Belo Monte Hotel and Museum

everything is incredibly beautiful and friendly here. Pool, jungle, beach, hotelressort .. this hotel is really exquisite. You get what you pay for. The praia banana is the "housebeach" one of the most beautiful beaches in this area. They can bring you per Jeep up and down, if you are not good on feeds , or the humidity animates you, not to walk one meter more then nessessary ;-) They have a bar at the beach, and High-quality berths with wooden loungers.

The plantation buildings have been sympathetically transformed into a comfortable hotel. A friendly team of staff with someone available at all times to assist us in any way conversing with us in English. We enjoyed three excellent excursions, it’s worth listening to advice and local knowledge to get the best from the trips out. When I was feeling unwell I was shown kindness, understanding and help. The beach is magical, the views from the hotel of sea are beautiful, good food, rooms are clean and the museum interesting. We had a wonderful time; however it is Africa and a small island so expect a lack of seatbelts, breakfast not always ready on time and an element of waiting. Go with the flow, don’t let it bother you and enjoy this special slice of paradise.

The venue is spectacular with a truly breathtaking sea view from both the main terrace and dining area, especially during the sunsets. It is such that often, you simply prefer to sit and enjoy the view to leaving the hotel area. They also arranged a dinner with Sao Tomean live music at a view point halfway to the beach one of the nights. If attentive one can actually see a whole range of birds already from the broader hotel area. I managed to see both grey parrots and the two main types of kingfishers. The pool is on the smaller side but it is fully possible to swim in it and you will anyways prefer to go to the beach (the hotel arranges an included shuttle service to Praia Banana, including towels and snorkeling equipment, on demand and there are several other nice beaches to visit on walking distance, many of them amongst the best I have seen on the Western side of Africa). Unlike many places in the region, it is generally safe to swim at the beaches. The snorkeling trails are amongst the better I have experienced in the region where I saw beyond a dozen species of fish, starfishes, morays, sea urchins, rhodolites and even small squids and a turtle. The turtle night tour to Praia Grande, I would strongly reccomend and the hotel offer a large range of activities. The museum on the premises is well worth an early visit. If you are new to the region, you can see many tropical plants and butterflies in the immediate area (bananas, cocoa trees, pineapples, mango trees, sapsap trees, cotton trees etc). The staff are service minded and really keen to make you feel at home. I stayed in the Manor House Luxury Suite and would definitely recommend one of the rooms in the Manor House for the stunning view and practical location. I had a little balcony with sea view directly from the bed room and there was also a French balcony overlooking the courtyard from the living room. The only point of improvements is that while the food was by all means fully satisfactory, not fully a five star option as the rest of the stay. This is probably partially due to the remote location practically limiting options but they could for instance have more juice options for the breakfast and more variety for the dinner (as a vegetarian, they were very helpful and flexible in providing very good options so I was indeed very happy with the food). There are actually more options than they always put forward for the breakfast such as cerals with milk, bread and tea. As is to be expected and common in this part of the world, there are ants around the venue. I had initially planned to visit Bombom resort but booked Bela Monte as Bombom is undergoing a renovation. I did not regret this and would definitely book a stay at Bela Monte again if I return to Principe. Highly recommend - you wont regret your stay!

Absolutely stunning view, though in our eyes the whole hotel is overrated due to the very (!) relaxed service and the normal, basic food. Staff, however, is very forthcoming, friendly and lovely. They really make you feel at home. Some of the minor drawbacks: Plates were often dirty and had to be cleaned again. Breakfast and dinner buffet were late most of the time, but then again, you are not in a rush on Príncipe. A laundry rack would be great to have in the rooms, since clothes do not have a chance to get dry in Príncipe's climate without one. What we loved: The lovely garden, the lush pool area (pool enclosure itself will need restoration soon) and the trips to the beach which are quite a treat. The museum is very informative. All in all, if they put a bit more effort into the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the dishes and work a bit on a structured hotel environment, it is the perfect place to forget the world around you for some days. We would always come back.

Espaço fantástico com uma vista indescritível. Funcionários muitos simpáticos e atenciosos. Fizemos um tour com o guia Filé e o motoristas Lander, foram super simpáticos, muito profissionais e muito prestáveis, levaram-nos aos locais mais interessantes, partilhando connosco muita informação sobre a ilha e toda a sua história desde a colonização. Este comportamento contrariou completamente a primeira impressão que tivemos com o responsável das actividades, muito simpático mas sem conhecimento da ilha. O único ponto menos positivo foram os jantares, a qualidade da comida não correspondeu a qualidade do hotel.

