Name: Hotel Riu Cabo Verde - All Inclusive Adults Only
Address: Cabocan Lote A2, A3, Sal, Sal, Sal, 4111, Cape Verde
Rating: 9

Shopping on site

24-hour reception

Currency exchange

Smoke-free property

Newspapers

Gift shop

Garden

Terrace

General

Room service

Toiletries

Rooms

Accessibility features

Wheelchair Accessible

Wheelchair access to restaurant

Accessibility

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Services and amenities

Cafe

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Multi-language staff

Languages Spoken

Sun Deck

Recreation

Parking

Parking nearby

Pool facilities

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Conference Hall

Business

Beauty and wellness

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hotel

Amilcar Cabral International Airport

Rabil Airport

Hotel Riu Cabo Verde - All Inclusive Adults Only

We had a fantastic time,rooms were spotless,the food was amazing, vodka gin were good,entertainment was brilliant,I would recommend this hotel to family an friends,the staff worked so hard,can’t understand the other negative reviews.thankyou Rui we had a brilliant time 

Cabo Verde amazing

We came here with eyes wide open, we had read many bad reviews but we have wherever we have stayed. We always go with a clean sheet and judge for ourselves..  

We have stayed in quite a few RIU hotels all around the world and enjoyed them all……. Then we came here…

What we liked:
The hotel, although quite dated was clean and well kept, the gardens were not attractive to walk through as it was just parched sand apart from a couple of areas around the lobby area where it was grassed.  

The rooms were ok, not five star but not bad.  The rooms were in blocks, we were in block 4 (room4135).  A good location for the pool and beach..

The animation team were great, they worked hard but never pressed people to take part.

The pool area was ok but I wasn’t comfortable being in the pool where the bar was, people were in there for hours  without getting out so in my head it was a giant toilet.  Sunbeds we’re difficult to get as they were reserved early on, it was hotel policy that sunbeds could not be reserved but it wasn’t policed.   They also ran out of pool towels on a couple of occasions..

The beach was fantastic, we loved it.  It was red flagged for the first three days but after that it was fine to go in for a swim.  The beach bar was a bit scruffy so we took our own drinks to the beach.  The only complaint of the beach I had was that many  people used it as an ashtray, pushing cigarette ends into the sand.  It is a beach where turtles come to lay eggs, I thought people would have a bit more respect.

Local Tours
We had an island tour which we arranged with Elvis who hangs out on the beach. We had an excellent day, Harry our guide was great fun, he even arranged a birthday cake for me in a bar in Espargos.  

Things we didn’t like.
As hard as I tried to be nice to all the staff most of them were quite brash and unhelpful, particularly in the main restaurant.  The gardeners were ultra friendly and so were the animation team..

Main restaurant.
Our first impression was things were ok but on the second day I was served raw pork.  I don’t mean rare, I mean raw.  I brought this to the attention of the waiter who just smiled and took the plate away.

The third day I was served undercooked chicken.  I reported this to the reception who told me one of the managers would contact me, I also reported it to the TUI Rep who said he would chase it up and get back to me.  No one came back to me and on the fourth day I was served a chicken breast that was so raw, it bled into my plate when I cut into it.   I demanded t speak to the manager who saw me and basically said they cook so many meals every day they can’t all be perfect but he would investigate.  I never heard from him.  Again I spoke to the TUI rep who basically tried to fob me off with free trips.  I didn’t want any form of compensation, I just wanted to see the problem fixed. It’s a five star hotel and raw chicken should not be an issue.

On two occasions I had to clear a table and get my own cutlery and crockery and set a table, again this is not acceptable in a five star hotel. The waiting staff we happy to stand by and watch me do it..

At breakfast, they ran out of eggs one day and when I asked the chef if it would be long before more eggs were cooked he shouted “NO, NO MORE EGGS”. Threw down his tools and marched away to the surprise of us all in the queue..

The food was of poor quality and I never felt confident eating in the main restaurant.

Local town, Santa Maria.
We went down by taxi on our second day after breakfast. €5 taxi ride which was fine. As soon as we got out we were approached by a man trying ever-so hard to be friendly,  We passed the time of day thanked for the offer of a tour  but politely declined.  He didn’t take no for an answer and became quite aggressive, blocking our way on the pavement. To cut a long story short, the police came to our rescue and took him away.   We had a walk down by the pier which was good, bought a few nicknacs the returned to the hotel.   We never went there again.

Overall
We made the best of the holiday, if it wasn’t for the beach we would have had a really miserable time.

We won’t go to Cape Verde again, we won’t stay in a RIU hotel again and we certainly won’t use TUI again.  The representatives there were not interested in helping us.  When we got back they called me offering me £45 in compensation, I declined and asked them to put pressure on the hotels food managers to get it done right or someone is going to get really poorly.

It’s very rare I give bad reviews but this is an exception it was a two star restaurant in a three star resort.

