UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa features ten unique casas which blend seamlessly into the historic center of Trancoso, a small fishing village on Brazil’s idyllic southern Bahian coast.
Four casas are restored fishermen homes facing the 16th century town green called the Quadrado, while six others are hidden in a lush private garden. The casas were created by designer Wilbert Das in collaboration with local artisans using traditional building methods, reclaimed materials, and Brazilian antiques and art. The design blends rustic elements with contemporary comfort and roominess, and fuses in an innovative way indoor and outdoor living spaces to take advantage of a year-round, tropical climate.
Service is provided in friendly, Bahian style, including two restaurants specializing in traditional Bahian cuisine, a spa and gym, a unique swimming pool of healing aventurine crystals, and a spectacular beach lounge created from old fishing boats.
The lake-like pool was created entirely from 40,000 specimens of unique green aventurine quartz, a native Bahian stone considered by many to have powerful healing qualities and be among the most therapeutic minerals in the world.
It’s no question that Bahia = sun + sand + lush vegetation. UXUA brings that equation to life with its beautiful beachfront lounge, a mere 7-minute walk from the Quadrado.
Featuring vast, cushioned wooden sofas and flat-roofed pergolas – UXUA Praia Bar (praia is Portuguese for beach) was built using abandoned fishing boats which had previously languished on the site for years. Private showers, dining patio, and Trancoso river dock were built while accommodating and protecting the nearby Atlantic mangrove.
The fitness studio specializes in personalized classes of capoeira, traditional Bahian dance-inspired martial art which provides a spectacular aerobic and full-body workout.
Through cooperation with Trancoso’s capoeira academy – sustained since 2008 by sponsorship from UXUA – guests are welcome to join classes with local children and young adults, a unique cultural immersion.
Northern Brazilian forro dancing (much-loved in Trancoso) is also taught in personal lessons, as well as traditional yoga, p...
UXUA’s kitchens offer Bahian cooking with a very regional emphasis, and presented with the same joy and pride which food is served in any local home. Ingredients include produce from UXUA’s own garden and other organic farms of Trancoso, as well as the freshest fish caught using traditional techniques.
Cooking in Bahia is a social event, and the hotel’s main kitchen is an open structure featuring a counter with bar-stools where guests are welcome to sit and chat with the chefs, watch and learn, or just sample w...
With the location at the edge of the Atlantic rainforest, where jungle meets sea in an oasis of well-preserved mangrove, the spectacular biodiversity, rich traditions of native Pataxó Indians, African slaves, and hippies of the 1970’s all combine to influence our exclusive range of spa treatments and products.
Almsescar trees – indigenous only to Southern Bahia and the Amazon – provide the signature ingredient. With its restorative qualities and alluring musky scent, almescar is that most elusive element...
1 bedroom with ensuite bath, 135 sq m, faces historic Quadrado, outdoor seating/dining available, private garden, views of Quadrado from every room
The brilliant magenta color of Seu Pedrinho was inspired by the area’s oldest bougainvillea, which sits directly in front of the house with a rustic picnic table and chairs resting in its shade. The interior is no less colorful than the exterior: airy, bright spaces over smooth wooden floors, a bar, cozy private garden with lounge chairs, and views of the grassy Quadrado from every room. The casa features two bathrooms – one with a double shower – and a spacious bedroom with canopy bed. Best of all, living room and kitchen open directly onto the Quadrado. Guests can invite friends for a drink or meal in front of the casa and enjoy the near-utopian atmosphere of this historic piece of the Quadrado.
2 bedrooms each with ensuite bath, 215 sq m, faces historic Quadrado, outdoor seating/dining available, indoor/outdoor kitchen, mezzanine, Quadrado-view from most rooms
Named after the Indian-inspired additions contributed by its recent hippie owners, Gulab Mahal is a fusion of Portuguese and Southeast Asian, with a generous dash of native Bahian thrown in for good measure. This two-bedroom, traditional fisherman’s house boasts carved hardwood trims on windows and doors, decorative stained-glass, and even a raised mezzanine “meditation” area, plus tiered gardens, indoor/outdoor kitchen and stunning views of Trancoso’s historic Quadrado. Rustic table and chairs sit shaded in front of the casa in the heart of the Quadrado. In short: it’s a history lesson of immigration to Trancoso, from the Portuguese Jesuits in the 1500’s to the international hippies of the 20th century.
3 bedrooms each with ensuite bath, 211 sq m, faces historic Quadrado, outdoor seating/dining available, private garden patio, views of Quadrado from living room, kitchen, and eating area
For an authentic dose of Trancoso guests can do little better than this traditional fishermen’s house that faces the Quadrado and can sleep up to six – ideal for visiting families or friends who simply cannot bear to be parted. A fully-equipped kitchen and adjacent sitting room and bar all offer spectacular views, while a rustic table in front of the casa and in the Quadrado turns al fresco dinner parties into a reality. Two bedrooms sit in the main house, one on the second floor, with the third an independent garden suite with cushion-strewn outdoor patio. All rooms bear UXUA’s trademark airiness and locally sourced home décor. Finally, ensuite bathrooms ensure maximum privacy amid the housemates.
