Txai Itacaré

Style

Barefoot in the palms

Setting

The eco-cool Cocoa Coast

Txai Itacaré resort features the best of Bahia. From its unspoilt beach and coconut groves to the jungle bungalows crafted with local bamboo and palm fronds, this hotel invites you to revel in the riches of Brazil’s northern coast. Txai’s capoeira classes and caipirinha cocktails have home-grown appeal, too.

Facilities

Rooms

Thirty-two suites.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, depending on availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm, but also flexible.

More Details

Rates include buffet breakfast.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Private beach, six swimming pools, spa, gym, two tennis courts, helipad, reading room, gaming and TV room, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, minibar, Nespresso coffee maker, bathrobes and Natura Ekos toiletries.

Our Favourite Rooms

Anyone seeking total privacy (we’re looking at you, honeymooners) may want to stick to the bungalows, as some of the apartment rooms (Superior and Superior Twin) are built in blocks of four. Plus, all of the bungalows have private wooden decks that are built on stilts for uninterrupted views. If you can swing it, the Premium Bungalows have private pools nestled between palm groves.

Poolside

Serious swimmers can rack up laps in either the 50-metre pool or the 25-metre oasis, which sits near a smaller children’s pool. More laid-back bathers might venture over to the leisure pool just beyond the Cacau restaurant. Palm trees and loungers surround all of these splash spots, which are also just steps from the beach. There's also a heated pool that is part of the spa and has sweeping ocean views from its hilltop locale, and a second children's pool.

Spa

A visit to the property’s Shamash Spa is an adventure in itself. Treatments include a game-changing foot ritual that’s inspired by Chinese medicine (Step on the Clouds), and a serotonin-boosting therapy in which an Ayurvedic specialist drizzles oil over the 'third eye' to stimulate the brain (Shirodhara).

Packing Tips

When in Brazil, sport teeny bikinis and tiny trunks (plus body confidence to spare). Also, don't forget your capoeira pants, as you can learn to kick and cartwheel at the resort.

Children

Welcome. Youngsters up to age six stay free. Cots for babies, high chairs and baby baths are available at no extra charge. The restaurants offer children's menus, and babysitting can be arranged for around $60 an hour.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

There’s not a bad table at Cacau, but for extra romance, arrange for a candlelit dinner on the beach.

Dress Code

Easy-breezy beachwear; bonus if you sport anything made of bamboo.

Hotel Restaurant

Come mealtime, it will be difficult to peel yourself away from the ocean vistas and palm-tree panoramas so it’s a good thing you don’t have to. Breakfast is served in Orixás, where you can munch on coalho (wood-fired cheese sticks), as well as tropical fruit, breads, cold cuts and fresh juice to start the day. For lunch, grab either a table or a hammock in the sand at the appropriately named Beach Restaurant. Txai’s dinner spot, Cacau, is also open to the oh-so-amazing elements, and features the best in Brazilian cookery. Feast on shrimp stew or oxtail steak wrapped in banana leaves and request a bottle of vinho from the cellar.

Hotel Bar

The beach bar will be your go-to during sunbathing hours. At night, Txai’s communal drawing room transforms into Casarão Vermelho, the pop-up cocktail lounge that will forever change your idea of what a caipirinha should be.

Last Orders

Breakfast runs 7am to 11am; lunch is 1pm to 4pm, and dinner is 8pm to 11pm. At the bar, sip cachaça until 11pm.

Room Service

Order sandwiches, salads, pasta and desserts from 7am to 11pm.

Planes

The nearest domestic airport is Ilhéus, which has regular flights from Salvador and São Paulo (and some seasonal routes from Rio de Janeiro). From there, it's just a 50-minute drive to the resort and your first poolside coconut water.

Automobiles

It's possible to hop in a rental at Ilhéus and park for free at the resort, but wheels aren't a necessity. The resort can set you up with tours to all the major sights in the area, plus they have a free shuttle to the nearby town of Itacaré.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

If it’s beach you’re after, you’ve hit the sea-and-sand jackpot. The hotel rests on a seaside stretch of Bahia called the Cocoa Coast, a surfer's paradise originally named for its cocoa farms. There are 16 beaches in the area around Txai alone. You’ll get to know Itacarezinho really well, as it’s the one right outside your bungalow, but you should also consider a visit to the nearby beaches of Camboinha, Havaizinho (which means 'Little Hawaii' in Portuguese) and Engenhoca. Palm-lined hiking paths that weave through the rainforest connect all of these sandy sanctuaries. Prepare for about a 40-minute journey out and traverse the trails alone, or book a tour with Txai’s onsite Excursion House. The organised outing to Jeribucaçu beach is worth it, as this spot is a bit further north and the trip includes transport. Plus, you’ll get to take a dip under the Usina waterfall.

Beyond beaches, get a taste for local history on a tour of São Francisco Farm, a major cocoa producer of yesteryear. You’ll learn how cocoa was cultivated and processed and discover how the region made its money for most of the 20th century. And, as your Smith Extra, you'll get to splash about in the Tijuípe waterfall, because it wouldn’t be a rainforest excursion without the requisite waterfall bath. You'll be driven to Ilhéus and then trek through the rainforest with a guide before you reach the waterfall.

Back at the resort, learn artful evasion techniques in a capoeira class taught by a local guru, or take advantage of all that beachfront and hang loose in a surf lesson. If you prefer backhands to barrels, tennis tutorials are available on the property’s courts.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .