Pousada A Gruta

The rooms are comfortable and well equipped, and the caves are genuinely interesting. But those few positives couldn’t make up for the rest of the stay or justify what I paid. The food was the biggest letdown: very few options, and the quality was poor. With such a high nightly rate, I expected a much more complete, better organized experience. What they delivered fell far short of that.

The stay was supposed to be something wonderful, but it turned into a nightmare before I even left home. A simple request to change or cancel the booking became a source of stress, anger, and frustration. I’m sharing what happened so others can avoid what I see as a trap disguised as “our policy.” I bought a package on 25/02/2026 after finding them on Instagram, and everything was discussed over WhatsApp. On 04/03/2026, I asked to reschedule because of a family health issue. They asked me to provide documents or some other proof so they could consider making an exception, and still wanted to charge a penalty. They treated what I understood to be my right as an exception. They then relied for 11 hours on a supposed “non-refundable” policy. If they’d told me about it, I never would have agreed. I pointed to Law No. 8.078, Article 51, and Articles 6, 31, and 49 of the Consumer Defense Code, which I believe they were violating and which make their policy void by law, along with other legal issues. They said a full refund for a cancellation required asking within 7 days of purchase and at least 30 days before check-in. How was I supposed to do that? I’d have had to travel into the future, get a statement from them on 9/4 saying I wanted to change my 9/3 booking, then return to 4/3 and submit it showing the 30 days they require. Article 49, as I understand it, gives me the right to withdraw from an online or phone purchase, whether or not check-in is close. They want the benefits of selling online while pushing the costs onto customers. Among the things they said was: “This is our policy, Jéssica, and it does not provide for a refund close to check-in, as you knew when you made your reservation.” That claim that I knew about it caught my attention. At that point, I felt I might be a victim of estelionato, the offense described in Article 171, where a business uses deception or fraud to gain an unlawful advantage and cause a customer financial loss. In my view, they concealed the crucial non-refundable condition throughout the sale, even when we asked how cancellations or changes worked, so they could later rely on it and keep my R$3,500. I believe that arrangement is illegal under the laws I cited. They still haven’t canceled or returned the R$3,500 for the four days I was due to stay. I’m being forced to dispute the charge through my bank, leaving the money frozen. I also consider keeping my money this way abusive under Brazilian law. I told them I’d take several steps to recover it. I can’t describe the police report here because of the limits of the online form, but I plan to go to the station. If you don’t challenge the polished stories they tell you, everything is fine. But if you try to change anything, even when you believe you have the right to, you may discover the trap you’ve fallen into. They say they’re trying to “help,” while imposing penalties, intrusive requests, impossible conditions, and terms that suit them. One more thing: on 09/03/2026 they messaged me as if nothing had happened, cheerfully asking when we expected to arrive at the inn. I found that unbelievable and insensitive.

The place is beautiful, with spacious rooms, excellent bedding, and a very attentive team. I thought it was pricier than other places in the same category, though, and getting there is difficult: GPS signal is unavailable, and there’s a long stretch of bumpy dirt road. The reservations team deserves a special mention for explaining the route and warning guests about the road.

Everything was clean, and the staff were polite and helpful. I did miss having an afternoon snack, though. For a place with full board, I expected one.