UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa

A longer review than usual because this property merits it. On arrival we were greeted by a young team, and immediately relieved of luggage, which was taken to our house (yes, you rent houses here, not rooms). We were given a tour by a lady who simply said “welcome to paradise” and she wasn’t exaggerating. It’s just an oasis. So lush, and green. Everything is built to blend in, the pool looks almost as though it was meant to be there naturally. The houses are made of mainly natural materials and are what might be called “rustic” but that doesn’t mean they’re not full of modern comforts! The shower (we had two, on an outside balcony, beautifully screened with natural vegetation), was powerfully and instant very hot water. The terrace had an enormous day bed. The kitchen had a large fridge and all you need to make a meal. The bed was king size and very comfortable. There’s a large screen tv (we didn’t watch it at all) and there’s effective air conditioning. The decor is contemporary but uses old items as well as new. It’s effective. We are at the restaurant for dinner once and it was very good. We had massages that were outstanding. And let’s not overlook the beach bar which reserved a sofa for each house daily and serves delicious food and drinks. The beach is a 10 minute walk down a hill and across a mango grove, but theres a courtesy car if you don’t fancy that. The beach is the stuff of dreams. Breakfast is also extremely good. What I love is that I’ve no idea how many houses there are here! It never feels busy and you bump into few people as you walk around, so it feels very private and secret. Is there anything that can be improved? Few hotels are perfect. If I’m being hyper critical, the wifi is patchy. I’d personally suggest that a property of this type might benefit from a no kids policy. I don’t mean to be harsh but it’s a sophisticated offering and it’s not as though they encourage children (there’s no kids pool) but some do stay and I really think other properties would be more suitable. Communication with reception/concierge is encouraged by WhatsApp rather than in person. I don’t mind that but some may prefer a more direct approach so I mention it just for awareness. Reception isn’t staffed past 10pm so I’ve no idea what happens after that! I’m struggling to offer much else that can be improved. If you want a proper escape from the madness, this is a great option. I’d love to come back soon.

The property was beautiful. Their beach club was great with comfortable lounges and excellent food and drinks. If it wasn’t so far to get to, I would go several times a year.

Uxua was an amazing experience. We stayed at the house of São João. At first it's a little different as everything is open and there are no signs telling you which house is yours. But that's just a detail. With privacy as expected, everything works well and the staff is very prepared, kind and available. The hotel has 2 entrances, one for parking and the other in the Quadrado (middle). We were able to get everything done there and back to the hotel very quickly. There's only one thing we didn't like. Uxua is located on Coqueiro beach, there is a kiosk for guests and non-guests alike. Even if you are a guest, to use the kiosk you have to pay. I believe this is not right, as the hotel is very expensive. Delicious breakfast and dinner on the last day, best food ever. Incredible. If you like to walk, you can discover all the beaches by yourself just by walking. Believe you will have the best experience. The roads are very dilapidated and without lights. Sunset is around 5:40 pm, so care must be taken when driving after this time. Best beaches: rio da barra (may have natural and clay pools); mirrors (many natural pools), Patimirim (desert and beautiful) and Itapororoca (amazing natural pools). Believe me, go walking, because to get to Itaporoca the road is not good and the Fasano hotel put a barrier at the middle of the road, you have to say that you are going to Patimirim and they open it. This is absurd, as the beach is public. We are from São Paulo. Uxua will definitely be the one we will come back again.

Luxury in the heart of Trancoso This hotel was absolute PERFECTION. From the time of my booking until departure any and everything my partner and I needed was at our fingertips. Property: We booked the Casa Estúdio which was perfect for the two of us. It was located right next to the pool where breakfast was served each morning; however it was still (mostly) private. It was wonderfully appointed with any and everything you need to make your stay comfortable. Location: Uxua is located in the middle of the quadrado. There are many shops and restaurants to chose from. We stumbled upon Osklen (our fav) not realizing they had a location there. It’s also only a 10 minute walk to the beach which is great to see the sunset each day. Service: Really some of the best service we have had EVER. The concierge was available via WhatsApp and attended to our every need within minutes. Every member of the staff was friendly engaging my and helpful. We booked taxis, massages, even a boat trip to Caraiva via them. We plan to return to Uxua whenever we visit Trancoso. Next time we’d love to bring friends and stay at one of their bigger casas with a dedicated pool.

wonderful discovery! Although there was confusion with the pick-up they more than made up for it. The staff were very friendly and attention to detail in all manner was very good. Beautifully decorated. Food was lovely. Beach area very good too. Nothing was a problem. I fully recommend and would return without doubt. Distance to beach is totally walkable

We stayed at Uxua. It was a frustrating visit and the worst experience of our many hotels in Latin America, including hotels that cost 50% less than Uxua. The Uxua experience didn't overcome Uxua's beauty. Before posting this review, we emailed Uxua -- to share our experience and hoping they'd think it was worth responding to. We were wrong. Since Uxua didn't think it was worth even acknowledging our email, much less apologizing for our experience, Uxua must think our experience was the one that we should've had -- and so we're sharing it here. ____________________ Uxua is, design-wise, a lovely hotel. And its location is perfect. But our stay there was incredibly frustrating -- daily -- and we had the kind of experience there that was unbefitting of even a 2-star hotel. It was inexcusable for a hotel that wants everyone to believe it's a 5-star hotel. In our experience, it's not. And until the guest experience can catch up with the beautiful design, it can't possibly be viewed as a luxury or 5-star hotel. Uxua's guest experience failures weren't limited to one issue or one day or one kind of issue. Uxua's failures involve maintenance, housekeeping, technology, and concierge. It’s every touchpoint. 1. No evening staff after 10 pm -- which isn't fatal if you have staff available by phone. 2. But after 10 pm, staff doesn't answer the after-hours hotel number or outside emergency number. This is just not ok (for too many reasons to list). 3. Wifi didn't work in our room -- even though we asked Uxua to fix it. In order to get a wifi signal and make calls on our cell using wifi-enabled calling, we had to take work calls from the hotel’s public areas, including confidential calls. This not ok -- particularly for an expensive hotel where you pay a premium to be in a nice hotel room...in part, to work in...and particularly for us because we have a lot of confidential work calls. How does McDonald’s provide working wifi – but Uxua doesn’t?) 4. The phone never worked in our room -- even though we asked Uxua to fix it. 5. The door lock from our room to the outside didn't work -- even though we asked Uxua to fix it. (How is it that we, as guests, are the ones that need to bring such a basic maintenance issue to Uxua's attention? How can the housekeepers not notice that the doors don’t lock?) 6. Even as to the outside doors in our rooms that did lock, housekeeping routinely didn’t lock our doors – even though we asked that the doors be locked. (Why must we ask once, much less repeatedly, to lock our doors?) 7. We think (but aren't certain) that, after hours, there’s no way to get out of the hotel – because the gates at the front desk to the street and to the Quadrado were locked. (We hope we’re mistaken. Good thing there wasn't a fire when we were there, eh?) This was our experience. It was so frustrating that, after the first two days, we spent our third (and last) day outside the hotel becau