Cozy rooms in Barra

I had a good 2 week stay here while I took Portuguese language lessons at a nearby school. The location is very safe. Safe enough for a solo-female traveler to return back home late as there are doormen 24/7. Ubers here are very fast and a gym is a 5 minute walk away. I stayed here during Carnaval so the walk to the main center was only 25 minutes away and just enough distance from crowds that were too loud. I only have two criticisms though. The first is that this wasn’t the homestay experience I was hoping for. This is my 8th homestay in another country (2nd with this site). This was more of an “Airbnb”. Normally, homestays are a cultural exchange and interpersonal. You spend a lot of time with hosts learning about their country. I didn’t learn anything about Brazilian culture or where to visit/do staying here besides making sure not to have my phone out on the streets. My teachers taught me the rest. Typically, when I stay with families they take me under their wings. They teach me how to make hot chocolate and go to river light shows (Colombia), they take me to meet their students at their jobs (Japan), or teach me about how rum is made on their island and/or we go to carnival together (Guadeloupe). These are samples of a traditional “homestay” which is what language students are told they need to do to enhance their immersive journey in a new culture. It should be more than just renting a room. My first homestay.com experience was like those above. HOWEVER, this is a good place as an Airbnb. If you want a nice room in a good location and 5 minutes of friendly banter per day, fine. Secondly, my only other complaint is although the house is very clean (there is a maid), it has an odor that I think is from the dogs as I could never use the living room hammock as I didn’t like the smell outside of my room. When I was cooking breakfast, the small dog peed right on the kitchen floor so that is why I assume maybe the dog beds create the smell? Anyways, other than that, I feel very grateful that Daysa let me into her home. I also want to apologize again for informing her on my way out that I stained the bedsheet by accident so paid $15 I had on me. Won’t happen again. Thanks & Cheers!

Maravillosas anfritrionas Daysa y Daphne!!!! Hicieron mucho más de lo esperable, me ayudaron con todo lo que yo precisaba y más. Siempre atentas, muy cálidas y amorosas, me sentí como en mi propia casa. Me proporcionaron valiosa información sobre Salvador de Bahía, lugares para ir, medios de transporte, sugerencias sobre gastronomía; me gestionaron reservas de excursiones, se preocuparon por todos los detalles mucho más allá de que debían hacer. También Pipoca, la perra, y Miralva, fueron una linda compañía. Si van a Salvador de Bahía, no dejen de hospedarse en su casa, en uno de los barrios más lindos y seguros de esa espectacular ciudad!!