Hotel Roça Sundy - Principe Collection

Our adventure to Sao Tome and Principe had been fabulous and then we arrived at Sundy - the perfect end to our last few days in this idyllic country. Principe is an unspoilt tropical paradise offering virgin rain forest, abundant birdlife and enthusiastic people wanting to show it off. In Roca Sundy, a plantation still producing cocoa with progressive plans in place to treat workers well, provide education and farm sustainably using tourism contributions from each night spent at the hotel. The rooms overlook the gardens visited by fluting calls of starlings, overhead grey parrots, drongos, kingfishers are much more. Each day there was an organised guided walk into the rainforest with huge leaves, bird & frog song and beautiful flowers, or a chance to snorkel in the clear warm waters off pristine beaches, maintained and checked for turtle activity to keep nests safe. The rooms were first class with AC, large beds, plenty of space and a balcony. The restaurant served up an extensive breakfast buffet with a wide range of fresh fruit, cheese, home baked pastel de nata, home produced chocolate spread, patisseries and bread and eggs served to your wishes. Evening meals were beautifully presented and tasty using local sourced ingredients and the bar provided a huge range of drinks and wines. I just hope the money used in eco tourism preserves the magic we experienced and is not over developed.

The description of the room was not quite accurate. We felt many aspects of our stay were deceptive and not what we expected, despite communicating with HBD for almost a year. Our room had a lovely balcony, but it was in front of the outdoor sitting area and not at all private. Despite asking for, and being assured that catering for a dietary requirement would not be an issue, this was not the case. The accommodation was to simply let me know that I had no options and even once deliberately serving me the allergen. It was extremely challenging to communicate with the staff and despite writing to senior management, we were dismissed. Having to pay in advance is a sneaky way to have control over guests. We would not recommend and will not return.