A very nice place to stay in Serra Grande. In front of the sea, very nice staff and delicious breakfast. I would suggest renting a car in Ilheus airport to be able to go around and enjoy waterfalls around.
The only cons is the price of the food and beverages in the hotel.
There are some excellent restaurants close to the hotel with better food and lower prices.
We ( my wife and me ) have been the third time in aldeia da mata eco lodge. We love this place. Last time we spent 3 weeks in there. Good food, best massage, beautyfull beach with clean water and nice waves. The people are friendly and helpfull. The bungalows are clean and the garden is very well kept. Its a very relaxing and romantic spot.
This is a case of a resort that needs professional hotel management. The concept is great… jungle huts in a very wooded atmosphere, extremely close to a beautiful fine-white sand beach. The problems for us started when we arrived.
When our nephew, in our family group of 7, made reservations, we trusted that on our arrival, we would be welcomed, and given our rooms. We rented four huts. In fact, we arrived a bit late, around 4:00pm, only to be told that our reservations were lost. My first question… when you only have one other family at this resort, and it’s off season, and you need cash flow… how and why would you ever lose reservations? Well, it happened to us. So after having to wait a couple hours for our four huts to be readied, we settled in.
The facility itself is very inviting. But for me, our “hut” was less than up to standards. First, the insects have easy access to your hut, as the construction doesn’t include fully screened windows and shutters. And if you use the bug spray to hopefully kill the mosquitoes, a short time later when you return to your hut, you’ll end up with a hut full of dead ants and many other species in the bathroom and on top of your bed. Ironically, the bathroom, while a bit small, is modern and has strong hot running water. But once we walked out of our bathroom, the balance of the room was cramped, and didn't offer much shelf space. It just didn't work for us.
The first night, without air conditioning and a ceiling fan that did little to reduce the temperature, we were awakened to a heavy rain….. that easily found its way through the thatched roof and onto and into our bed! By the time we were ready to call the reception, the rain stopped. We just got used to the damp bedding, and appreciated that the rain lowered the temperature a bit. I wasn’t at all thrilled with a roof that had numerous visible openings to the sky.
The owner, evidently, wasn’t available, and her young daughter provided management. While she did what we asked, I could tell that hospitality wasn’t her strong suit, and wondered if this family was internally battling low cash flow, which shows in many small items in need of repair. When I asked about an electrical multiple outlet adapter for one of the wall outlets, I was given an adapter that had a ground pin. None of the outlets in their facility have the newer ground pin, so obviously, it didn’t work. Why wouldn’t the owners know this??? An even greater frustration, was returning to the pousada in our car, and pushing the button at the entrance, only to hear a "busy signal." We actually drove off for half an hour, and then came back to try again. We finally were re-admitted. But again... no explaination from management.
The café’ da manha is very good, and the working staff was very friendly. But when no one took the time to apologize, or even offer some level of discount for the inconveniences… I got the feeling this was a family owned operation, where no one really wants to be there… and no one either has the money, or if they did have the money, would not be willing to invest in upkeep of the accomodations.
So while the location and concept is great, this was a qualified “fail.” I would rather stay in a clean, modern apartment near the water, as we did in two of our other pousada stays in Bahia. However, if you’re really into being “One With Nature”, you might like this pousada... especially if "customer service attitude" isn't terribly important. But remember... they have "indoor toilets that flush...", so you really can't brag about "living in the jungle like the locals." :-)
The hotel is really 30 km far away from Itacare and 30km far away from Ilheus... However, it's a very nice place, as well Claudia, the owner, is a very kind person. I spent 1 week in the Lodge with my wife and a baby. They cooked special meals for baby and for us. In the dinner room, we were talking about a Luau with with other guests. Later, Claudia provided the fire and other things at the beach... Her daughter played for us through the night. We feel at home. Nice food and a kind of prived beach are found in the hotel. Very nice place for those who want to relax!
