Elegantly Restored Cocoa Plantation House in the Heart of the Rainforest
Today, most of Príncipe's plantations (Roças) have been absorbed back into the local communities, but Roça Sundy has been transformed into an affordable guest house comprising just twelve en-suite rooms for lovers of nature, sustainability and escape.
Roça Sundy’s two main houses have been carefully restored to create a journey back in time, with the maximum comfort.
In keeping with a strong and heartfelt commitment to sustainability, all of the restoration work has been carried out by local builders, especially trained for the job, using recycled materials, wherever possible.
Here, you will be looked after by an outstanding team of staff who have been recruited from within the local community to deliver a personal, friendly and authentic service. More than 90% of the team are local and have received a year-long training from the Azores School of Tourism.
Accommodation
Plantation or Colonial
At Roça Sundy, you’ll find 15 comfortable rooms: 9 rooms in the Plantation House and 6 rooms in the Colonial House.
The Colonial House is Roca Sundy’s main house, where the hotel services, restaurant and bar are to be found.
In the Plantation House, the style is more contemporary but with the same level of comfort and splendid views overlooking the plantation grounds or tropical forest.
Whilst restoring and converting the Colonial house into a hotel, much care went into preserving its original style. This is also reflected in the authentic decor, including some original pieces of furniture from the last century.
All of the rooms are spacious and include:
Air conditioning | private bathroom | satellite TV | safe | mini-bar
Island Cuisine
Locally Inspired
At the Roça Sundy restaurant is a commitment both social and environmental. What isn't produced in Roça Sundy's own organic gardens, is negotiated fairly with local producers and it is believed that this is the only approach that makes sense. Dishes are always inspired locally with fresh fish, fruits and vegetables of the season
Inspired by the respect of the nature and the surroundings, using and making the most out of what the island has to offer
History
Cocoa & Coffee
The Sundy Plantation House was the second largest plantation in Príncipe: by the year 1912 it had 584 workers, whilst Porto Real, the largest Roça on the island, totalled 844.
At that time, the Roça was engaged in the production of ‘fine cocoa’, ‘choice cocoa’, and coffee, besides coconut, copra, palm kernel, banana, papaya, matabala, and cassava.
Like all the big estates, it also produced what was needed for its own consumption, including cattle farming, poultry houses, vegetable gardens, etc., justifying the enormous infrastructures that were gradually built to ensure the smooth functioning of all the cogs of this large undertaking.
One can still see traces of the old railway line in different parts of the island. Reaching a length of 9 kilometres, it linked Roça Sundy to its subsidiary plantations and, most importantly, to Praia Sundy (Sundy Beach), from where the merchandise was shipped off
Sundy Science
Theory of Relativity
At Roça Sundy, in May 1919, Sir Arthur Eddington, on an expedition to observe a solar eclipse, was able to confirm Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
His observation was based on the curvature of light rays, or the deflection of light, which proved that space and time were not absolutes as Newton had claimed. Thus, Sundy and Príncipe island became forever associated with one of the most important scientific discoveries in the History of Science
