Hotel Riu Cabo Verde 5*

Pros: • if you want to go on holiday and do absolutely nothing , this is the place • Check in was very easy , we chose to arrive earlier via private transfer which we would recommend • Rooms were spacious, with good views and most importantly they were clean and well presented. • the Buffet food was plentiful, regularly replenished, tasty and we didn’t notice any unhygienic practices taking place which meant no upset belly contrary to recent reports. • there was a fantastic drink selection, we particularly enjoyed mojitos by the pool and sparking wine of an evening at the lobby bar with a plate of nuts and corn nuts (so nice) • the pool was well kept (salt water pool) and the loungers were in plenty of supply, some morning when we arrived later (too many sparkling wines) we still secured a nice spot for the day. • the entertainment was middle of the road , it helped that the World Cup was on while we were there but other than that , not much to write home about. That wasn’t our priority as we enjoyed quiet chilled evenings at the outdoor section of the lobby bar. • the beach was close to the pool and our room in block 5. Just a short walk from the entrance. The tour sellers were down the strip but were not overly pushy when trying to sell you an excursion. We booked an island tour with Weezy tours and it was fantastic! You can just as easily walk right on by and enjoy a day at the beach which is a very peaceful area to fully relax and take in the views with the pristine clear water. Be careful if going in the water tho as it can be lethal. Cons: • noticed our floor in the room was mopped with something which left a slippy residue all over which felt like a it of a hazard to us but we did raise the concern via the app and it was re-mopped over. We think the dilution of the cleaning product must have been off. • mini bar was only restocked upon request • Speciality restaurants - Sofia DO NOT GO. It was the worst “Italian” experience we have ever come across. Not sure what was really Italian about it. Ended up waiting outside beyond opening time to be begrudgingly invited in upon showing of room number. Then wasn’t offered drinks for a long time after this. Then shown to a buffet area to sort our own starter out which was quite frankly better than the actual cooked main. We asked for a table away from the traffic of the door we were told no due to it being booked which we later could clearly tell it wasn’t with many empty tables. - Kulinarium This was 10,000 times better than Sofia. The exact opposite experience. We each were greeted nicely with a glass of sparkling wine and shown to our table where we were then quickly offered a glass of red white or pink wine. Aperitif bite. We then both had the veal carpaccio and the steak which were both really good. The steak was cooked perfectly. Our only problem was that we could have ate the dish 3 times over. And the pudding was a slight let down. - Steakhouse restaurant Another big let down , almost as bad as Sofia. Same entry and issues as Sofia , then started was terrible . The steak was extremely mangled and overdone , so tough and essentially inedible. We also had the ribs which were probably days old , the sauce on top had congealed and was cold and claggy. We felt like we had no choice other than to walk out as we couldn’t seem to get the attention of any staff to resolve the matter. The next day we also spoke to another couple who had a similar experience. • we felt that in the evening specifically at the lobby bar , there was some unfair treatment of guests by staff which we believe to be ageism. By this we mean the older, retired generation were being given priority treatment when being waited on over ourselves. We could only put this down to them being perceived to have more money to tip even though we didn’t see any tips being given at any point in the whole week. There were a few other couples in our age range 20-25 who probably received similar treatment. • some of the staff looked like that had no interest in being there and we even came across one who could barely understand anyone else’s language never mind speak it. This made it really difficult to place and receive the order we wanted. • we went to fetch out some money from the cash machine in the lobby which we had seen working fine previously, in order to pay for our island tour only to have the machine eat the card. When we asked the receptionist to get it back for us , we were met with confusion and unbotheredness. To which we requested the manager comes and sorts it out. By this point we had minimal time to get to the tour truck. We were told that the manager would come and sort it while we were gone. Then we came back and asked reception if they got the card back. They said yes but it’s been taken to the bank in Santa Maria town of which we had no idea about this information until we had asked. They made us report back to reception the next morning at 11 with our passport for ID to meet the bank man to confirm my card back. The bank man didn’t turn up until around half past quarter to so we missed our whole morning pretty much. We were told it would be behind reception once it was retrieved but this was obviously not the case. This caused a lot of concern on our part as we had no idea of my cards whereabouts or who had it or anything. We had to blindly trust it was okay, which luckily it was but very unsettling and poor service and staff communication. • the beach needed some TLC to elevate the experience. I.e umbrella and windbreakers more seating by the bar , the loungers were old and tired looking.

Upon arrival, checked in online so it was relatively smooth. Open the door to the first room to be met with a 26 degree room with broken aircon and an overwhelming smell of damp. Looking around there was damp patches on the ceiling, black mould in the shower and toilet. It had even started to grow on the mirror, bed legs and door frame. After a long flight, I braved the shower but the terrible karaoke from the guy upstairs belting through the shower vent upstairs, I was tipped me over the edge. We were moved room that night, but the aircon remained broken (albeit at a cool 24.6 degree heat) and the damp persisted just a little less visibly obvious. Requested another room to be told I had to wait till after 1pm the next day. 3rd room aircon worked and the damp smell was barely noticeable. Still a dated room but clean enough for the remainder of the week. Generally, the inside of the hotel needs a revamp - this was last done in 2016 I believe and it’s not worn well. Generally areas look great, but if you actually look around it’s tired, dated and dressed to give the impression of luxury (every lamp in the lobby is an ornament nowhere near a plug socket, the bathrooms have no working hand dryers and the bins are rusty. Even the toilet flush has worn away coverings). Cleaners are around from 9:30am every day - don’t expect a quiet time in your room once they arrive as they shout back and forth to each other till finishing time around 3:30/4. Buffet restaurant had a good mix of options, but it was repeated on a rotation. Steakhouse restaurant was poor, Kalunium was worth the visit and Sofia buffet was probably the nicest food we’d had there. Cappachino is worth a visit, the coffee is decent and the coolest general area in the hotel. Staff done the basics, but there was no 4 star service never mind 5 star. Your mini bar is restocked every 2 days but you can get water from the lobby bar. RUI fun activities are dated - the water slides at the palace were good fun. No subbed wars which was welcome and the beach is lovely with plenty of sun beds to choose from. Tips: Download the app as a way to report issues, book restaurants asap via the app as you need your room number. Late checkout can’t be arranged before your day of leaving and you need to go to reception to actually book it. Check which bar gives you what - for example, no soft drinks at breakfast so get that from the bar before you go in. Only canned drinks in the Buffett ant lunch and Dinner. Only the lobby bar and bar beside the entertainment area can give you prosecco. Bottled water only from the lobby.