booking this inn through CVC turned what was meant to be a relaxing trip into a headache. The place is badly cared for, with grime on the bathroom tiles, dirt under the beds, dust around the property, a dead cockroach at the entrance, and grease built up on the breakfast serving dish. It feels like a matter for the health inspectors. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The breakfast was the best part: tasty, with options for different tastes. Still, the stay had a lot of problems. Our package had been booked with a request for a second-floor room, based on the photos shown by the travel agency, but when we arrived at night the very polite doorman showed us a ground-floor room. He said to ask the inn’s staff in the morning. The receptionist then said no rooms were available, and that upstairs rooms only had double beds anyway, which wouldn’t work with my six-year-old daughter. So we stayed in room 07 downstairs. The water from both the bathroom tap and shower was dark and cloudy. My daughter and I brushed our teeth with bottled water because we didn’t know whether the tap water was safe. The shower never got even lukewarm, let alone hot. On the last morning, before breakfast, there was no water at all, so we couldn’t shower before checkout and had to miss our outing. There were other basic issues: the bathroom door wouldn’t close or lock, there was no outlet near the sink or in useful spots by the beds and counter, and spiderwebs were all over the room. Garbage bags were left beside our door and the kitchen, creating a terrible smell in nearby rooms. Apart from the doorman, I found the staff unwelcoming and not very courteous. The breakfast, though, was served even earlier than the posted time, and the food was good and varied.

The daytime staff were helpful, and Pernambuco is a beautiful state where we met wonderful people. But I was disappointed with the inn. The room we got didn’t match our reservation, and when I asked about it, the employee didn’t help. It hadn’t been prepared properly: the mattress was moldy, there were no towels, toiletries, or blanket, and there was a dead cockroach in the shower. There were spiderwebs too. I was alarmed by the water’s color and was told it came from a well. I was worried because it seemed to go straight to the room without filtration, and there are septic tanks around, so I feared the groundwater might be contaminated. On our last morning there was no water even to brush our teeth, and we couldn’t go on our outing because we couldn’t shower before checkout. The breakfast was very simple each day. The pictures online don’t reflect what we found, with filters masking the reality. The same employee handles the kitchen and reception, and I don’t know whether she also does the cleaning. At night, I found the area a little unsafe, with very dark streets. We were out all day, which kept me from feeling even more upset. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. If you can afford a hotel or another inn, look into it carefully.