Etnia was a breath of fresh air. Very stylish but not over done. Professional yet relaxed. Stunning tropical gardens, delicious food, helpful staff, warm & friendly owners that live on site. About 8 villas so its kept very small and personal with a family feel, everyone is on first name terms and I would definitely go back. Etnia is well located with a great pool, a short walk to all that you need, the best beach place to hang out was the newly opened Tangara, just jump on the back of a motor bike taxi there or a 30 minute walk and your dream holiday is realized.

Choosing where to stay in Trancoso (side note, do it!) is a toss up between staying down on the beach itself... beautiful but a good 10-20 min walk back up into the village... or staying in the village itself, somewhere close to the legendary Quadrado everyone talks about. We chose the later and would strongly recommend other visitors do the same, if they are planning on eating and drinking out in the village at night. That choice brought us into a toss up between a few small places of around the same price point, from which we chose Etnia.

We arrived expecting it to be somewhat further out from the village centre than in was - it's actually only a couple of minutes walk from the Quadrado - and, from the main entrance, it doesn't look much. Once inside, however, you are presented with immaculate, large gardens and, after a few paces down the shallow steps, you'll see the view of the pool and communal area that's presented in most of the online picture libraries of the place. First up, the pictures - so often taken to make a place look a lot better than it really is - are spot on. Entia is beautifully presented and appeared to have been fairly recently repainted and tidied up (our stay was in Nov '10).

The communal area itself is used for the (very good) breakfasts and usually has a few of the guests lounging around it late in the afternoon. Apart from that, it's incredibly quiet and actually lends the property a feel of your own private villa rather than a hotel of any kind.

Rooms - of which I think there are only around seven or eight - are situated around the gardens in blocks of either one or two rooms to each small building. Each is themed... think Gypsy, Moroccan, Tribal etc and, again, they appear to be very well maintained by the management and staff. We initially stayed in Tribal, one of the 'standard' (or whatever term they decide to use for the smaller rooms), which was plenty big enough for us and which we'd recommend for the great views down to the pool area. After a few days, we moved to the larger Moroccan suite, which is right down in the far corner of the property and comes complete with separate lounge, bedroom, walk in robe and bathroom. Well worth the extra Real, if you're keen on the extra space.

So, hotel location, good. Layout, great. Gardens and communal area, spot on. Rooms, the same. Which brings us to service, the high point of an already great place. The entire team, from owner to management to kitchen and bar staff to cleaners, clearly take a pride in the place and in the well being of their guests. Every morning, a member of the management team comes down to see guests at breakfast, check everything is okay, make suggestions for the day. When you arrive at the pool each afternoon, one of the bar staff will bring out extra head rests for your sunbed, grab you drinks and snacks and pretty much wait on you hand and foot. Kitchen staff, if you want something, will do whatever they can to make it happen and, as above, the property is clearly a source of pride to the owners who appear to be making constant improvements to ensure the place doesn't become tired.

So, obviously a fan and clearly this is a place I'd highly recommend. Flaws? Hard to pick anything without being pedantic - the pool, being set in the middle of large tropical gardens, gets dirty quickly but what do you expect given your surroundings? The themed rooms, while fine for us, probably wouldn't be to everyone's taste and it's probably worth checking the hotel website before you go to see if anything in particular takes your fancy - my guess is the owners will try to accomodate your preferernces if they can. Apart from that, the only thing to call out would be the three dogs on the property. Again, no problems for us - they are incredibly well trained and well behaved and are great fun to have around, but if you're not a dog lover, it could be a deal breaker for you. That's about it!

Not sure we'll ever get back to this part of the world, but if we do, Entia will be our first pick!

Etnia is a fantastic pousada. The whole territory is like a rainforest! the rooms are nice and spacious (we had Mediterranean suite), breakfast by the pool is something to die for, and the staff is incredible. So friendly, happy and cheerful - seems world is spinning differently in Trancoso.
The hotel is great for those wanting to be close to nightlife, bars and restaurants of Quadrado, but not to the beach - its a 20 min walk. But looking back at it, walking to the beach and along the beach was the best part of the day (head left across the river once you are facing the ocean - thats where the better beaches are, I find).
Prepare for a long bumpy road from the airport - roads in Trancoso are rather directions than roads.
But you will love it, 100%.

My wife and I stayed at Etnia Pousada for one week, and we can honestly say it was an absolute pleasure. During our stay we were upgraded, which took us completely by surprise. Both our original room and the upgraded room were clean, roomy and stylish. Etnia’s manager Laura was incredible, providing us with comprehensive and enthusiastic advice about local restaurants and beaches. Her suggestion of a particular restaurant on Praia do Espelho resulted in one of the most memorable and unique gastronomic experiences of all time! During our stay we hired a car, played golf, and tried lots of local restaurants and Laura looked after all of those details and more. Andre the owner also was full of suggestions for spending our time in Trancoso, and went out of his way to make us feel at home. It was a pleasure to stay at Etnia and we would do so again.