1 bedroom with ensuite bath, 120 sq m, faces historic Quadrado, outdoor seating/dining available, private garden patio, views of Quadrado from living room, kitchen, and eating area, indoor/outdoor bathroom
This restored casa offers indulgent comfort, but also a taste of traditional Quadrado life. It sits on a privileged position next-door to a native family who still regularly socialize and play music in front of their casa in the traditional style. The atmosphere inside is of authenticity also, but reinterpreted in a form best labeled ‘rustic modernism’. Light streams through glass tiles hidden within a traditional roof; rooms are open to offer spectacular Quadrado views; the lone bedroom features a private garden with a tub and wooden showers open to the sky; a hidden patio holds a covered pergola, and of course a cozy picnic table sits on the Quadrado.
1 bedroom with ensuite bath, 92 sq m, indoor/outdoor bathroom with vertical garden, large terrace, private patio
The “Picasso” of UXUA’s casas, Estudio features a wonderful sense of open space, strong furniture and rustic local accents that meld to form the perfect Bahian “artist’s studio”. What that means: lush greenery afforded by a spectacular indoor/outdoor bathroom featuring a vertical garden, sinks carved from tree trunks found in the UXUA garden, double-wooden shower heads, and one wall which opens to a mammoth veranda and private garden. There’s more: walk-in closets, mini-kitchen, private patio, and unparalleled access to the healing waters of UXUA’s one-of-a-kind green aventurine quartz pool – a cool oasis at daytime and a beacon of muted light in the evening.
1 bedroom with ensuite bath, 80 sq m, 2nd floor, spacious outdoor balcony with daybed and eating area overlooking pool and gardens, panoramic views
Perfect for couples or honeymooners, this airy one-bedroom apartment appears cocooned in the sheltering arms of a mango tree. Need a place to sunbathe in the company of only occasional monkeys and tropical birds? An open balcony with covered eating area and sofa, overlooking UXUA’s garden and gleaming aventurine stone pool, fits the bill. Desire a place to shower a deux, replete with views of the surrounding greenery? A bathroom with double shower heads and featuring open views across the treetops does the trick. A mini-kitchen, walk-in closets and pristine canopy bed round out this pretty picture.
1 bedroom treehouse constructed of recycled wood, thatched roof, 139 sq m, ensuite bath, outdoor tub, captivating private garden
It’s eco-consciousness meets summer palace meets Robinson Crusoe. This elevated treehouse fantasy sprawls across three levels, with its “green” credentials coming from the recycled wood that makes up its walls, its traditional thatched roof, and the organic materials scattered throughout its interior. Yet despite its rustic appearance, this is no ascetic hippie enclave: little luxuries (and big surprises) are hidden throughout, including large covered veranda/al fresco living room with hammock and bar, the bathroom’s double shower, and spa tub on the outdoor deck. Guests shouldn’t miss the hanging swing underneath the casa, a perfect site for a private sundowner with a significant other.
2 bedrooms each with ensuite bath, 228 sq m, private pool and lounge, indoor/outdoor kitchen, vast living area & covered garden dining, most spacious house on the property
The most palatial of UXUA’s casas, Eugênia gets all the angles right. Garden location amid masses of verdant greenery? Check. Pool shaped of local stones? Check. Outdoor dining terrace for al fresco dinner parties? Check. Master suite with warehouse-sized bathroom, replete with antique iron tub? Check. Add overarching views of UXUA’s private gardens, a second bedroom suite with private balcony, indoor/outdoor kitchen, bright, airy spaces and the surrounding cocoon of trees – indeed, some poke through the roof – and you’ve got the grande dame of the UXUA property, christened after one of the most prominent of the casa’s trees. Of course, this grande dame loves green: with some surprising eco-conscious touches including a sofa covered with canvas material recycled from Amazonian truck covers.
1 bedroom with ensuite bath, 125 sq m, private pool with hydro-massage, private patio, outdoor shower, raised pergola
Appearances can deceive. What at first looks like a traditional fishermen’s bungalow transforms upon entering into a gleaming, bright hideaway. One entire wall of the house opens up and reveals views of a lush private courtyard and deck, crowned with the casa’s own swimming pool and hydro-massage Jacuzzi. Private patio, outdoor shower, and rustic pergola and deck chairs by the pool, open-air garden bathroom featuring sunken shower/bath and sinks carved from tree trunks, check all the boxes epitomizing the perfect Bahian lifestyle: bringing what’s outdoors to the indoors, and then back again.
2 bedrooms with ensuite bath, 165 sq m, bright, airy kitchen & living, covered patio with outdoor dining, large private gardens
A unique casa, with UXUA’s typical rustic-modernism exchanged in this instance for a playful abundance of color and light. Nozinho sports sofa-fuls of light-toned throw pillows, an impressive yet welcoming dining area and scores of homey details. Tucked into a residential alley at the rear of UXUA’s garden, Nozinho includes a large kitchen and massive outdoor eating area, the casa’s particular design offers maximum privacy also for its inhabitants with its two suites facing separate gardens on opposite sides of the house.
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