Casas Salomão

The place itself is very basic which is what I was expecting. It was in middle of nowhere in bush area and was peaceful. I really liked the house but that is where it stopped. I was the only person there. The staff are not on-site. So when an issue arose of not being able to unlock my door I was stuck outside my room for a few hours. Everytime I left after that I took my phone or didn't pull the door shut. The.man running the place showed up early mornings and knocked on my door for no reason and was creepy as below.

The man who ran the place was awful. Initially, he seemed nice, but that changed when he realised i wasn't a rich European. He was very money hungry.I paid him for 2 meals upfront and only got one at 10 euro each. He said he was going to town and asked if I wanted him anything. I asked for some fruit and sprite which cost about 6 euro. I gave him 16 euros expecting more fruit and change. He bought back a small amount of fruit and said the change was a gift when i asked for It. It wasn't. I organised a boat trip through him for 120 euros for 6 hours on my own. When I got there, I was joined by 4 other people from Belo Monte Hotel who paid for a 3 hour trip for 40 euro each. They got their 3 hour trip as paid, and I was taken back at the same time. I said to the boat man that i would also pay 40 euro as I got their trip, not mine. He said I had to pay 50 because there was a 10 euro fee for the hotel guy, which I paid. The hotel guy expected me to pay the whole 120 euro for the trip despite it being shared, not solo, and 3 hours, not 6. Then he demanded a 10 euro transfer fee despite me paying that to the boat guy. The same issue happened the next day when I enquired about a trip by car around the island. 100 euro for a full day was quoted. When I asked about a 4 hour half day, he still wanted 100 euro. I eventually found another guide to take me at the more reasonable price 65 euros for over 5 hours and a lot more lovely sites visited, which made the hotel guy more angry. The next morning, he woke me up early, banging on my door, asking for yet more money for the government. Which was not specified as an extra cost on booking.com. At this point, he still owed me 20 euros. I packed and asked to go to the airport and asked for my money. After an hour of yelling at me and ringing his son in portugal, who also believed i should pay for more, he gave me 10 euros refund for my meal but kept the other 10.

This gorgeous house felt so homely to us for our stay in Príncipe. Salamão transported us to and from the airport, and helped us organise to rent a motorbike to explore Principe. He also organised a lovely breakfast for us (with some of the tastiest pineapples and fruits I have ever eaten) and he gave us great advice on where to explore in the island. With a motorbike we were only a few minutes away from the main town, and the accommodation is situated well to explore other parts of the islands (like the beautiful beaches). We were kicking ourselves that we only stayed 2 days in Principe and wish we stayed longer. Casas Salomão felt like home to us straight away!

We loved everything and have no complaints.