We chose Sagu for our honeymoon on Ilha Grande. We are discriminating travelers and Sagu delivered impeccably on all fronts. The location was ideal: a few minutes walk from the only town, but completely private, so we could relax and experience an unspoiled rainforest environment while overlooking a quiet azure bay with sea turtles coming to visit the resort every afternoon.

The town (Abraao) is where all the pousadas are located, and though it is charming I am SO glad we didn’t stay there - it’s congested with tourists and exhaust-spewing boats, there’s noise and construction everywhere, and it’s the least attractive beach on the island.

The staff at Sagu were consistently attentive and helpful, suggesting trails, day trips, beaches, etc and most spoke English. Our room was spacious, clean and tastefully decorated, with a private balcony and ocean view. The grounds were immaculate while retaining a lush, tropical feel. Breakfast was a copious spread of fresh squeezed juices, various fruits, just baked breads, cheeses and cold cuts on a patio overlooking the water. For restaurants we tried many; by far the best was at the Toscanelli at the Sagu. Fresh grilled fish, pasta, and the best filet of beef I’ve ever tasted, plus a great wine list. My husband loved the guests’ private office area with free 24/7 internet.

This beautiful island can be a bit scruffy when it comes to services, and it was a pleasure to be so well taken care of, to have the most comfortable accommodations available and fresh, delicious food, while also getting a serene island experience.

Exceeded all expectations. Highly recommended.

We rented out the entire Sagu Mini Resort for 4 days in May 2009 for our wedding. At the end of the four days, we and our guests were very satisfied, even the very picky and demanding ones.

Strong points:
-beautiful and well maintained facilities right up against the rain forest for the most part
-most rooms had a great view and were clean and very beautifully finished
-great breakfast
-service was very good for the most part, particularly by the general manager Ms. Ana and a few of the other staff
-the food on wedding night was fantastic - everybody, including a few gourmands, was ranting and raving about how delicious it was
-Ms Ana, the manager, corresponded with my mother beforehand to accommodate her vegan diet
-management/staff had an easygoing attitude when we partied until 3am and received a couple of noise complaints
-arranged dock pickups, boats to Lopes Mendes, transportation back to Rio, etc. for what those guests thought was a reasonable price
-we went to Buzios and Paraty afterwards, and we were so happy that we had chosen Ilha Grande over those two more famous Brazilian tourist spots.
-they charge 4BRL for a can of beer, which was less than half the price of the Rio Sheraton and comparable to much simpler accommodations on Ilha Grande


Things to work on:
-on the first night and on the fifth night (a few of us decided to stay an extra night), the food took far too long, and in my opinion, was overpriced; they did, however, provide great breakfasts everyday and delicious appetizers and an extensive buffet on our wedding night
-the wireless has a few blind spots and goes out when it rains (it is a fairly remote location, though, so I imagine that is a common problem all over the island)
-the walk from the town to Sagu is about 15-20 minutes, and sometimes you have to walk through a few small tidal pools; the 30-somethings thought it was rustic and romantic, but my 67 year-old mother and 76 year-old aunt couldn't be bothered to do it everyday; Sagu will gladly arrange a water taxi.
-we had cocktails in the hot tub on the first night, but it was more like a very warm tub; it had recently undergone repairs; nevertheless we had a good time

Basically everybody had a great time at Sagu, and except for a few hiccups, we were happy we had our wedding there. Yes, it is more expensive than other places on the island, but we and our guests felt we were able to truly relax there.

Do not stay here. There are a hundred other pousadas in IG with a better location that are much cheaper. The transfer price quoted in our confirmation email increased significantly when
we tried to book it from Rio, so we arranged our own transportation. When we got to the dock, there was no one from Sagu around, and we had to ask strangers how to get there. Upon arrival, after the 15 minute hike with our bags up muddy hills, Sagu staff said 'oh, you should have taken our taxi boat.' Yeah. Thanks.

The bathroom ceiling leaked and the room was full of tiny ants. The bed was
hard and the pillows were so flat that you had to fold them in half. On
the bright side, the grounds were quite nicely kept and gardens well-manicured.

The hot tub looks nice on the website, but we did not feel like ponying up $20 per person to use it for one hour. Jeez. The restaurant has an extensive menu, unfortunately, 3/4 of the items were crossed off as unavailable.

My scallop linguine had three tiny scallops (seriously) and a handful of salad shrimp. They have an extensive wine list, but little of what's on
the list is available. Particularly if it's raining (which it did one night we were there) it is impracticable to eat anywhere but at the resort because the hike into town is just too onerous. Breakfast was passable, but
we were swarmed with black flies while we ate.
Staff was unhelpful with planning excursions, and it's no mystery why.
They offer excursions through the hotel - such as to Lopez Mendez beach -
at an exorbitent rate. We hiked to LM Beach and easily caught an independent
boat back for $5R. It's not often you can do something for a fraction
of the price. Similarly, their transfer from the island back to Rio cost hundreds of dollars. We opted to arrange through one of the companies in town, and found that the service only cost $65R per person.

I do, however, highly recommend Ilha Grande, and wish that our stay on
the island had been longer as there was more to do than we could accomplish in our two days.

Edited to revise figures, as I inadvertently miscalculated some of the
rates and wanted to make my review as accurate as possible. Also worth noting -- upon initially posting this review, the owner of Sagu e-mailed my
husband's employers to call us disonhest (and likely to intimidate us into removing the review). This is the kind of individual you'd be doing business with in choosing Sagu.