Pousada Maravilha is the Fernando de Noronha hotel that most honeymooners picture: a small cluster of suites and bungalows on the hill above Baía do Sueste, with hot tubs on the verandas and an infinity pool looking out over the bay. It has only 11 rooms, a restaurant that ranks among the best on the island and a wellness space for massages after a day of hiking and snorkeling.
The pousada is expensive, which is normal on Noronha, where the number of beds is capped and demand runs high all year. In return you get one of the island's best views from your own deck, a quiet setting away from the bars of Vila dos Remédios and staff who arrange boat trips, dives and dinner bookings for you. Tripadvisor guests rate it 4.6 out of 5 and regularly mention honeymoons in their reviews.
It suits couples who want a polished small hotel with a view and plan to spend their days out on the trails and beaches. It suits less well anyone hoping for a big resort with several pools and restaurants, or a walkable village location.
Highlights at a glance
- Only 11 suites and bungalows above Baía do Sueste
- Veranda hot tubs facing the bay in several categories
- Infinity pool with a wooden deck and cabana
- Restaurante Maravilha and a five-course chef's tasting menu
- Wellness space for massages and therapies
Why Couples Love Pousada Maravilha
The view does most of the work. Sueste is the wide bay on the island's quieter south side, part of the marine national park and known for sea turtles that graze in the shallows. From the pool deck and most rooms you look straight across it to the green peaks beyond. Early mornings are still and silver; late afternoons turn gold.
The scale is the other reason. With 11 rooms, you never wait for a lounger or a dinner table and the staff learn your plans within a day. Guests single out the concierge team for organizing taxis, boat trips and trail permits, which takes real effort off your hands on an island with limited transport.
The pousada also keeps things refined without being stiff. Linens are by Trousseau, the design is warm wood and white fabric and dinner is relaxed enough for sandy feet earlier in the day.
Rooms and Bungalows to Book
There are six categories and the differences matter more than at most hotels.
- Bangalô Sueste Premium: the single top unit, 54 square meters with a king bed and a private heated pool with hot tub on the veranda facing the bay. Book it first if budget allows.
- Bangalô: also 54 square meters, with a canopy king bed and a hot tub on the veranda overlooking Sueste. The best value honeymoon choice.
- Suíte Maravilha: 35 square meters with a private veranda and a direct view of the bay.
- Suíte Jardim: garden view, a swing, an outdoor shower and a hot tub on the deck.
- Apartamento Luxo: 47 square meters with a mezzanine and a panoramic veranda, roomy for longer stays.
- Apartamento Studio: 25 square meters facing a courtyard, the entry rate.
For a honeymoon, avoid the Studio. The bay view is the reason to be here.
Food, Drink and the Spa
Restaurante Maravilha serves contemporary Brazilian cooking built on island produce and fish, with tables that look over Sueste. Expect dishes such as fish moqueca, seafood linguine and octopus with risotto. Lunch runs from noon to mid-afternoon and dinner from 7pm, every day and it is open to outside guests, so book a table for your arrival night.
The kitchen also offers a five-course chef's tasting menu built around the day's catch, which needs advance notice. Meals can be served in your room or on your veranda and the team will pack food for boat days. Breakfast gets warm reviews.
The Espaço Wellness and Terapias is a small treatment space open from 10am to 6pm, with 60-minute massages and therapies. After a day on the trails, a sunset massage followed by your veranda hot tub is hard to beat.
Why guests fall for it
Things to Do on Fernando de Noronha
Sueste is the first stop: snorkel with green turtles in the shallow bay a few minutes from the pousada. Baía do Sancho, reached by a ladder through a cleft in the cliff, is the beach couples come for; go early, before the boats arrive. The Atalaia tide pool requires a booked slot and rewards it with clear water full of reef fish.
On the water, boat trips along the coast often meet spinner dolphins and the dawn lookout over Baía dos Golfinhos lets you watch them from the cliffs. Diving is excellent, with good visibility much of the year. Back on land, end the day at the old Remédios fort for sunset or at Praia do Boldró.
The island charges every visitor a daily environmental preservation fee and the main national park beaches need a park pass. Check current amounts when you book, since they change.
Getting There
Flights to Fernando de Noronha Airport (FEN) connect from Recife (REC), about an hour away and from Natal (NAT). Most couples from the US route through São Paulo or another Brazilian hub to Recife, then hop out to the island. Book these flights early, because seats are limited.
The pousada is close to the airport, a few minutes by car along the island's single main road. There are no car rental chains on the scale of the mainland, so arrange your transfer with the pousada and consider renting a buggy for part of the stay. Taxis and the island bus fill gaps.
Tripadvisor reviewers point out that the pousada is not walkable to Vila dos Remédios and the main restaurants. Budget for taxis or a buggy in the evening. Pack reef-safe sunscreen, good walking sandals and a light layer for windy boat rides.
Is It Worth It?
Typical nightly rates for two start around $800 and climb above $1,500 for the best bungalows in peak months. That is steep and value is the lowest score in guest reviews. Some guests also wanted more shade around the pool and noted small bathrooms in the upper-level rooms.
Against that, Noronha has very few hotels at this level and almost none with this view. If you book a Bangalô or the Sueste Premium, the veranda hot tub over the bay becomes the part of the trip you talk about later. The food and service hold up their end.
Couples who want to walk to dinner should look at pousadas near Vila dos Remédios. Those watching the budget can stay somewhere simpler and spend the savings on boat and dive trips, which are the heart of a Noronha honeymoon either way.
Insider tips
- Request the Bangalô or the Bangalô Sueste Premium; the veranda hot tub is the signature experience.
- Book the chef's tasting dinner a day ahead and save it for your last night.
- Rent a buggy for two or three days rather than relying on taxis at night.
- Snorkel Sueste in the morning before the wind picks up and boats arrive.
