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Vanity Fair Visits the Showers of the Uxua Casa Hotel

Where: 10 Rue de Parque, Trancoso, Brazil

Heading down to the Bahia region of Brazil, Vanity Fair did us a favor by checking into the new and rustic Uxua Casa Hotel, also known as the pet project of Diesel's creative director, Wilbert Das. Surprisingly, they don't gloss over the fact that at $395–$1,095 per night, staying at the Uxua is the "fat wallet" kind of roughing it, but worth it if you want to immerse yourself in Bahian culture and craft.

When it comes to his work at Diesel, Wilbert must focus his creativity on clothing and concentrate on what's in current fashion, but with the Uxua, he had the freedom to play with interior design and utilize local woodworkers to elevate his hotel above "Design Hotel" status. Vanity Fair is particularly head-over-heels for the handmade furniture and exhibitionist showers. Their take:

One thing that's modern about the hotel, he says, is the way that local craftsmanship became amplified and reinterpreted. In several guesthouses, for example, craftspeople added plumbing to wooden beams, creating unusual showers. ("It's incredibly strange to see the water just flowing out of the construction of the building," Das says.) They carved fallen trees into rough-edged sinks and benches and turned an erect tree trunk into a huge outdoor shower. In the garden, a self-taught mosaicist took on the challenge of a 40,000-pebble pool.

Undoubtedly a retreat for the rich and reclusive who fancy a bit of slumming with their caipirinhas, the Uxua sounds like heaven. Like heaven, it is also only within reach of those who enjoy paying through the nose for their indulgences (Catholic joke!).

[Photo: Vanity Fair]