Not a great experience 

A great week, can't fault the hotel at all apart from the room towels which are a tad thin.   Staff 8n all areas are friendly, polite and contribute well to a great experience.  Food was good and choice plentiful.
We  were here for Christmas, fizz at breakfast onChristmas Eve but not on Christmas day was Confusing, but overall a great holiday - best of all, the cats roaming around lovely stuff.

Happy Christmas 

We stopped at the Riu Cabo Verde in December 2023. It was the first time in CV.
The hotel exceeded expectations, with friendly staff , good accommodation , and outstanding quality food and a great entertainments program. 

Above expectations

Lovely hotel no problems with food poisoning as others had previously mentioned. Food , drinks, accommodation all spot on. Local drinks were very nice and not watered down, we took our own duty free but no need to use as the hotel drinks were lovely. Mini bar stocked up promptly when refils ordered on the app. Plenty of subbed as every day and beautiful well kept grounds. The only downside was the meals very only lukewarm even when we went at 6:30pm when the main restaurant opened for evening meals. Other than that we would definitely return

Lovely hotel don’t be put off by other reviews

I loved the Kasbah fortified town architecture, the inner gardens, excellent accommodation and view from balcony. The bedding and pillows were so comfy... I slept extremely well. Food was fresh and abundant, coffee place aromatic. All staff worked hard and efficiently and the local musicians were present every night. An amazing stay!

Myself and my husband, travelled here last week, we had an amazing time. The weather was a bit of a mixed bag, but overall perfect for what we wanted.
The hotel was gorgeous, spotlessly clean  and kept that way with a remarkable cleaning team.
The minibar in our room was a lovely touch, five different bottles of local spirits and a variety of mixers in the fridge below. This was topped up everyday. The food was brilliant, so much choice, we tended to go for the 'late' breakfast at around 11am which was perfect for us. The pools were again spotlessly clean, we loved the swim up pool bar too. the only downside for us was that we only went for 7 nights, not enough as it is a long flight of 6 and a half hours.   A mistake we wont be making again! I have MS so do struggle with walking , I was fine as most things were easily in walking distance. First visit to Cape Verde, it wont be our last :)

A nice relaxing holiday - just what was needed.

Just got back from 10 fantastic nights at this hotel and it was amazing, very clean, very modern, reception and check in very quickly and hassle free. The pool entertainment was out of this world, Gleson ( I think that's how you spell it ) who leads the poolside games is absolutely brilliant,  from darts to archery to the mat being rolled across the pool for you to run across is great fun, this man works day and night to ensure you enjoy your holiday. We met some great people from Sweden and Finland at our hunting ground ( the poolside bar lol ) and a nice lambretta owner from Lancaster. Rita the poolside bar manager is a legend who constantly smiles and gives good measures. The Friday night White neon party is an absolute must and not to be missed. The Pasha nightclub is cool, playing various tunes, beach is a five minute walk with good entertainment and very clean. Downsides the cleaners are very very noisy early in the morning and when we checked out I realised 30 minutes later I had left my phone in the room to return and find cleaners in the room and no charger and amazingly no one knew anything about it, checked with reception for lost property but no joy so be WARNED, but overall don't let this put you off from a great holiday just keep your kit tight and enjoy 

Winter holibobs 

We cannot fault Riu Cabo Verde.  We stayed for 7 nights at the beginning of February.  It was very windy and cloudy some days.  The staff are very friendly and always smiling.  The buffet restaurant had so much choice including a different roast every night and had cooking stations... the prawns and tuna steaks were amazing.  A tip if you have an afternoon return flight... the restaurant opens at 1pm for lunch and we were collected at 12.45pm for our 15.50pm flight.  Breakfast finishes at 10.30am but the Santa Maria Restaurant overlooking the beach opens at 10.30am for snacks to prepare you for your flight.  No branded drinks but unless you are a connoisseur you can't taste the difference. We booked the 'Postcard of Sal' trip throught TUI which was an island tour which we felt was worth the money. 

We enjoyed our holiday

We are coming close to the end of our two week holiday here and have thoroughly enjoyed. Room great, entertainment great, serving staff great absolutely everything, nothing to complain about.

Do not believe the negative reviews about food as to me is above standard,

Rooom great, couple of niggles were quickly resolved. Would I come again yes. Would I do anything differently no. Read the reviews, ask the questions etc etc as a guy we have actually met up with and his lovely wife answered couple of questions for us which really helped so ty to Brian and Lesley.  The staff from reception to bar staff to cleaning, Gardner, restaurants are so polite and a credit to the hotel.

We never ventured into Santa Maria unfortunately as hubby not to well but, have loved the whole experience and all the lovely people we have met.

Do not believe the negative reviews and enjoy this unspoilt country.

Hotel Riu Cabo Verde - All Inclusive Adults Only

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