Hotel Riu Palace Santa Maria

We wanted a special holiday to celebrate my 50th birthday and this hotel was perfect - from the moment we arrived in reception we we're greeted with drinks while checking in, to the moment of leaving for the transfer back to the airport, we had the most amazing time. Staff who became friends in the buffet dinning - massive shout out to the team working tirelessly to esnure you have the best experience, to the spotlessly clean swim up pool room with mini fridge that was stocked with soft drinks daily and the wonderful staff who go above and beyond making sure everything is clean and tidy on the whole resort. The amazing beach of soft golden sand meeting the tropical blue sea, its easy to see why this is a paradise of Sal. Would we return, absolutely! I even had a gift from staff of local biscuits which were, as they say...yum yum! Thank you for the wonderful memories created, we are looking forward to our return. Muito Abrigada x

Let's start with the positives. The beach is absolutely incredible—clean, beautiful, with amazing waves. We took surfing lessons, which were challenging but fantastic, and it's a brilliant location to learn. The climate was lovely throughout our stay, the hotel was maintained to a high standard of cleanliness, and there were plenty of swimming pools for everyone to enjoy. Unfortunately, there were several areas that let the hotel down. We had booked one double room and one twin room, but were allocated two twin rooms instead, which was disappointing from the start. The food was another major letdown. Both the buffet and the restaurants lacked quality and variety. If you're travelling with young children who are happy with simple foods such as plain pasta, fruit, crackers, chips and pizza, you'll probably find suitable options. However, for adults looking for more flavour and choice, we found the food quite underwhelming and not particularly appetising. The beds were also extremely firm, making for an uncomfortable night's sleep. When we checked into our rooms, the door handle was broken and the air conditioning wasn't working properly. Requests for replacement towels and a replacement shower head took a long time to be dealt with. One tip would be to use the hotel's app rather than calling reception, as requests seemed to be handled more efficiently that way. The service overall was average. No staff members were rude, but the level of service certainly wasn't what we've experienced at other resorts in this price range. One highlight outside of the hotel was the quad biking excursion, which was excellent. It wasn't organised through the hotel, but I'd highly recommend doing it if you're visiting the area. Overall, the stunning beach, great weather and excellent pool facilities made for an enjoyable holiday, but the food, room issues, comfort and slow service mean I wouldn't rate this hotel higher than 3 out of 5 stars and unlikely to return.