Colonial Hotel

Colonial Hotel is a straightforward seaside base in Ilhabela, with a colonial-style look, sea views and the beach close enough to make footwear feel optional. You come here for the useful combination: a room with air conditioning, a swimming pool, breakfast in the morning and the coast immediately outside.

The hotel also works for different kinds of trips. Couples can settle into a Double Room and keep things simple, while families have a Quadruple Room with bunk beds. Pets are welcome on request, which is handy if your travelling companion has four legs and a firm opinion about hotel selection.

A 24-hour front desk, daily housekeeping, free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and free private parking keep the practical side uncomplicated. The atmosphere is more about the setting and the sea than a long list of resort distractions.

You are in Ilhabela, Brazil, at Av. Brasil in the Pedras Miúdas area. Ilha das Cabras Beach is about 30 metres away, and the hotel has direct access to the beachfront. Ilha da Cabras itself is roughly 50 metres from the property, so the local geography is pleasingly easy to understand: room, shore, island.

Ilhabela town centre is about 2 miles away, while the historic centre is around 5 miles from the hotel. The São Sebastião ferry is also about 2 miles away, making the arrival route relatively clear once you reach the island. São Sebastião city centre lies about 5 miles away across the water.

For food beyond breakfast, Marujo is about 50 metres away, with Pizzaria Toscanella Ilhabela and Guarubela roughly 1 mile away. Further afield, Ilhabela State Park is about 4 miles from the hotel, Cachoeira da Toca waterfall about 3 miles away and Baepi's Peak about 5 miles away. Ubatuba Airport is around 49 miles away by road.

Every room comes with a sea view, so you do not need to treat the room category as a treasure hunt for the outlook. The décor is simple and colonial-style rather than glossy or overworked. After salt, sun and a full day outside, the important part is the air conditioning, which gives you a practical way to cool down before dinner.

For two people, the Double Room is the natural fit: one double bed and a private bathroom with a glass-enclosed shower. It is the room to choose when the plan is largely to sleep well, keep the day uncluttered and wake up with the sea in view.

The Quadruple Room is the more useful arrangement for a family or a small group, with a double bed and bunk beds. A wardrobe or closet, linen, towels, a minibar and a flat-screen TV cover the basics without pretending the room is a second living room. Non-smoking rooms are available, and a ground-floor unit is among the accommodation arrangements.

Breakfast is served each morning in the breakfast room as a continental buffet. You get fresh fruit, bread, cold meats and a choice of hot and cold drinks: the sort of spread that lets you build a proper start to the day rather than negotiate with a lonely pastry.

Breakfast is included in the hotel package. A dining area and dining table give you somewhere to sit with food or a drink, while the minibar in the room is useful when you want something cold without turning the evening into an expedition.

The food and drink details are deliberately uncomplicated. Fruit and wine or champagne can also be arranged, and grocery deliveries are available, giving you a little flexibility when returning from the beach or a day on the water.

The outdoor swimming pool gives you an alternative to the sea when you want a shorter, easier dip. The beachfront setting also makes the simplest plan perfectly workable: move from the room to the sun terrace, sit outside and let the view do the talking for once.

When you want more than a lounger, walking tours and bike tours are available, while cycling and hiking can take you further around the island. The hotel also arranges cultural excursions, including boat trips and outings towards isolated areas with trails and waterfalls.

Snorkelling is available as an activity, and fishing can be arranged away from the property. For a couple travelling together, that gives the day some shape without requiring every hour to be filled: coast first, perhaps a walk or boat trip later, then back to the pool before dinner.

Check-in starts at 14:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the hotel asks you to share your expected arrival time in advance. Cash is accepted as a payment method.

Free private parking is available on site, with no reservation needed, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. The front desk operates around the clock, while daily housekeeping keeps the room in order during a stay built around beaches, excursions and the occasional sandy return.

Children of all ages are welcome. Children aged two and over are charged as adults under the property policy, cots can be requested for younger children and extra beds are not available. Pets are allowed on request, with possible additional charges.