As days in the northern hemisphere get shorter and colder as an unequivocal indication that winter is swiftly approaching, my thoughts turn to warmer and sunnier climates. While perusing a few websites to indulge my fantasy of whiling away a few days in an exotic location, I came across a luxurious villa in Brazil that decidedly topped my list of perfect places to escape.
Located in the town of Arraial d’Ajuda in the south of Bahia, Villa Greda is a stunning seven‐bedroom villa surrounded by tropical vegetation in a 4,000 square-meter plot of land with its own helicopter pad and private access to the nearby beach. Designed by architect Carlos Rodriguez and completed in early 2013, the 1,400 square-meter villa combines traditional regional and modern styles throughout its four buildings, which were decorated by local interior designer Sara Afonso and São Paulo lighting designer Edson Moya.
The main house includes a ground floor with a large open-plan kitchen and a spacious living room with floor-to-ceiling windows, an outside dining/lounge area with a barbeque/wood-burning pizza oven on one of the verandas and a first floor that hosts a master bedroom suite (with its own bathroom and private terrace) that commands views of the swimming pool, the ocean and the forest. The second building, built along the edge of the property and closer to the sea, comprises three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms underneath a large sundeck area with extensive views.
On a lower level of the plot and built into the hill, the third building consists of two more bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a cinema and a games room. Sitting above this building is an L-shaped 16-meter infinity pool. Leading on from the games room is an additional bedroom that overlooks the forest. A short walk away is the meditation garden, exercise and massage suite and a large sauna area. Hidden behind the main house is the laundry area and the accommodation quarters for staff (a full-time security person, two maids who cook and clean, and a caretaker).
