An emerald hummingbird delicately hovers over a hot pink bougainvillea, and when the sun hits the pool, a thousand shades of azure sparkle like diamonds.
Lofty ruby and gold Birds of Paradise flowers line the paths and, as you amble around in the Havaianas from your room, huge palm leaves gently sway. Arriving at UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa in the artsy town of Trancoso, is like opening a rainbow-hued box of treasures.
It’s not easy to reach. Three flights from London — via Lisbon to São Paolo and on to Porto Seguro — plus a rambling drive to the rainforest, make for 24 hours in transit. But, the minute you arrive, you forget all that.
This corner of Brazil, in the north-eastern Bahia region, is where the country was first ‘discovered’ by Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500. But by the 1970s, Trancoso was all but forgotten by the outside world, until artists arrived to buy up the decrepit fisherman’s houses.
Before long this impossibly pretty spot with its laissez-faire attitude had been transformed into one of the world’s most bohemian-chic destinations, largely thanks to fashion label Diesel’s former creative director.
Wilbert Das, and his business partner, Bob Shevlin first arrived in 2004, burnt out from 20 years at the brand. They fell in love with the place and with an already flourishing sideline in renovating historic properties, they purchased one of the original fisherman’s casas, with the dream of making it into a holiday home.
By 2006, it had morphed into the starting point of UXUA (pronounced Oosh-wa) which now encompasses a collection of 11 beautifully-curated casas, as well as the just launched UXUA Alma Collection of seven private homes — also available to rent.
Many of the casas in the hotel collection are dotted around the Quadrado, a large square of grass at the heart of Trancoso. Here, they sit amid tangerine-hued boutiques selling itsy-bitsy bikinis and parrot green-painted pousadas, while candy pink restaurants echo with the melancholy singing of a Brazilian balladeer.
By day, locals ride around on horseback, kids play football and models from Rio parade up and down like it’s a catwalk. Come evening, shops and restaurants open late into the night. Lit by lanterns in the jack-fruit trees, the Quadrado is a dreamy place.
All UXUA’s fixtures and fittings are made by local craftsmen and women using reclaimed and recycled materials, resulting in a rustic luxe finish — for example, pastel coloured stained glass in original wood-framed doors.
If you covet the indigo-dyed throws or a rough-hewn dresser, your luck is in; there’s an UXUA Casa collection of textiles, furniture and ceramics, also created by local craftspeople.
While UXUA’s vibe is down to earth, there’s also a rock-star quality to proceedings — after all, Trancoso is beloved of the likes of Leonardo di Caprio, Calvin Klein and Beyoncé. The new Alma Collection of high-end properties seem perfect for this level of visitor.
Enjoying a mango caipirinha in UXUA’s beach bar carved out of a fishing boat, it doesn’t take long to get under the skin of the place. Uxua, I learned, means “wonderful” in the Pataxó Indian language. I wouldn’t argue with that.
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