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A Precious Place: Would you like to take a “once in a lifetime trip?”
- page 156


Precious Place – Would you like to take a “once in a lifetime” trip ?


In a small fishing village, Trancoso, in Bahia, northern Brazil, Wilbert Das’s hotel has been established. The hotel is called Uxua Casa Hotel. Let’s take a twenty-seven hour trip which includes the transition time from Japan. Wilbert Das, the creative director of DESEL for 16 years, founded the UXUA Casa Hotel. On the broad land, there are nine casa-style guesthouses, Each is handmade by local craftspeople adapting traditional Bahian construction methods. The half-indoor and half-outdoor living rooms and open-sky bathrooms are also built with traditional Bahian interior style. Guests look forward to having lunch on the private beach near the hotel, where there is a beachfront restaurant and a bar along with a big beach-house. Also, at the hotel restaurants, you can enjoy a healthy Bahian fusion cuisine cooked with locally-caught seafood.


“As a matter of fact, I don’t want UXUA Casa Hotel to be a ‘hotel’ that tons of people go to. Instead, I want it to be a big ‘house’ where people with the same interests can come to play. I am hoping that the guests will become friends and feel like they are one big family,” says Wilbert, the owner of the hotel. Like he said, as the sun sets, one by one, guests gather in the dining area that faces the pool to start conversations as if they were at a house party in a large villa. There are times when Wilbert and the hotel staff take the guests on a tour around the town. “UXUA” means “marvelous” in the language of the local Pataxó Indian tribe. Many UXUA Casa Hotel guests visit for more than one week. They stay enchanted in this peaceful, tranquil village, charmed by the rural feel of Trancoso, and many also return again. Now, let’s take off to the other side of the Earth in search of more of this marvelous experience.


*Wilbert Das – creative director of DESEL for sixteen years. He was in charge of all collections, advertising campaigns, and the interior design of the stores.
The UXUA Casa Hotel was his first project since his independence from DESEL in 2010.


My Favorite Place – Wilbert Das takes us on a tour!


The overflowing warmth of the Trancoso village. What are the favorite places of UXUA Casa Hotel’s owner, Wilbert Das, in the Trancoso that he fell in love with?


Originally, I purchased the land for my vacation home. However, when I imagined my ideal vacation home, I wanted a pool and a bar, guest rooms in this style, and as Ithought of all of these ideas, I decided to make a hotel instead. That was the beginning.


I came to Trancoso for the first time about six years ago when a friend of mine recommended for me to visit the village. At first, I even thought, “It is the boring countryside. I want to leave here as soon as possible.” However, after five, then ten days passed, I suddenly found myself fitting in with the local people naturally, like family. I was also charmed by the beauty of the nature. Ever since, I found myself visiting this town on every break.


In order to hire the locals, I created many different training programs. First of all, they could not speak English. We started with teaching them some English and then carefully trained them many other things. They are naturally creative and artistic people, so their English has improved a lot and now, they are even able to enjoy conversing
with me in that language. The people in the village are very cheerful, but the town itself is impoverished. To them, the tourist industry is very important. I manage the hotel with the responsibility for not only the hired staff but also their families’ livelihoods in mind.


UXUA Casa Hotel


*There are nine casas which have 1-3 bedrooms each. Terry Richardson stayed in the casa with the bright pink colored interior for his photoshoots for Pirelli Calendar. Because there are direct flights from Milan, Italy, many
of the guests include European designers and fashion brand owners who admire Wilbert. The pool facing the main dining room is covered with aventurine quartz, which is known to have strong healing powers.


Cheia de Graca
The vivid colors portray Brazilian style.The hotel faces a colorful lighting shop that depicts the town’s natural beauty. It is located in the Trancoso town square and is popular among the guests and Wilbert himself.


Silvinha Restaurant
Wilbert’s secret place along the beach.
Driving forty-five minutes from the hotel, you will see a restaurant (Sylvinha/Espelho Beach) along the beach in the middle of the untouched nature. That is a Wilbert’s favorite restaurant that serves local dishes. He always takes important guests to this restaurant in order to enjoy the relaxing beach lunch. Guests at the UXUA Casa Hotel can request for a ride to and from the restaurant.


Pindorama
A few artisanal objects from this show can be found in the interior of the hotel. The hotel was built by the hands of local craftspeople, It also holds some warm furnishings from this store. Wilbert got some objects for the interior of his hotel from goods he bought when visiting Trancoso so many times in the past. (caption under the necklace) “Staying in the middle of nature like this cultivates my creativity”. Wilbert Das


Pataxo Indian native shop
Rustic yet elaborately-designed Indio accessories. Indio jewelry that is made with only natural material such as trees is one of Trancoso’s local products. The wooden dishes sold at this store are used at the UXUA Casa Hotel. You can drive by this local shop that is thirty minutes from the hotel on your way to the Espelho beach. ∗We are giving away the jewelry shown in the picture. See details for application at the end of this article.


Cacau Restaurant
Wilbert’s recommendation!
Gather at this restaurant at night with your friends.
This restaurant, Cacau, is popular for its traditional seafood dishes. The restaurant holds a lot of land in the town square and it has a open floor-layout that is sometimes used for wedding parties and other events. It makes you want to dress up for dinner here.


Silvana & Cia
Have lunch under a big tree while feeling a soft breeze. Silvana and Cia is the best in Trancoso. Having a relaxed lunch in the breeze with local friends is the happiest time for Wilbert. Having dinner under the big tree by candlelight is very romantic. As the sign indicates, this restaurant is known for its seafood dishes.


Lemanja shop
The goods with cheerful colors warm up the viewers’ hearts. The church in the town square of Trancoso is one of the icons of the village. The shops near by the church are also Wilbert’s favorite. The medallions and the figure of the Virgin Mary are rustic but parts of them depict the uniqueness of the town. These are popular as souvenirs.


Juan
Organic accessories made with natural materials. Wilbert loves the stalls at the town square of Trancoso. This time, special accessories were picked just for Vogue readers. Enjoy the organic taste of the accessories made with natural stones and nuts. ∗We are going to present the accessories in the picture. See the details for application below.


Sao Braz
Both young and old, let’s samba! Dance at a native nightclub. Trancoso locals gather at this nightclub. On weekends, people, young and old, dance to the live samba music. This is a featured scene of the Bahia region that is said to be the origin (direct translation: holy place) of Brazilian Black music. Enjoy the soulful night.


Gifts
We are giving away some souvenirs from Trancoso. On the magazine interview trip, we found Havaianas flip flops, sexy and colorful swimming suits, T-shirts, accessories and more cute items for you. Please access our web site, VOGUE.com for the details of application for the presents and more information about the hotel and the town that is not included in the printed magazine here.