Vila Marola

There’s wind all day and night, so there’s no need to rush out on the water. The view is beautiful, and the pool and kite school were good too. We were happy to meet the owners. They helped with everything, from renting a Buggy to pulling us out of the sand when we got stuck. They also organized a beach fire so we could grill local Fish with the kids. Fabulous place.

I’ve been coming to Vila Marola every autumn since 2009, and I’ll keep coming as long as I can still hold the bar. The view is stunning, the food is always fresh and healthy, and the team is great. The owners are lovely, dedicated, and passionate.

The beach outside was really dirty. After walking just 50 meters from the hotel, I found a syringe and a vial of blood, with bits of plastic litter every meter. The hotel itself is charming, and the rooms are very nice, with a hamac. It was empty in august despite the perfect weather. You can’t kite or wingfoil in front of the hotel because of the shorebreak.

The hotel’s kite spot seems suited to beginners and people taking classes, but there’s no launching or landing service and only a few shuttles to the lagoon. They recommend having your own car to get there. We didn’t like the kite spots in Taiba, so we checked out early. The next morning, someone asked if we were planning to have breakfast, which made it seem like checkout hadn’t been communicated within the team. We also couldn’t arrange a shuttle from somewhere other than Fortaleza airport, for some reason. We’d had no trouble organizing this at the other three places we visited, since it’s a major business for everyone. The staff didn’t seem trained for hospitality like at those other places. For example, nobody helped carry our suitcases from the car to reception, and our two dinner dishes arrived 20 minutes apart. The garden and beachside setting are lovely, the pool with its bar is great, and the traditional buildings have nice balconies with hammocks. Still, we’d book somewhere else next time.