— Wilbert: “My professional background is in the fashion business and there is a constant process of creating something new. Uxua was a longing to create something that lasts over a longer period of time.”
Interview By: Welcome Beyond
— As a fashion designer, what inspired you to start running a small boutique hotel?
Wilbert: “It was a reaction really. My plan originally was to build a holiday home but then over time the idea of turning it into a boutique hotel came up. Analyzing it afterwards, I would say that it was a longing to create something that lasts over a long period of time. My professional background is in the fashion business and in fashion you are always making fast products that last a very short period of time. There is a constant process of creating something new. Because of the nature of fashion, things don’t need to last. And creating an atmosphere, a lifestyle or even a little village like Uxua is something much more appealing. Everything you make lasts for a much longer time.”
— Uxua Casa pool area
— Why did you decide to go to Trancoso?
Wilbert: “I fell in love with it. As I said, I was looking for a place to build a holiday home and a friend told me about Trancoso. He just said, ‘It feels like your house’. So I was intrigued and went there to have a look. When I arrived it just clicked. Everything was perfect from my point of view. Trancoso has everything that I like about life, abundant and lush nature, the beautiful beach, the people, the food, the weather and the colonial architecture – I am not a big fan of the architecture of the past 50 years. Trancoso was almost cut off from the world until only recently, the village is very well preserved.
Trancoso has a certain hippie vibe. Before the first road to the village was built about 15 years ago, there were only locals and hippies living here. And they still have a lot of influence on village life today. At first, when we started Uxua Casa, the locals were a bit unsure about this international fashion designer building a hotel in the village. But that perception changed.”
Trancoso has a certain hippie vibe. Before the first road to the village was built about 15 years ago, there were only locals and hippies living here. And they still have a lot of influence on village life today. At first, when we started Uxua Casa, the locals were a bit unsure about this international fashion designer building a hotel in the village. But that perception changed.”
— Uxua Casa living area
— Because from the start you were very involved with the local community?
Wilbert: “Yes, we talked to the local environmental activists to make sure that they felt like their interests were being served. And we also initiated several other projects for and with the local community. During the building process we worked with many local craftsmen, which was great. We would give them an idea and they would come up with something better. So that worked really well.
We also noticed that many people are illiterate, so we decided to provide classes for the locals. We also organize English classes and we pay local capoeira teachers so the kids in the village can take lessons. All of this of course helped to ease the initial concern about our project. But most importantly, we have been able to set an example. This is something that is not done very much in Brazil and because of us other places had to follow our example.”
We also noticed that many people are illiterate, so we decided to provide classes for the locals. We also organize English classes and we pay local capoeira teachers so the kids in the village can take lessons. All of this of course helped to ease the initial concern about our project. But most importantly, we have been able to set an example. This is something that is not done very much in Brazil and because of us other places had to follow our example.”
—
— The name ‘UXUA’ means ‘marvelous’ in the language of the Pataxó Indian tribe. For you personally, what is marvelous about UXUA and Trancoso?
Wilbert: “The Pataxó is a local Indian tribe living on a reserve not far from Trancoso. I had the chance to meet with their chief before we opened and I still visit them every time I am here in Trancoso. Their language is a spoken language only, but the chief prepared a dictionary and I immediately fell in love with the word ‘Uxua’.
I guess what’s marvelous about Uxua Hotel is that it is actually not a hotel. There is no central building, instead we have 9 individual houses, well 10 actually since we decided to rent mine as well. Some of them are right around the ‘Quadrado’, the big, grassy square in Trancoso where all local live evolves around. There are no signs about the hotel, we are completely integrated into the local community. It is as if you have your own house in Trancoso.”
I guess what’s marvelous about Uxua Hotel is that it is actually not a hotel. There is no central building, instead we have 9 individual houses, well 10 actually since we decided to rent mine as well. Some of them are right around the ‘Quadrado’, the big, grassy square in Trancoso where all local live evolves around. There are no signs about the hotel, we are completely integrated into the local community. It is as if you have your own house in Trancoso.”
— Uxua Casa living area
— And that is your philosophy or the essence of Uxua Casa Hotel?
Wilbert: “Absolutely. In your own house at home you don’t have to dress a certain way or talk a certain way. And that is what we wanted to create here, a place that feels like home with the level of service, comfort and small luxuries you would expect from a hotel.
And our guests seem to like that simplicity and the relaxed atmosphere. Today with the Internet, the mobile phone and all the social networks people tend to forget about the simple things in life. So it is really rewarding to see that our guests actually talk to each other, in many cases they are making new friends.”
