Asalem

Ansalem is a group of villas and rooms on a hill above a small bay. It’s a short walk to the town or you can take a taxi boat. Beautiful views, good AC and WiFi, nice restaurant, clean. I have stayed there many times, but this was the best yet because of the new rooms. We took a private car and boat from Rio, which was fast and easy but expensive. It’s my favorite get away near Rio.

Extremely unpleasant and concerning experience from a sanitary standpoint. During breakfast, we found small insects and white worms in the granola, which is completely unacceptable for a hotel. When we reported it, a female staff member became visibly irritated when we examined the food more closely, responding defensively and showing no concern for our health. Even more concerning, another staff member tried to minimize the issue in a completely inappropriate way by eating one of the worms in front of us, claiming it was “vitamin E.” Other guests, including my sister, had already consumed this granola, unknowingly ingesting contaminated food, posing a real health risk. This reflects a serious lack of hygiene standards, proper protocols, and professionalism. Very disappointing.

Staying at Asalem was a truly magical experience. The place is absolutely paradisiacal — waking up to the sound of the sea and opening your eyes to the ocean view brings a deep sense of peace and harmony. The breakfast was delightful, carefully prepared, and the team was incredibly attentive, always thoughtful in every detail. Asalem is a special place, and we wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting Ilha Grande.

Beautiful view and good breakfast, but overall a very disappointing stay. Access depends entirely on boats (20 R$ per person each way), and it’s impossible to walk to the village except at low tide. We waited a long time for a boat that arrived late. The stairs are very steep, the rooms are old and not very clean : sheets and towels smelled bad, and the bathroom sink was clogged. We also had no hot water. At check-in and check-out, the staff were not friendly at all. I mentioned the issues with the sink and hot water, but they didn’t offer any gesture or even reduce the transfer costs to the port. Service is slow, schedules are disorganized, and the place feels more like a guesthouse than a hotel , definitely not worth the price. We really do not recommend this place.

Apart from the views and location, there is absolutely nothing positive I can say about this hotel. I honestly wish I had read the reviews beforehand, because they would have saved us a lot of stress and disappointment.||We left after the first night and checked into a beautiful hotel on the main island, right by the beach and surrounded by nice bars and restaurants—everything this place completely failed to offer.||We were celebrating two 70th birthdays, yet nowhere in the booking or communication did they warn us about the long, steep, exhausting concrete stairs you have to climb just to reach the rooms. For older guests, this was completely unacceptable.||The room itself was old, dark, and uninviting. There was no hot water whatsoever, and the layout was borderline dangerous—an upstairs bed with an open staircase leading down to the bathroom, making nighttime trips risky and uncomfortable.||Previous reviews mentioned dusty, smelly beds. In fairness, our bed was clean, comfortable, and didn’t smell, but that’s pretty much the only thing they got right.||What made things even worse is that they failed to tell us that you’re basically trapped unless you use their paid service boat. You have to book and pay every time you want to go to or from the main island. This should have been made very clear before booking.||After experiencing it myself and reading other reviews, I can confidently say this place is misleading, inconvenient, and absolutely not worth the money. I would strongly advise against staying here.

Had a lovely stay at Asalem after a great Congress in Rio de Janeiro. The staff here are all so friendly and accommodating makes you want to stay forever. Day trip around the island was fun to see the other beaches ending with a great lunch. Hopefully I will be back one day!

Pros: beautiful location, calm, relaxing, breakfast is nice. Beach towels provided. Cons: we didn't always have hot water for showers, the taxi boat costs added up (and it was not environmentally friendly), the staff behind reception weren't very proactive. The boat was also very noisy and woke me up on two occasions.

Excellent hotel, all of the staff were very good, helpful and happy. Special mention to Karen, the manager who always had a smile and made sure everyone was comfortable. Because of the topology there are a lot of steps, depending on where your room is, but the more steps, the better the view of the bay. Rooms were well appointed, cleaned every day, plumbing, electricity and WiFi all worked consistently well (not a given on Ilha Grande). Unbelievably picturesque setting, the hotel was very calm and relaxing. The food in the restaurant was a limited choice but everything we tried was very good (I think for most people the main courses would feed 2 people, especially if you have been doing nothing all day 😉). The breakfast was great and I doubt you can find a dining room with a better vista. Being outside town has its pros and its cons, but it was very easy to arrange the hotel’s little boat in and out, and the walk can be fun if you stop for a drink at Julia’s on the way and aren’t in a hurry. Thanks very much to the porters/boat drivers for helping with heavy luggage, too!