Solar da Ponte

Situated in the heart of picturesque Tiradentes, Solar da Ponte is a charming colonial-style manor house and one of Brazil’s finest hotels. The pousada, meaning “house on the bridge”, is owned by English nature-lover John Parsons and his Brazilian historian wife Anna Maria, who fell in love with Tiradentes in the 1970s and set out to showcase traditional Mineira hospitality within its generous spaces—a hospitality that is something of legend to locals throughout the country and welcomes visitors as if they are staying at a dear friend’s elegant country home.

Property Details

As guests arrive at Solar da Ponte, they are greeted by the scent of ylang ylang flowers and luxurious Mineiro interiors. Solar da Ponte consists of just 18 apartments divided into Standard, Superior, and five exclusive Massimo Suite categories, each with their own garden or bridge views and escalating offerings of space and amenities. All of the rooms are traditionally furnished with discreet elegance defined by light color motifs, fresh flowers, beautiful antiques, locally-made colonial furniture, and local artwork. Some feature generous four-poster beds and wooden floors reclaimed from old fazendas, while others host private patios and coir carpets. Guests of Solar da Ponte also benefit from LCD televisions and minibars, as well as en-suite bathrooms outfitted in local stone, fluffy bathrobes, and complimentary toiletries for optimal comfort.

Days spent at Solar da Ponte are deeply civilized, beginning first with delightful buffet breakfasts of oven-baked breads, fresh cheese, marmalades, and home-roasted coffee served in the dining room overlooking the garden’s blooming orchids and the hotel’s visiting marmosets. The setting is cozy with checked tablecloths, pewter coffee, and blue ceramic crockery, and the food is homemade, mixing traditional mineiro recipes with English traditions. The highlight of the Solar da Ponte experience, however, is the daily complimentary offering of Afternoon Tea featuring regional cookies, cakes, and cheese bread in the garden. Elsewhere, guests are invited to simply liaison with nature: lazing in the lush gardens, unwinding in the sauna, cooling off with a dip in the pool, diving into a good book in the shade of the mango trees, and relaxing with a drink in front of the library’s fireplace.

Situated in the center of the city, Solar da Ponte is ideally located for strolling the cobblestone streets of Tiradentes and admiring the town’s enchanting colonial architecture, Baroque churches, leafy squares, and local artworks and handicrafts. Framed by the imposing Sao Jose Mountain Range—an ecological reserve—Tiradentes is also a good region for exploring the bucolic countryside and neighboring fazendas and preservation areas, whether by foot, 4×4, bicycle, or horseback, one of the area’s most popular pastimes.