Family friendly Hotels in Santa Maria

The best hotel in the whole island of Sal, except for Riu, is Hilton. Unfortunately, there is no Riu at the time of booking, but Hilton is very new, the decoration is very beautiful, and the facilities in the room are very modern. The hotel swimming pool is very large, the beach is outside, the greening is very good, the photo is beautiful, but the room is a little far from the beach, only half of the sea view room.

After a long flight we arrived to find our room was not ready, we had to wait 3 hours which is really unacceptable as they knew what time we were arriving. Other than that we had a fabulous holiday. Room was clean, bed comfy. Clean towels every day. Pool area was clean, pool bar had plenty of food and drinks available from morning till 8pm. Restaurant had a good variety of food available. I would recommend this hotel and even though it was a bit far from the beach and town I would visit again.

Just had 14 nights at this amazing hotel . From the lovely friendly staff who always had a smile to some amazing food .The choice was outstanding best Riu hotel out of several that we have stayed in . The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there even though it was very windy . It was also spotlessly clean everywhere. The cleaners work so hard to keep everything looking lovely . Thank you to Janisse who looked after us at breakfast .The only negative for us were the sun beds so low and uncomfortable.Providing a mattress would make a big difference.Overall had an amazing holiday and would definitely recommend this hotel .

Super Service, viel Sportangebot, toller Stand! Kann ich jedem nur empfehlen.

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.

We read a lot of reviews before booking this holiday so we went with our eyes and minds open. This review is based on our experience travelling in December, staying over Christmas. Two adults, one child aged 12. Firstly, like many others have said, this is not a 4 star hotel. I’d say a three, at best, if you close your eyes and ignore a lot of things. Our room (7109) was dated, but cleaned daily. Our cleaning lady was excellent. We didn’t see the dated room as an issue as we spend hardly any time there but a 4 star hotel would not have cracked tiles, missing grout, old decor etc. and not having a door to the bathroom area is very odd. Not ideal with a child. The corridors were often left uncleaned for days with clumps of hair and dust in the same spot. The food was decent but as many others have said, pretty much the same most days and nights. We always found something to eat at each area throughout the day and the drinks were always cold. Every time we are we had to check glasses/plates/cutlery as there were plenty that were not clean (learned this after drinking half a drink to find the glass was dirty). Don’t expect to be served quickly at the bar in the evenings unless you’ve tipped the staff. You will get served, just after their favourite guests and there is the option to serve yourself but there were plenty of times where there was no syrup for the fizzy drinks and the beer was flat. The two pool areas which are right next to each other. Plenty of sunbeds after 9am. We saw staff removing towels for reserved beds one morning as people had reserved them and left for breakfast. What I will say is due to the palm trees and buildings, there isn’t many places around either pool that has the sun all day so choose wisely if you like worshipping the sun. From midday onwards the swim up bar could get a little rowdy once the beer started flowing. This didn’t bother us but it wasn’t what we expected and was almost like watching the footy in the pub. Also, people playing ball by the bar meant your drinks would end up being mixed with pool water. Not ideal but not the end of the world. The pool with the bar was heated and the other not, meaning one is better than the other in December. The entertainment was hit and miss but the aqua aerobics was always fun and lively. Our time here wasn’t terrible but we did fly home earlier than planned. We wouldn’t rush back unless there was a major overhaul in the hotel. We paid over £8k for what we hoped would be a great holiday and it was a mediocre one. Having stayed in various hotels at different price points, including other Riu hotels, this was not great value. We didn’t complain to the hotel staff as realistically, what would’ve changed. Our experience seems to echo many others and we thought we’d give it a shot regardless. Cape Verde is a lovely little island, albeit a bit messy in places with really friendly local people, and not a great deal to do.

Have stayed before and gave in 4* Was bit disappointed this time Paid extra for pool view as last time was kept awake by Pirate disco. Were initially shown to top floor room directly opposite disco. We asked to be moved and were given a room by the pool. This smelt of damp and there was a large patch of mould on the wall. The toilet leaked water from the back. There was not hot water for the full week. The sunbeds were all reserved by 8am-luckily few guests knew about the upstairs terrace which was great. Breakfast was very good but chaotic constantly running out of everything. The evening meal was ok but service was terribly slow-the poor water was rushed off his feet doing everything. We ate out the other nights and there are loads of good restaurants in 2 mins walk Its basically a decent value hotel with great staff and a fab location 3mins from pier and beach--would I go again ?? --probably. If you want 5* you can probably get in an AI out of town --but you will miss so much.

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 :)

Rooms are extremely clean, resort is very quiet and most of vilaverde town is uninhabited like a spooky place, supermarket is hidden and coffeeshop closed, bicycles can be rented but quality is low standard better hire in santa maria, beach is in walking distance, overall if you like relaxation its a good place to stay, beds are below standard a simple bonell system with foam layer, its bad for weak backs. Tapwater is drinkable because all water in Sal is made from reverse osmosis seawater, take in account wateroutages are common practise. I had a good stay and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and weather