And our guests seem to like that simplicity and the relaxed atmosphere. Today with the Internet, the mobile phone and all the social networks people tend to forget about the simple things in life. So it is really rewarding to see that our guests actually talk to each other, in many cases they are making new friends.”
— Uxua Casa hotel
— There are 9 individual small houses, all of which are different in their design and architecture. How would you describe the overall style of UXUA?
Wilbert: “A journalist once called it ‘rustic modernism’, which I quite liked. In fact, it is a tribute to the Bahian and Indian influences. Throughout the 2 years building Uxua Casa Hotel, we were working closely with local craftsmen using local and recycled material whenever possible.
And all of the guest houses are completely different, each filled with Bahian art and antiques that were salvaged from abandoned Brazilian farms and restored by local artisans. We have also designed and built the doors, windows, beds and much of the fittings such as the sinks and the wooden showers on site together with local artisans and the Indians from the Pataxó tribe.”
And all of the guest houses are completely different, each filled with Bahian art and antiques that were salvaged from abandoned Brazilian farms and restored by local artisans. We have also designed and built the doors, windows, beds and much of the fittings such as the sinks and the wooden showers on site together with local artisans and the Indians from the Pataxó tribe.”
—
Wilbert's favourites:
Uxua Casa Hotel
Transportation
Eat & Drink
Activities
SightsInterview By: Welcome Beyond
— Please tell me about the swimming pool and the therapeutic power of the green aventurine quartz.
Wilbert: “When we started thinking about the pool, I wanted something that looks like a very clear lake. We’ve been looking around for a while and eventually discovered the perfect stone, aventurine quartz. We created the pool with around forty thousand specimens of this unique green stone, which is native to Bahia. We didn’t even know about the therapeutic power of the stone. Of course, the hippies knew all about it and were quick to point out the healing power. Apparently it is supposed to calm the mind, reduce stress and, I don‘t know, make your skin softer. (laughs) I don’t know, I just feel good taking a swim.”
— Uxua Casa swimming pool
— What else is there at Uxua besides the pool?
Wilbert: “Besides the pool we have also a beach lounge, which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. There are cushioned sofas to relax, a volleyball field, an open air gym and a platform for capoeira classes. We serve drinks and food at the beach but there is also a restaurant that is exclusive to our guests. And finally, we also offer all sorts of wellness treatments and classes such as yoga or reiki in our Spa.”
— Bathroom without showerdoor
— What would you recommend your guests to do?
Wilbert: “There are abundant choices really, depending on what you would like to do. There are all the beach activities such as volleyball, snorkeling and diving. Between August and December it is also the perfect time for kite- and windsurfing. Then there are countless small roads and trails to explore Trancoso and the surrounding area by foot, bike or horse.
You can dare to challenge the locals in a football game on the many fields. You understand how popular football is when even the Quadrado, a world heritage site, has a football field. There are tennis fields, two on the famous ‘Monkey Road’, where the courts are surrounded by forests filled with monkeys who occasionally interrupt the game. And of course there is a truly spectacular golf course above the ocean on cliffs with spectacular views.”
You can dare to challenge the locals in a football game on the many fields. You understand how popular football is when even the Quadrado, a world heritage site, has a football field. There are tennis fields, two on the famous ‘Monkey Road’, where the courts are surrounded by forests filled with monkeys who occasionally interrupt the game. And of course there is a truly spectacular golf course above the ocean on cliffs with spectacular views.”
—
— Do you get to spend a lot of time at Uxua? And what is the first thing you do when you get there?
Wilbert: “I call Uxua ‘home’ more than anything else today and I am fortunate enough to be able to spend about 6 months at the hotel every year. There are many things that I do when I first get there. I love horseback riding for example and there is a river nearby where you can ride along a thousand buffalos, which is really amazing.
I also love to just sit on the Quadrado, the square, watching the people go about their lives with the church and the view of the ocean while the moon rises. It can’t get much better than that.
And finally I also always go to the Indian tribe. As I mentioned before, they are living on this reserve at the entrance of a national park about 35km from Trancoso. They have preserved their traditional lifestyle probably from the time the first Portuguese arrived here. It is always fascinating to talk to them, listen to their stories and see how they are integrating modern aspects of life into their traditional way of living.”
I also love to just sit on the Quadrado, the square, watching the people go about their lives with the church and the view of the ocean while the moon rises. It can’t get much better than that.
