Hotel terbaik di Santa Maria

We had booked a 5 room Villa for tow families to share to celebrate the end of the year directly through the hotel and were told a. few days before they had overbooked the Villas and ours wouldn't be available for three days. This is when the problems started! We were offered VIP wristbands, two suites, a discount on the bill and some other things to sweeten the deal. Not having much choice, we accepted. The suites we were put in were tired, shabby and overrun with mosquitos and we all had lots of bites from these first few days. The standard at this end of the hotel (which was inland from reception) was way below what we were expecting but we were close to the kids club, pools etc and so just got on with it. The really disappointing thing happened when our Villa was ready. We were told by the hotel to pack up, leave our luggage in the room, go to dinner and our luggage would be there shortly. The next day, our iPad was missing from our luggage. We reported this to reception as soon as we noticed who assured us they would check and investigate and to come back later. We know the iPad was off-site as we were notified about it's location being near the airport after a tour. After multiple visits to reception over the next few days, with different staff fobbing us off, we were getting nowhere. Having email addresses of the staff meant we had another route to ask for help, but that proved fruitless. Needing a report for insurance, we got hold of a member of guest services on the day we left. They were polite, but refused to write a report on what happened let alone claim responsibility. What we should have done is report to the police immediately rather than rely on the stretched customer services in the hotel. At every trip to reception, there was someone complaining about something missing, lack of service etc. Aside from the theft, our stay improved a lot once we were in the Villa which was great. If you have it as part of your package, book a-la-carte restaurants in the evening. We enjoyed each of them. but there is limited availability each night and you need to book in advance. Each of them has a kids menu.

I hear a lot of people complain this is not a five star hotel. If you are comparing it to high end European/American hotels you would be correct it’s not to those standards but it meets the standards set by the review board it is covered by to get 5 stars. The main grumbles I hear are about the drinks being local rather than “top shelf” global brands and the food being less in some way than expected. Put that aside and this is a fabulous place to stay especially during cold and dark European winters. The staff are fabulously friendly and happy to help. Think more of a Caribbean vibe and you will be pleasantly surprised. If you want someone to run around and be super fast delivering your every need at a moments notice you will be disappointed. Things here are much more laid back (the same goes for everything on the island). This is a great hotel, adults only which is what we look for. Sal island is not huge and there is not a massive amount to do but from the Riu Cabo Verde you have miles of beach in either direction to walk and watch the surfers and other water sports or get involved if you so wish. It is a water sports paradise. There are three a la carts restaurants to choose from in addition to the two other main restaurants. You also have access to the Riu Funana next door (family hotel) but the food is virtually identical. You do NOT have access to the a la carte on that site. There is also a water park at the Riu Palace that you have access to. Overall I cannot fault this hotel and we now come every year for the winter sun.

Points positifs : chambre équipée propre, petit déjeuner (buffet), horaires du minibus pour Santa Maria+ Ponta Preta, proximité avec les plages, plusieurs piscines, Points négatifs : manque de vie nocturne et animations, l’espace sport libre extérieur à refaire, + une réceptionniste très désagréable et qui ne voulait rien entendre (ne voulait pas que nous payons le montant de la taxe de séjour indiquée sur notre réservation mais bonne gestion du service client Trip)

Super clean hotel with the most amazing staff. Breakfast didnt have a lot of vegetarian options but it was okay. The hotel is situated in a local area which was amazing. Thank you for making our stay amazing! Hope to see you again in the future! 3 girls from Holland :)

The official rating of this hotel is 4 stars, and with a bit of cosmetic upgrading and better staffing in the kitchen, I could see it reaching that level (it seems like it may have once been a real 4 star). As it was, the room quality itself was more 3 star, and the outside area was 4 stars. We had a 'deluxe sea view' with no terrace. There was lots of rough paintwork and lack of maintenance on the small details in the rooms, but overall it was fine, with a huge comfy bed and a nice shower and a lovely view out the window. Unfortunately the entry was at the street side of the hotel which was our smoking area, and that view was just the dirt road and some houses. Overall we would stay here again as the room was fine, the staff were great, the pool area was amazing, nobody had any screaming kids (very quiet and peaceful, great for couples) and while the beach required stepping over rocks, it also had the best snorkeling area with the most fish. Another sandy beach with less fish and two beach bars is a 3 minute walk away, and the main ***** with the main beach is a 10 minute walk (that one is useless for snorkeling but great for swimming). Besides snorkeling, it's also a preferred spot for wind surfing. We happened to try the hotel restaurant on a really bad night apparently, we waited an hour for our seafood paella which was average quality but double the price of the ***** restaurants. However, according to the other patrons who did all inclusive, the service was usually much faster. and the food usually much better. We did also have burgers for lunch one day, and those were expensive but very nice. Breakfast was included in our stay and it had an extensive and delicious continental selection, plus hot eggs and bacon on order, always very fast. The staff were super attentive and completely on their game, absolutely fantastic service. We got a great deal on a package holiday with LoveHolidays, so for the price we were very happy and would definitely stay again.

As per usual RIU have done a great job, massive hotel and beach with plenty of room for hundreds of beach loungers. The room was excellent and very well looked after by the cleaning staff - 5 Stars. Quality of food at all of the restaurant's was very good - no complaints and easy to book a table or just use the buffet. There were a few negatives - the evening entertainment was not up to the standard we have been used to at large 5 star RIU hotels. Flies are a big issue in and around November and although it is a natural phenomenon and RIU are not responsible we will not be visiting Capo Verde again at that time of year! The town of Santa Maria is a short drive from the hotel and in my view a waste of time and money, a great deal of work needs to be done to bring the town and amenities up to a respectable standard. The highlight of our holiday was just along the beach at the Turtle reserve, fantastic work by the people there helping and saving the lives of newly hatched turtles - definitely worth a visit.