A Roça é linda e está muito próximo da praia Banana, uma das praias mais bonitas da ilha do Príncipe. A vista da varanda principal é única e é maravilhoso ver os pores de sol com vista para o ilhéu Bom-bom. O staff é impecável e aconselho muito a caminhada pela Roça que está incluída na estadia e onde se pode aprender sobre as plantas medicinais e ver vistas incríveis das escarpas. Um único senão: A Roça fica bastante isolada e sair de lá para jantar implica apanhar um táxi que custa 20€, para ir para Sto. Antonio, ficamos por isso cingidos às refeições do hotel, que são caras e pouco interessantes se querem experimentar a comida local.

One of the most amazing places I’ve been to! Genuine, friendly, spectacular views from the balcony in the main building. Great selection of outings and adventures. Excellent service from the Manager and Event Manager. Nice and interesting museum on the premises. Nice walk down the hill to the fantastic beach “Praia Banana”. Snorkelling easy off the beach, always something new to see. Perfect swimming and playing in the ocean but maybe not so good for small children. We loved the relaxed and laid back atmosphere. Very good Wi-Fi.

Um hotel que provem da recuperação de uma antiga roça. Local muito agradável e bonito, muito cuidado, com quartos grandes e confortáveis. Um WC igualmente grande, com banheira mas também com chuveiro separado, água quente. Wi-fi gratuito e com sinal razoável. Exterior muito cuidado. Piscina, não muito grande mas limpa. Acesso à praia banana feito em jipes do próprio hotel e sem custo adicional. Vistas muito bonitas e com um varandim onde se pode ter um por do sol lindíssimo. Comida excelentemente confeccionada muito saborosa e diversificada. Apenas o pequeno almoço peca por ser francamente fraco, com pão já muito seco e cortado em fatias, bem como muita pouca variedade o que é uma pena. Ainda assim, é um local a não perder. Talvez seja aliás o melhor hotel do Princípe.

Non costa poco questa meravigliosa Roca, antica piantagione costruita nel 1922 e ristrutturata da una coppia di olandesi nel 2014 che lo ha trasformato in un meraviglioso resort. La posizione da sola in parte legittima l’onere, dominando dall’alto e da diverse angolazioni il mare blu che emerge a sua volta da un oceano di lussureggiante vegetazione tropicale. Ma Belo Monte è molto di più. E’ un castello delle fiabe in mezzo ad una piantagione, è uno stupenda tenuta di campagna africana con echi coloniali ed ambienti d’epoca comunque molto sobri e raffinati. E la quintessenza del relax e del comfort mentre ti trovi fuori dal mondo Le camere, una ventina in tutto, di diverse tipologie, sono ampie e ben arredate, funzionali e confortevoli. Si trovano sparse nel largo cortile occupando in parte l’edificio principale o prendendo il posto dell’antica clinica locale o delle camere per la popolazione operante a suo tempo nella piantagione. L’atmosfera che si respira è meravigliosa ma non mancano i confort, a partire da una bella piscina immersa nella foresta, un bellissimo ristorante, differenti terrazze dominanti il mare. Non manca neppure uno splendido museo che illustra le caratteristiche naturali ed umane dell’isola. Ma l’immenso punto di forza sta nella vicinanza della più bella spiaggia dell’isola, Praia Banana, che si trova nei confini della piantagione stessa ed a cui è possibile accedere con i mezzi dell’hotel sempre disponibili. Praia Banana è incomparabile, la bellezza assoluta, incredibilmente deserta in molte ore della giornata e comunque dotata dei servizi del resort, tra cui un bar ed alcune capanne di legno con lettini adagiate sulle spiaggia. Non manca neppure la connessione wifi in spiaggia, peraltro presente in tutta la struttura. Lo staff è sempre poi disponibile nell’organizzare tour in fuoristrada o gite in barche sull’isola, offrendo ampie opportunità tra l’altro a condizioni onestissime. Tra le formule di alloggio viene offerta la pensione completa o la mezza pensione, non ci sono peraltro molte alternative per pranzare o cenare in zona, ma la qualità in generale della cucina è di buon livello, con scelta di piatti a la carte. Il servizio, come peraltro accade un po’ dappertutto su queste isole, denota talvolta qualche decadimento, anche in virtu’ di qualche problema linguistico di parte del personale ma nel complesso è di livello più che accettabile. Belo Monte è davvero il degno coronamento dello splendore dell’isola di Principe. Per fortuna (nostra) al momento poco conosciuta ed aliena dalle masse. Un sogno, che vale ogni euro speso.