And finally I also always go to the Indian tribe. As I mentioned before, they are living on this reserve at the entrance of a national park about 35km from Trancoso. They have preserved their traditional lifestyle probably from the time the first Portuguese arrived here. It is always fascinating to talk to them, listen to their stories and see how they are integrating modern aspects of life into their traditional way of living.”
— Beach
— What has been the biggest reward for you running a boutique hotel?
Wilbert: “For me it is gaining the respect of the local people. As I said the local community is very strong and they were a bit afraid of us but today I feel very integrated and very much respected by them. Another big reward is, of course, the fantastic feedback we get from our guests. And for me personally, the biggest reward is our staff. I really love the staff. I love to see how they develop and the fact that they are really happy and that we make a difference for their families. That is a really big satisfaction.”
— Uxua Casa hotel
— So there are no regrets at all?
Wilbert: “No, no regrets. Not even one!”
—
— Thank you, Wilbert!
Prices are an indication only. The final quote will be the same low price as booking your vacation directly.
There are no fees to book. Please check directly with the owner for special arrangements or information not listed here.
Service
Catering optional
Accommodation type
Boutique hotel
Location
Beach / Coast
Special requirements
Children welcome
Please enquire about pets
Not suitable for wheelchairs
No smoking, please
Transport
Car not required
Private parking
Limited public transport
Prices are an indication only. The final quote will be the same low price as booking your vacation directly.
There are no fees to book. Please check directly with the owner for special arrangements or information not listed here.
Bedrooms
0 Single bedroom
1 Double bedroom
0 Twin bedroom
0 Room w. multiple beds
Additional:
0 Sofabed
0 Extra bed (on request)
0 Air mattress (on req.)
1 Baby cot/crib (on req.)
Bath/shower rooms
1 Bathroom (ensuite)
0 Bathroom (shared)
0 Shower room (ensuite)
0 Shower room (shared)
0 Toilet (ensuite)
Additional:
0 Toilet (shared)
Other rooms
0 Kitchen
1 Kitchenette
0 Cooking area
0 Living room
0 Dining room
0 Other rooms
Prices for 2 sharingperson
Lowest price
Highest price
Off-peak rate
R$ 990
R$ 990
Peak rate
R$ 1400
R$ 1510
Size: 80 square meters. 1 units available.
Tailor-made for honeymooners, this privacy-minded one-bedroom apartment appears cocooned in the sheltering arms of a mango tree. Need a place to sunbathe without fear of the paparazzi? An open balcony with covered eating area and sofa, with view of UXUA’s 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.
Off-peak rates apply from May 1 to July 31 and September 1 to November 31.
Going Brazilian at Uxua Casa Hotel
‘You’re staying in my favorite room,’ said a concierge at Uxua Casa Hotel, (...) upon our arrival. Yeah, right. But by the end of our four days in Trancoso, Brazil, we believed it. Three hours — two by plane, one by car — north of São Paulo, Trancoso is a fishing village turned rustic summer retreat for rich Paulistanos. At one end of the two-hectare quadrado, or town green, is Brazil’s second oldest church, Igreja de São João Batista (1586), and behind it is a sweeping view down to the Atlantic. Single-story buildings in tropical colors flank the quadrado: some are still houses; most are shops and restaurants that open around 5 p.m.; three, including our casa, Seu Pedrinho, are part of Uxua (pronounced Ooh-shoo-ah).
Our room’s proximity to the quadrado is what made it so special. Sitting in the chairs outside our front door, we watched an early-morning soccer game (...). At dusk, the riot of colors calms down, but lanterns dangling from fig trees turn the place magical.
Our room’s proximity to the quadrado is what made it so special. Sitting in the chairs outside our front door, we watched an early-morning soccer game (...). At dusk, the riot of colors calms down, but lanterns dangling from fig trees turn the place magical.
— TimeTime, January 2011
Diesel’s Creative Director Opens Uxua Casa Hotel in Brazil
Rustic and local might not be the atmosphere you’d expect at a luxury hotel conceived by the top designer at Diesel, the fashion-forward, international brand. Instead, infinity pools and sheets of glass might come to mind. But when Wilbert Das, Diesel’s creative director, embarked on construction of Uxua Casa Hotel in Trancoso, a brightly painted coastal village in southeastern Brazil, he aimed for full aesthetic immersion. “I am very tired of design hotels,” Das says. “I think you should feel like where you are when you’re on … vacation.” To revamp and build the property’s guesthouses (eight “casas” and one treehouse) and public areas, he recruited local craftspeople, asking that they use regional construction methods and materials, and avoid glass and plastic. Workers made walls from mud and branches (a local Indian technique), used wooden blinds instead of windowpanes, and shingled roofs with a traditional hardwood.
