A 'Lost Island' Gets a Hotel (And No Reality TV is Involved)
In our inbox, we received a press release that started with, "Imagine an island, just a few hours from the U.S. eastern seaboard, with windmills, hot springs, a mild year-round climate..." and, as we read through it, we prepared ourselves for some sort of a reality show pitch a la "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" (the Heidi and Spencer disaster that we have yet to successfully wipe from memory) or "30 Rock"'s "MILF Island."
But, alas, this is actually a "lost"(ish) island, and now it has a hotel. And no reality show — as far as we can tell.
The teensy island of Graciosa, one of the Azorean islands (and one of the smaller ones, in fact — it's about 8 by 12 km with a population of just over 4600), was without any hotels for a long time — and now it has one: the Graciosa Resort & Business Hotel in Santa Cruz da Graciosa. Graciosa is just north of Sao Jorge and is known for the unique style of windmills that pepper the island's landscape, thanks to some of its first inhabitants, Flemish settlers.
According to the press materials, the hotel is "part of a series of investments to build infrastructure connected to the tourist economy on Graciosa," such as the Carapacho thermal baths (which are said to cure bone and skin ailments).
The hotel itself is upscale — it touts itself as "four-star" — and boasts a restaurant, a pool and is part of the new Praia fishing port on Graciosa.
Other cool stuff on the island that would actually make for a kinda-cool reality show (or just a sweet show on the Travel Channel):
The underground grottos at Algar do Carvão run deep into the red earth, while the sulfur cavern at Furna do Enxofre leads from an ancient crater into a lava cave with an underground lake. Set in the crater of a former Volcano there's a tunnel about 330 feet deep to the lake filled. Visitors can climb down into the crater's depths using steps taking you all the way to the bottom, where you'll find a cave with a grey mass that still bubbles beneath the rocks. A tunnel above you leads to the edge of the crater, offering sweeping views of the entire island.
If that's not your thing, "Azoreans know Graciosa for its fine wines and brandy, both made from the Isabella grapes that are locally grown." And that's really all you need to know.
Oh, and believe it or not, you can get there from Boston.
[Photo: Mac ind Óg]
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