Review: Fogo Island Inn

Great review, just so happens I watched a TV programme covering the same hotel. Looks lovely

Another amazing trip report. I look forward to part two.

Incidentally the BBC did an hour-long programme about this hotel recently, as part of its series entitled "Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby". If you're in the UK then you can catch it on BBC iPlayer. It certainly does look like a completely unique hotel.

Nice to see this property reviewed.

Take a look at Southern Ocean Lodge - a similar concept on an island south of Adelaide!

Yeah, not for me. I get it's a spectacular location but for $1200 a night those rooms look like you are staying at grandma's log cabin.

Great review! Just FYI- the Enchantment Resort does something similar in Sedona. They give you the morning paper and a bucket of ice with some fresh Orange Juice each morning. You just open the door and it's there!

I know this is a word that Ben uses a lot, but with my usage please bear in mind I am using British understatement - this place looks INCREDIBLE.

I saw the BBC programme on it a couple of weeks back, and i thought it looked curious and interesting and potentially my kind of place - having read Ben's review I want to go. Love the views of the pack ice. Perhaps April 2018?

The point made about luxury factory hotels is such a good one - one can spend $500++ on a smart big brand hotel, and yes the linens are nice, and the toiletries smell good and the pool is clean etc etc, but you're in room 8934 and you do wonder - is it anything really special?

I totally appreciate every review on this site and it is my go to site for links to magical reward credit cards. I trully appreciat OMAAT.

For me, this "Inn" reminds me of assisted living fascilities. All that is missing from the pictures is a wheelchair and we would be good to go.

I too would appreciate a morning basket. I would seek out the knife and certainly engage in self injurious behavior- just so I could get an ambulance ride for something to do and a change of scene. 🙂

Hahaha, Dan Allen, clearly this Inn isn't for you. Not everyone appreciates a quiet retreat in the heart of nature, where the main activity is just absorbing the natural beauty. And among those of us who would enjoy it, there are times in our lives when such a retreat is the right thing, and other when it's just not what we want or need.

I appreciate this review as it's a hotel and location I'd actually consider visiting. I'm much less interested in the reviews of chain hotels. It's hard to get excited by them, because they all tend to be so similar - if not in style and substance, then in their impersonality towards their guests.

@Lucky thanks for this. Being originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, I agree that the warmth of the people in Atlantic Canada is simply remarkable. This place looks incredible - and it sounds like a wonderful trip, so far.

One small point: what you are calling a "furnace," virtually everyone I know, in Canada anyway, would call a "wood stove." A furnace would be the big thing which would provide overall heat to your home, typically run on natural gas or oil. Wood stoves are smaller and much cosier 🙂

Lucky, you should consider doing reviews of some of the luxury lodges in Australia. I stayed at the Saffire Freycinet in Tasmania last year and it was spectacular, and somewhat reminiscent of this in that it was fairly secluded but an amazing all-inclusive experience at a small property with a ton of individual attention. And while the Australian lodges are typically expensive, my understanding is there are great travel industry rates available that Ford presumably has access to.

Looks like my kind of place. I flirted with the idea of a road trip up to Newfoundland (yes, all the way from Texas) a few years ago but ended up dong something else. This reinforces that I need to make that happen some day. Except I think we'll go in summer. My wife hates the cold. 🙂

P.S. As someone who had St. Bernards around the house growing up, those Newfoundlands are adorable. But it's like having a small bear once they're grown up!

Further to my earlier comment, i've just looked into flights and amazingly (and tantalisingly) it seems you could do the journey to the Inn from London (NB: UK, not Ontario!) within a day. And you don't even have to get up particularly early in London.

LHR to Gander via a change in St John's (Air Canada, obviously) (who knew there was a direct flight from Heathrow to St John's, on an A319?). Departs LHR 11:10, arrives Gander 15:30 (layover in St John's is 1 hr 15 which seems tight but i'm guessing it's not a huge airport).

Last ferry to Fogo Island according to the schedule posted by Ben is 20:30. So that gives you 5 hours to clear immigration, pick up the hire car, and drive to the ferry - which would seem ample based on Ben's experience.

I think all of us Virtuoso's are obsessed with Fogo. I can't wait to go someday. I loved the review!

So, how much did you Lucky pay? Was this a comped stay for a promotional review?

Those dogs are also called newfies. They're big yet sweet tempered, hence a gentle giant.

Lovely review Lucky so thanks.
Sounds like you're appreciating the superior value and experience provided by boutique hotels compared to the big chains :).

Reminds me very much of Titilaka ( http://titilaka.pe/) in Peru.

Lucky given that you stayed there for free I would have loved it as well. But I dont see you ever spending that much for a hotel that offers this.
There are Airbnbs in Iceland that have the same views and cost $200-$300

@Ivan Y, his boyfriend paid for it if that's what you mean. Or are you just implying that it's a sponsored stay, in which case you are wrong. try again

I appreciate the location of the inn, the solitude, and the intimate nature of the service. However, if I'm paying more than $1,000 per night, I don't want it decorated and furnished like an old B&B. If I wanted to stay at a local resident's house, I'd stay at a local's house -- hopefully, for less than $1,000 per night. Nonetheless, to each their own!

Looks like a pleasant enough place to spend the night, but at those prices the whole thing seems more like an elaborate prank than a bonafide hotel.

Great honeymoon experience! So you popped like a road runner in the morning... there's something to be said for going slow and steady...;)

Since you like the morning basket concept, check out Omni hotels loyalty program. After your first stay, you get coffee or tea delivered your room daily!

The Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis delivered coffee or tea to your room to accompany your wakeup call.

That looks much more like a wood stove than a furnace.

So cool!!! Love discovering new places through your blog. #TeamOMAAT

For $1,000 a night, they're making a fortune. Yes, the hotel probably cost a lot of money to build. Yes, the cost of doing business is probably higher in semi-remote Newfoundland, but for $1,000 they only need to sell a couple rooms to pay the bills. I expect a real bottle of champagne for free at that price.

A heartfelt thank you for bringing this unique place to my attention through a sincere and considered review. I eagerly anticipate the second instalment but remain bemused at the thought that $1,000 per night for such an experience is considered by some to be expensive.

Biliken - then don't. and no need to let the world know.

A vast majority of the hotels I've been to in the middle east of both chain and local variety have offered a card you fill out before you go to bed and breakfast/coffee/tea/etc. are at your door at the time of your choosing. Not a new concept by any means but still appreciated.

Did you and Ford take showers together in the sauna? Strange to not see privacy in the showers.

I have absolutely loved this series. As a long time fan of Great Big Sea I know the names of all of these places but never had any interest in visiting until seeing your photos. Thank you!

Great Report - I also saw this property covered on the BBC a couple of weeks ago. I agree entirely with the statement about the value of such experiences and comparison with large luxury properties. I managed to spend a couple of nights at Claridge's in London in April at a special spring rate of $500 per night. It was worth every penny because of how the staff made you feel. Beats bling every time.

It must be about the service/views/attention to detail ,because the building is a little authoritarian from the outside, and the folksy interiors have little to do with the industrial facade (which is a good thing) Fantastic setting though....pity it doesn't translate to the building.

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/fogo-island-doctor-shortage

Fogo Island's last doctor is leaving. For the first time in over 200 years, there is no doctor on the island.