Pousada Sao Silmares

My mother and I stayed in room 3 for a week. It was clean, roomy, and well organized, with a double bed, a single bed, and space to dry clothes. Our host, Cris, was very welcoming and attentive, helping with anything we needed. She also made breakfast, including carefully made sweets. The pudding was wonderful!

The inn is simple and well located near the island's main points, but I had a lot of trouble because of the employee Bira. Check-in became unnecessarily difficult because the reservation was in someone else's name, and that person couldn't travel to the island. Bira started acting strangely and said the reservation was lost and only the person named on it could use the room. I already had that person's permission. Even when the reservation holder spoke with her by phone, she still wouldn't let me in. The holder then emailed the inn all the documents, copying all the owners and authorizing my stay, but Bira still refused. Even the owner called and asked her to let me in, and she wouldn't. Eventually the owners did resolve the check-in problem, and they seemed very willing to help when I spoke with them by phone. I feel bad for them, because their employee is dragging down the business. There were other problems too. My wife asked Bira for a towel and was told only the housekeeper could provide one. The next day we asked the housekeeper, who was embarrassed by Bira's lack of willingness. Bira had access to the towels but apparently preferred to leave guests without one out of laziness and lack of initiative. She didn't even know how to fill out the guest form, so I had to fill in my own reservation by hand, something the inn's employee should have done.

The bed was uncomfortable and didn’t meet expectations. There were also rodents in the ceiling during our stay, making noise that seriously disrupted our rest. The hygiene and general sanitary conditions were unsatisfactory.

Bira and Branca were a real highlight: welcoming, full of suggestions for food and tours, and even lent us a drying rack since there wasn’t room for one in our small room. We stayed in Room 1. It was compact, with the bed against a wall, but comfortable, with a spring mattress, four pillows, air conditioning, and a medium-sized fridge stocked only with water. The window faced the shared area, so we couldn’t open it. The bathroom was basic but worked fine, and everything was very clean when we arrived and throughout the stay. They clean if you leave your key by 11 a.m. The inn is about 700 meters from Vila dos Remédios, an easy 5 to 8 minute walk, so we got around on foot. It’s a simple place without a 24-hour reception. Breakfast ran from 7 to 9 and was basic, with coffee, powdered milk, chocolate drink and cappuccino, couscous, sausage, scrambled eggs, assorted cakes, ham and mozzarella, pulp juices, bread, and a sandwich press. There was papaya and melon every day during our stay from August 19 to 24. Noronha is more than 500 km from the mainland, with no local production of fruit, vegetables, or dairy and limited drinking water. Fresh food is scarce and expensive across the island, not just at the inn. It’s a clean, well-located, basic place that does the job if you’re coming to enjoy Noronha and spend your time out exploring.