Need to know

Rooms

Eight bungalows.

Rates

Low season, €137–€178; high season, €178–€228, including breakfast; excludes 15 per cent taxes.

Check-out

Midday, although both check-in and check-out are flexible, depending on availability.

Facilities

Massage treatments, personal trainer, library, furniture and antiques boutique, free WiFi in all rooms. In rooms: TV, minibar.

Poolside

Occupying a clearing in the lush flora beside the open-air restaurant/chill-out area, Etnia’s pool is surrounded by cosy sun chairs.

Children

Although extra beds can be arranged (at 30 per cent of the room rate for a third person and 40 per cent for a fourth), the hotel is a decidedly grown-up playground.

Also

Three-night minimum stay. Rates increase for the Christmas and New Year periods.

In the know

Our favourite rooms

Etnia’s bungalows are dotted around the woodland and linked by paved pathways, so each offers plenty of privacy. They’re all styled according to a different geographic theme, with spacious Gipsy decorated with a Romanyish blue and red palette and including an endearingly kitsch Madonna statuette among its ornaments. Goa, by contrast, offers a stylised slice of hippy India, and Trancoso evokes the local village, with simple murals of rural buildings and a wooden four-poster. A smaller bungalow, Kyoto conjures Japanese minimalism in red and white and unlike the others, features a futon bed.

Packing tips

Insect repellent never goes amiss in these tropical climes, but otherwise just make sure you’ve a stock of holiday reading to skim through, some haiavanas to flip-flop around in, and a mind for some serious relaxation.

Also

A trained masseur is on hand to soothe your joints with a Watsu massage (water therapy), and the hotel’s own personal trainer runs free Aqua gym sessions three days a week.

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant

The freshest fish, classic Mediterranean-fusion creations and chicken dishes dominate the lunch menu at Etnia’s open-air poolside restaurant. In the evening, take your pick of the restaurants in Trancoso’s Quadrado (main square).

Dress code

Brazilian boho-chic.

Top table

Sit out in the breeze on the decking around the pool.

Last orders

Etnia only offers (excellent) breakfast and lunch, but snacks are available until 10pm.

Room service

The kitchen can prepare light meals and nibbles to be delivered to your bungalow throughout the day.

Hotel bar

A selection of drinks, including three locally made wines, is available from the restaurant area, but you’re more likely to make the two-minute stroll into Trancoso, which has plenty of tempting watering holes.

Smith card offer A bottle of champagne on arrival

If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).

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Smith concierge

If you'd prefer to talk to someone, or don't want to book online, call our travel team on 1 866 610 3867. We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.

Etnia Pousada

Av Principal s/n, Trancoso