UXUA CASA HOTEL & SPA

Bahia, Brazil

‘It took me 27 hours to get here, but it was worth it. Trancoso is a tiny and unassuming beach town, the grassy square at its heart lined with colourful huts and cottages housing artisan studios alongside restaurants and cafes. Uxua is buried in its own secret garden of palm and cocoa trees, with a curvy sea-green pool, fitness studio, movement classes (which can also be taken on the nearby white sand beach) and now a Food Lab, where guests balance body, mind and soul by taking a deep dive into their nutrition. It all starts with the gut, of course. In-house nutrologist Jullian Hamamoto is a medical doctor who’s passionate about gut health and believes that our own health is inextricably linked with the nature that surrounds us. My meal plan was designed to get me back to my roots, too. Eating the widest possible range of local and organic fruits and vegetables would reboot my gut by encouraging a well-populated and diverse microbiome, said Dr Jullian, and as gut health impacts everything from weight and digestion to skin and emotional health, a few days of this would ease the physically sluggish and mentally burnt-out state I arrived in. I ate delicious chickpea and beetroot burgers or local fish with fresh, zesty salads – coconut sashimi was a real highlight. One morning, Dr Jullian took me foraging in the jungle, explaining the health benefits of the locally growing fruits. We took our bounty back to Uxua to make tasty and nutritious juices. In the spa, I was massaged with organic resin from the native almescar trees, and scrubbed with cacao nibs. Even a dip in the pool, which is lined with healing crystal aventurine to balance blood pressure and reduce inflammation, felt incredibly restorative. I was only here for three days, but even in that short time, I felt a peace I hadn’t experienced in a long time. My mind stopped whirring, my skin looked brighter and the mild bloating I arrived with had gone. Most importantly, I felt back in tune with myself.’ Amy Neason