What it is

500-year-old casas colorfully restored by artisans. Read: an Instagram legend.

What it isn't

Buttoned up and air-conditioned. Everything at Uxua is open to the breeze, and with top-notch service, everything is a breeze.

What we think

There’s a reason like intelligentsia like Anderson Cooper flock to Uxua before inevitably falling in love with Trancoso and building their own properties there, as Cooper did: it’s vacation perfection, even for Vanderbilt heirs. Each centuries-old casa was revamped by designer Wilbert Das to retain their sense of history with covetable touches (a sunken outdoor kitchen, locally hand-carved furniture, stained glass windows that sit open to the leafy courtyards). Guests head to the white sand beach for drinks served from a thatched-roof antique wooden boat; if you see a Johnny Depp-type or two, don’t be alarmed. This place is pirate perfection.

You're here because

The second you saw images of the hotel's terraco do ceu room—with its turquoise rooftop plunge pool and private garden—you felt your blood pressure drop and called your doctor, who prescribed you a week’s stay (at least).

The Moment

You’ve had your fair share of hot stone massages, but never with Bahian stone and almescar and coconut oil, plied as a cacophony of birds sings sweetly in the lush trees beyond. You’ve never felt more like a cocktail incarnate, in you like it.

Restaurants & Bars

Al Fresco Dining at Quadrado - Outdoor dining with a relaxed, local ambiance

Rustic Beach Lounge - Tranquil beachside setting offering light bites and drinks

Location

About an hour and a half from Porto Seguro International Airport in the beatnik enclave of Trancoso. The hotel itself sits adjacent to the UNESCO-protected quadrado, or age-old town square.