Hotel Riu Palace Santa Maria

Amazing resort. Will differently be going back soon.

Een aanrader!

My husband and I came spent 11 nights here from April in to start of May for our honeymoon. The weather was lovely everyday and the hotel was fantastic. This is by far the best holiday we have ever had and we have already booked to come back in May 2025. My parents have also booked as they loved the look of the photos etc. The cleaners and staff at this hotel do an amazing job. Cleaners are constantly cleaning including the swimming pool toilets which is great to see. The food was amazing, and there was always something nice available which is a first for us as on previously holidays not in Cape Verde we'd get bored of the food after a week and start eating out but we didn't do that here. The room was lovely and we had a side sea view which was a bonus. Prosecco on arrival. The drinks were nice as well at this hotel. Just a shame I never got to try the cocoa liqueur as it sold out after a couple days and was not back in stock but there were plenty of other drinks to choose from, even cocktails and sangria! Lovely mojito's too. The beach outside the hotel is beautiful with white sands and palm trees. The pools are great and the waterpark. Yes I did get bitten a few times by mosquitos in the evening but nowhere near as much as I thought I would. This was expected any way! The Riu app is good, staff restock the mini fridge in the room every other day but you can request more drinks sooner if you wish on the app. We did this a few times and staff would restock it for us. Optic drinks in room were nice, but we're not really a whisky fan, so we used the others (barcadi, gin and vodka, all local brands). We had a double bed each right next to each other. The shower was also a lovely waterfall shower. Entertainment was quite good, live band on most nights and a cape verde themed show with dancers was on one night, neon party was really good as well. Daiquiri cocktail bar and patisserie in the lobby were good and the cafe latte with baileys were lovely and the iced coffee. We have only been home a couple days and we're missing it already. We could not fault the hotel and it was only built in 2021 and has a nice modern African look. The themed restaurants were all nice but the steak was our least favourite just because we didn't enjoy our meals in there. I ordered my steak medium rare but it came out blue, I could not eat it. My husband had a beef burger in there but it was minced beef mushed together with no egg or anything to hold it properly together and had a weird taste. We did say we would go back but try something different next time. Other than that, we loved everything about this holiday and you can tell it's a 5 star hotel.

Overall my family and friends had a lovely time at the RUI Palace, there’s lots of pools and restaurants to choose from a water park are for younger kids but our teens never stayed there too long. It’s very clean however several things need improvingbut I am nit picking as it’s is supposed to be 5 star. The Towels in the room are too small they barely cover you. There’s Only 1 toilet block around the pool or you have to use the poolside buffet bathroom. Only 1 towel collection and drop off point which is not ideal when there are several pools taking up all of the beach front of the hotel. Room was lovely a good size and mini bar was restocked every other day or you could request top ups on the App. Entertainment was ok but seemed to be on a 1 week rotation rather than a 2 week so got repetitive, for example we did the same quiz twice. We were there for Christmas and depending on what time you choose to eat you will miss the main Xmas show so I think if there doing 2 sittings they should do 2 show times. Cocktails were not the best as we are used to enjoying frozen cocktails like daiquiri’s and they just weren’t made right. The food in the buffet is typical of any other. There’s always something to eat but again it gets repetitive after a week.

Hotel was biggest RIU we have stayed in so far and we have stayed in many across Europe and Carribean. The beach was beautiful and the sand went on forever. We managed to swim in sea a couple of times, rest of time red flags were up due to strong currents. If you go into Santa Maria sea is alot calmer. Our room was nice and big. The drench head shower was great. It was clean and we didn't have any issues with cockroaches. After reading about humidity and dampness I took dehumidifier bags and hung these innthe wardrobe. They were over half full by time we left. Clothes didn't feel damp so would definitely recommend taking these. We didn't have a problem getting a sunbed even after going down to the pool after breakfast. The main restaurant for evening meals was always busy but always managed to get a table. We only used the steak house as other restaurants always booked up. I enjoyed the steak in the main buffet mire than I did in steak house. The food was plentiful and lots of choice. It was also always nicely presented. Having coffee shop and sports bar was added bonus. We used sports bar in evening if outside seats were full as we wasn't bothered about evening entertainment. Pools were clean and public areas kept clean. Both swim up bars were not very busy during our stay (these have been rammed when visiting other places). We didnt suffer any illness during our trip. I used the sanitiser stations before and leaving the restaurants. Nice relaxing break. Would stay again.

we arranged the trips ourselves, perhaps the only thing - it's a shame that renting a car is very complicated - otherwise everything is great