Pousada Papiro Boutique

The beach and scenery are beautiful, and the staff were kind, but staying at this hotel was a nightmare. The food was so salty it was inedible, and far too expensive. They also charge 10 reais for each 33cl bottle of water, with no drinking water provided. Our room was tiny, with a bed as hard as stone. I slept on a rock at the beach and found that more comfortable. There were ants, and a broken bathroom window let mosquitoes in. When we complained, they wouldn't cancel our stay or refund us. They offered a premium suite instead, but the bed was just as hard and the shower had no hot or cold water, nothing at all. The only good part was the staff's kindness. The manager seemed like a horrible person. Too bad you can't give zero stars. Don't trust the good ratings, you'll regret staying here.

The bathroom had black mold and felt unsanitary. We did get compensation, but it didn't feel fair for what had happened. Getting to Abraao was another problem: the hotel's boat ran irregularly, with only a handful of trips each day and the last one back at 9pm, which is pretty early. A 10-minute ride costs 100 Reals per person each way. Since the hotel is remote and it's either a transfer or a two-hour walk, transfers should be included or at least heavily subsidized. If we'd known, we'd have stayed in Abraao. The start of the stay was promising, though. The room was nice, the sea view was great, the bed was comfortable, and staff helped us when we got on and off the boat. Still, disappointing and not worth the money.

There isn't much around Papiro, so it's very quiet. You can reach Abraao through the park in about 1.5hrs, or take the hotel's boat for 100R$ per person. Praia do Fora and Saco do Ceu are also reachable by a shorter path or along the beach. My one suggestion is to offer larger water bottles, around 1,5L, instead of only the 0,33L ones. Maicon and the rest of the staff were great and very helpful, and we even got a free room upgrade. The restaurant has a good range of dishes and was really good.

We'd stayed at other hotels on the island and had a wonderful time, but ended up at Papiro for our last night. It felt soulless, the opposite of a boutique hotel, and charged extra for everything, even the bottled water in the room. The rooms were tiny, we couldn't unpack a suitcase, and ours didn't feel particularly clean. I got sick from the meal there, and the food tasted awful. The staff were very sweet, but getting a response from 'head office' on WhatsApp was terrible. As a result, no taxi boat came to pick us up from Abraão. There are so many better alternatives on the island.