Fasano Trancoso

Before Beyoncé shot a music video on the main square, before its colorful cottages and candlelit restaurants became jetsetters’ hotspots, the sleepy beach town of Trancoso was a place to get away from it all. These days, you’ll have to go a bit further afield to get away from the crowd — a few miles down the coast, for instance, to Fasano Trancoso, tucked between tropical forest and the blue sea on a quiet stretch of Itapororoca Beach. The generously sized property features a collection of starkly white, geometric bungalows designed by Isay Weinfeld, the Brazilian architect who co-designed the original Fasano Hotel in São Paulo.

Weinfeld’s minimalist aesthetic works well in a wildly different setting: rooms are sleek, mostly white and beige, with striking wood-paneled ceilings and ultra-spacious marble bathrooms with walk-in showers partly exposed to sunny private gardens. But his style is adapted to suit the setting, too — old wooden oars are mounted on the walls, and outside, hand-woven hammocks flutter in the breeze on the bungalows’ thatched-roof terraces. Some also have rooftop decks with ocean views. Amenities abound, as there’s plenty of space, including two large swimming pools, a beach tennis court, a fitness center, and a spa. While the main restaurant may be more notable, the more casual beachfront eatery and bar, with wooden tables set up on the sand beneath the shade of an almond tree, is more memorable.