UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa is the hotel that made Trancoso famous among design-minded travelers. Instead of rooms in a building, it offers 15 casas: old fishermen's houses on the Quadrado, Trancoso's long grassy square with its little white church, plus garden houses behind them, all restored by designer Wilbert Das with local artisans using reclaimed wood, traditional thatch and handmade furniture. Some of the houses date back centuries.
The rest of the hotel is just as distinctive. The pool is built from around 40,000 pieces of green aventurine quartz and seems to glow at dusk. VIDA Spa and Lab makes its own products from Bahian plants and cacao. Down the hill, UXUA Praia is a beach lounge in a restored fisherman's bar, where every casa has its own reserved sofa.
Rates for two often start around $1,050 a night. It suits couples who want a honeymoon with character, art and village life on the doorstep, dinner under the trees on the Quadrado and a beach a short walk away. It suits less well couples who want a private pool, a big resort or easy access for anyone with mobility trouble on sandy paths.
Highlights at a glance
- 15 restored casas on and behind Trancoso's Quadrado
- Casa da Árvore treehouse with an outdoor tub
- Pool made from about 40,000 pieces of green aventurine quartz
- VIDA Spa and Lab with Bahian treatments
- UXUA Praia beach lounge with a reserved sofa for each casa
Why Couples Love UXUA
The setting is unique. The Quadrado is a long lawn lined with brightly painted houses, shaded by big trees and closed to traffic. At night lanterns come out, tables fill the grass and the white church glows at the far end above the sea. Staying in a casa on the square means you walk out of your door into that scene.
The craftsmanship is the second reason. Wilbert Das worked with local carpenters and artisans to restore each casa and the furniture and details are handmade. Nothing looks like a chain hotel and each casa has its own personality, from tiny cottages to houses with several suites.
Finally, the hotel is part of the community. Capoeira lessons with local masters fund an academy that has offered free classes to young people in Trancoso for years and the spa draws on the healing traditions of the Pataxó people of the region.
Casas to Book
The 15 casas range from compact to large and nine of them have a single suite, which is all two people need.
- Casa da Árvore: the treehouse, 139 square meters over three levels with a thatched roof, a covered veranda and open-air living room with a hammock and bar, a wooden outdoor tub on the deck and a private garden with a swing. The obvious honeymoon pick.
- Quadrado casas: the restored fishermen's houses on the square, for couples who want to step straight out to dinner. About half the casas are on the Quadrado.
- Garden casas: set back among the trees for more quiet and privacy.
There are no private pools at UXUA, but some casas have outdoor tubs, decks and gardens. Ask the team to match a casa to what you care about most: the treehouse, a view of the square or the quietest garden. Book months ahead for December through February.
Food, Drink and the Spa
UXUA is not a hotel built around one big restaurant. For dinner, the restaurants of the Quadrado are a few steps away and are part of the pleasure of staying here, with tables on the grass under the trees.
At UXUA Praia, the beach lounge, the kitchen serves Bahian fusion cooking and tropical cocktails in a restored fisherman's bar built from an old wooden boat. It is the best long lunch in town.
VIDA Spa and Lab sits in a rainforest garden. Signature treatments include an almescar oil massage, a Bahian hot stone massage and a cacao facial, using products made on site from ingredients such as coconut oil, Brazil nuts and the hotel's own cacao. You can also join lessons in chocolate making, juice mixing or essential oil extraction, or take private classes in yoga, pilates, forró and samba.
Why guests fall for it
Things to Do
Start at UXUA Praia on Barra do Rio Trancoso, the beach closest to the Quadrado. The walk takes about eight minutes down a fisherman's path and over a wooden bridge through one of the best-preserved stretches of Atlantic mangrove in the region. Surfing, kayaking, beach volleyball, massages, yoga and capoeira classes all happen on the sand.
Farther south, Itapororoca and Rio da Barra are long, quiet beaches for walking. Praia do Espelho, about an hour away, has reef pools at low tide and is worth a full day. Many couples also take the road south to car-free Caraíva, crossing the river by canoe.
The hotel can arrange hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, stand-up paddleboarding and kitesurfing. At sunset, walk to the white church at the end of the Quadrado for the view over the coast.
Getting There
Fly to Porto Seguro Airport (BPS), which has daily flights from major Brazilian cities; from São Paulo the flight takes about two hours. From the airport, Trancoso is about an hour by car or about eight minutes by helicopter. UXUA can arrange private transfers.
Trancoso's Terravista airport handles private aircraft only. If you plan to combine Trancoso with Rio or Salvador, a short domestic flight to BPS is usually easiest.
Paths around the Quadrado are grass and sand and some casas involve steps. Pack flat sandals and light clothing; evenings are warm. Mosquitoes appear after dark, especially near the mangroves, so bring repellent. Dengue occurs in Bahia and if you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices. The sea at some beaches has currents; swim where locals swim and ask about conditions.
Is It Worth It?
Rates for two typically start around $1,050 a night and climb steeply for larger casas and for the New Year and Carnival peaks. That is a lot for a hotel without private pools or a full-scale resort setting.
What you pay for is the experience of living in Trancoso rather than visiting it. You sleep in a house that local artisans rebuilt by hand, walk out to the Quadrado for dinner, swim in a glowing quartz pool and spend afternoons at a beach lounge with your own sofa. Few hotels in Brazil feel as rooted in their place.
Couples who want space, a large pool and resort amenities should look at Fasano Trancoso, on a big estate by Itapororoca beach. Couples who want to be on the sand should consider beachfront pousadas such as Estrela d'Água. For village romance with style, UXUA is the one.
Insider tips
- Book the Casa da Árvore as early as possible; there is only one treehouse.
- Choose a Quadrado casa if you want to be in the middle of village life, or a garden casa for quiet.
- Visit the aventurine pool at dusk, when it seems to glow.
- Take a capoeira class; the fees support a local academy.