— Vanity FairVanity Fair, April 2009
Heatwave
(…) Meanwhile, Brazil’s seaside town of Trancoso welcomes the UXUA Casa Hotel, a brand-new nine-bungalow compound made almost entirely out of recycled materials. Designed by Wilbert Das, the creative director of Diesel, the hotel has such rustic-chic touches as an abandoned fishing boat for a beach bar and eucalyptus shower heads. The piece de resistance, however, is the pool, embedded with 40,000 shimmering green aventurine-quartz pebbles.
— Vogue USAVogue USA, April 2009
Completed Quadrado
There is nothing missing in the Quadrado, the central square in Trancoso. Despite of the restaurants and charming little shops, since last April it became more cool with the opening of UXUA hotel, Wilbert Das (Diesel creation director) last creation. The new address was born hype – it hosted the Pirelli calendar 2010 shooting and discreet – there is not even a small sign at the front. Instead of suites, nine houses “make” UXUA, with predicates that include the use of only demolition wood in its buildings and in some of the bathrooms, the shower is made of an eucalypt trunk. Apart from that, details that make all the difference like the welcome bahian sweet on the table, the swimming pool as a green stone mosaic, including my favorite ice cream: the tapioca flavor from Ribeira ice cream, classical soteropolitano (from Salvador). In 70 years, this is the first time the brand serves its ice cream somewhere different from their own shop.
— Marie ClaireMarie Claire, January 2009
Uxua Casa Hotel
In an area of 5.500 square meters located in the Sao Joao square, known as ‘Quadrado’ (National Historical Heritage), the simple and fascinating architecture of its region integrates with outdoor spaces surrounded by gardens and decorated with a rustic and exclusive style, which makes the hotel an invitation to a village lifestyle.
Workmanship, recycled and organic materials, and local construction techniques give the space an original and unique approach that can be found in each of the 14 structures that, with the collaboration of local artists and artisans, were decorated and planed to offer a rustic luxury and casual vibe.
The amazing sensation of ‘feel at home’ is explored in the concept and in the 9 houses (casas) of the hotel, of which 3 are located on the ‘Quadrado’, and from there you will find a discrete path to the unimaginable garden that connects the common areas to the other 6 units.
Workmanship, recycled and organic materials, and local construction techniques give the space an original and unique approach that can be found in each of the 14 structures that, with the collaboration of local artists and artisans, were decorated and planed to offer a rustic luxury and casual vibe.
The amazing sensation of ‘feel at home’ is explored in the concept and in the 9 houses (casas) of the hotel, of which 3 are located on the ‘Quadrado’, and from there you will find a discrete path to the unimaginable garden that connects the common areas to the other 6 units.
— Condé Nast Traveller (UK)Condé Nast Traveller (UK)
Uxua Casa
Six of the nine guest cottages at this boutique hotel — pronounced oo-SHOO-ahh — in Trancoso, Brazil, are scattered around a garden shaded by towering jackfruit trees; the three best rooms face the square. (Yes, one of those candy-colored façades can be yours.) Warm, rustic elements meet sleek Midcentury Brazilian furniture and fully outfitted kitchens. Take breakfast on your veranda or by the pool, flop into a hammock, and play out your biribando fantasy in Trancoso.
— Travel + LeisureTravel + Leisure
Uxua Casa Hotel, Trancoso, Brazil
Every summer, Brazil’s fashion and finance sets steal away to Trancoso, a colonial village on the Bahían coast (imagine the Hamptons in vivid colors). Those who don’t already have their own fabulous digs in the area more than make do at Uxua Casa Hotel, built by Dutchman Wilbert Das, the former creative director of fashion label Diesel. With just nine guest quarters scattered around a lantern-lit garden, this posada set discreetly off the main square makes high style of rusticity. Casas have thatched roofs, cement and/or wood floors, king-size beds with fine linens, and a catalog’s worth of vintage furniture and Bahían folk art. Sumptuous bathrooms incorporate reclaimed tree trunks. At the beach, a five-minute stroll away, the hotel runs a lively bar and lounge, where locally crafted daybeds front a gorgeous strand. Staff may be snooty or sweet, depending on who’s on duty, but with luck you’ll run into barman Morgan Biagio, who makes a mean passion fruit caipirinha.
— Condé Nast Traveler (US)Condé Nast Traveler (US)
Best rates
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