RIU Hotels in Santa Maria

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.

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 .

RUI Cabo Verde hotel/ Sal/ Santa Maria. This review is that of my wife and I. They are our views only and appreciate everyone has different tastes and standards and opinions. I would like to say though that we generally have a high standard and expect quality when we’ve spent our hard earned money to buy things or visit places that are labelled into different classes if that makes sense. Therefore this is our honest thoughts. The Hotel was fabulous, no issues with the room size as described, cleanliness or decor. It was cared for daily, new towels every day, someone would make the bed daily and change the sheets when this was needed. Any drinks used from the fridge would also be replaced daily. There was never any shortage of water as others have previously mentioned. The reception is spacious with a good quality feel to it and plenty of seating. Reception is 24hrs, there is a little boutique shop and a coffee and patisserie section from 10:30am daily. There is one bar within the reception and staff are quick to serve and are friendly too. The grounds are spacious and well cared for. There are several roaming cats that weren’t to my liking yet they didn’t seem to bother you much. Poolside was good, although January was a busy period and all sunbeds were reserved early morning with towels and bags (even though it says not to). Some people literally had the same bed every day! They must have been up really early for that commitment. I found it frustrating and someone needs to get a grip of it and manage this. Some of the cushions on the beds were dirty as previously reported, yet lots were also clean or new. You could however get fresh towels as often as you wanted for the pool and beach. If there were no beds we walked the short five minutes to the beach where there were many spare beds. Getting to the beach was tricky, I say this as you had to endure/run the gauntlet of getting past the salesmen wanting to sell you trips. It could be annoying, especially when one of them said out loud “don’t you want to support local people?” I bit my tongue and carried on, I had plenty to say believe me...but didnt want the hassle. We would try and walk around the back of this walkway to stay out of their way! The beach was lovely golden sand, sunbeds weren’t as clean as poolside yet again we put fresh towels over them. The sea was rough the majority of the time with big waves and the red flags were displayed to inform you of the dangers. Even standing at the edge you could feel the strength of the tide pulling you back in so be very careful as we saw many people struggling to get back out of the sea and near exhaustion. It was also pretty windy. There were plenty of options for water sports on the beach and there was a beach bar open till 6pm serving all inclusive beer, water and fruit juices for RUI guests yet nothing else which was disappointing. There were also many roaming dogs, yet again they never seemed to bother people that we saw. On site resta