Pet-friendly Hotels in Santa Maria

All I can say is AMAZING! First time to Cape Verde and this hotel and will definitely return. Staff are so friendly and helpful, rooms are immaculate, as is the whole resort. I felt so well looked after by all the staff and nothing was a problem. The beach is stunning! Had a fantastic private day tour with Imanuep from the beach and explored the island, paddling with sharks, blue eye, salt lake! The staff here deserve a huge amount of credit as they make the experience feel luxurious and enjoyable! They work so hard and always with a smile! Well done to all!

Great service from taking our cases from our transport to returning to our transport on our departure. Nice rooms refurbished to a high standard. Great buffet restaurant with wide variety of food and most freshly cooked in front of you. All staff were friendly and helpful. Only fault was no shower cap and the coffee/creamer in the room was not topped up. The mini fridge was though and there were optics with spirits. One of us has mobility issues and uses a walking stick and got about as normal. We were well looked after. Just the odd guest decided to ignore the signs reserving tables for the disabled. The hotel appeared to be wheelchair friendly though we didn't use. We plan to return.

Not a 5* resort overall. It may be “5 stars” in comparison to other hotels in the area but it’s no where close to the universal version. The hotel is very open plan which means there is very little air con anywhere. This means there is no respite from the humidity except to hide out in the bedroom. You obviously come away for the heat and sunshine so sounds silly to say but sometimes it can become overbearing and you need a respite of cool air especially when sitting to eat or have a nice cold drink: you won’t get that here. The food is tasty and hot and lots of variety from salads to pasta and so on but it’s very very repetitive. Almost the same menu every lunch and dinner. We ate in all the restaurants. The steakhouse was no such thing and just a smaller version of the main buffet. The Asian was nice also a buffet but was so unbearably hot in there we couldn’t finish our meals. The kulinarum is delicious and worth a visit but gets booked up exceptionally fast. You will see flies on the food in the restaurant which is why people get ill and there are no fresh cookings stations so all food is sat out with flies on it - no eggs made to you liking at breakfast or pasta etc. The cocktails are rubbish. They only have 4 or 5 and they’re mostly pre-made and sat around all day being diluted with ice and then served. Lots of self service stations for sodas, juices, coffee, beer which is good but the sodas are mostly flat or out of syrup. The pool bar and self serve doesn’t open until 10.30 which feels quite late as people are out and around the pool by 8 most mornings. There is no waiter service anywhere - not like normal 5*. The pool is lovely and refreshing and they clean the pool daily but the floor area around the pool is filthy so your feet get muddy just getting into your sunbed. There are flies EVERYWHERE. They are relentless. There are cleaners who look after the toilets and they are there all day so these are always clean. The rooms are in serious need of tlc. The beads acting as wardrobe are dusty and musty, the shower is a slip hazard, the beds are not the comfiest. There is a kettle provided and bottled water topped up when needed. A few English Tv channels as well. The maid comes daily and does a nice job. Only 2 small shops, one selling clothes and the other Nick naks with a few snacks. There is no shops close by but can get a taxi into Santa Maria but I heard mixed reviews about what’s there so bring everything you need. All the staff are lovely, friendly and greet you. Entertainment team is lively and always something going on. They host the usual Riu Neon and White parties in a Friday but then neighbouring hotels also come here. Didn’t make it to the beach as was a little bit too far away for us to walk due to have disabilities within the group so can’t comment on this. Nice relaxing get away with lots of sunshine which is what we waited, overall a good trip but definitely not a 5*.