Hotel Riu Cabo Verde - All Inclusive Adults Only

Just the standard RUI Hotel setup…unable to get a booking in any of the specialty restaurants. Buffet restaurants the same repetitive food. Polite cleaning staff. Reception staff need to be more customer focussed I arrived at 8pm given a keycard and a map and pointed in the direction of the room…no one to help with baggage. Requested late checkout on the RUI app had it confirmed and then I find keycard not working on the day after spending the morning by the pool headed to reception was told I should have requested this at reception…at no point in time did the app state this. I was told that the bell boy had put a note under my door..that’s ok if I could actually get into the room to read it, but there was no note ! Would not say this is a 5* hotel more a 4*.

Dirty room on arrival, empty mini bar, not even water, took 4 days to get supplies, apparently there's shortages, so tui should inform clients before arrival, not enough sunbeds, if you have food intolerances, you will go hungry as I found it hard to even get lactose and dairy free food nothing is labeled for intolerances, cocktails are premaid in slush, I would say tui website make it look like heaven, but it's been hell for us

This is a great place to stay .the rooms are spotless.grounds very clean.food is superb somehing for everyone.and the staff are amazing always smiling.and hardworking,animation team were lovely especialy the boule girls.we had a great time here,the guys that wait on the path to the beach to sell trips are not pushy,we booked with Romeo and had a great day , we also met some lovely people here,so go and enjoy ignore the negative reviews.

Chill holiday although need to stop people putting towels on sun beds at 12.30 am there’s no chance of getting a sun bed round the pool. Supposed to be platinum but all drinks were local & not the best Platinum means the best but not in this case

The food in the hotel is fantastic with so much choice and lots of fish. The drinks were good but could offer better cocktails in my opinion. The staff are very friendly and work hard to make sure everyone is having a good time. The entertainment team did a good job although the shows were fairly average compared to other all inclusive hotels I've been to. The rooms are very spacious with comfy beds. They were very clean. The main thing that lets this hotel down is the pool area isn't big enough for the hotel which means unless you put your towels out at 7am, you won't get a sunbed. There doesn't seem to be a solution to this other than building an extra pool. I also got a terrible stomach bug towards the end of the holiday which lasted for over two weeks and I'm not sure if it's down to the ice or the water. I think this hotel would be better in the quieter months (maybe winter?!) when it isn't so busy.

Pleasant environment, excellent service and food. Great for those who prefer a palm beach. An excellent vacation for relaxation.

I am so glad I ignored all the bad reviews before going, fantastic hotel. Arrived at the hotel fairly late in the evening, greeted with a drink and a fairly quick check in. Room was lovely, spacious and clean. Good strong WIFI in the room and plenty of hangers etc. Mini bar was fully stocked every day and great optics set. One of our sinks was leaking a little when we first checked in but was fixed within the hour with zero fuss. Food was lovely, great options that changed daily. Plenty of choice and always hot and fresh, it did start to feel a little samey at the end of the week but still thoroughly enjoyed it. Plenty of bars to choose from with lots of drink selections, we favored the reception bar with the outside seating. The outside seating is split into 2 areas, smoking and non-smoking which is fine however there appears to be more smokers than non-smokers so this area could do with extending a little to accommodate more people but it’s not a major issue. If you are there on a Friday, make sure you hit the white/neon party! We were there for the white party and it was fantastic, such a good evening. They really go all out for the event and we had so much fun. Maybe a little too much fun as had to stay in bed till lunch the next day. My only major gripe with the hotel is the sunbeds around the pool, people were spotted putting towels out the night before to make sure they got good seats! We are early risers so tended to be at the pool by 9am and always managed to get seats although even then there were only a few left. Some of the reserved beds had people showing up late afternoon or not at all which is just inconsiderate and unfair to those that actually wanted to use the pool. The entertainment team were fantastic and constantly on the go, we enjoyed the water aerobics and evening entertainment. All in all, we would return as we enjoyed a lovely relaxing week at this hotel. I would take the bad reviews with a pinch of salt, some people are never happy even when on holiday apparently. I would ignore the reviews regarding illness, no one we talked to was ill at all. We ate everything and socialized with a lot of people but never heard a complaint. Some people were spending all day sat in the sun drinking alcohol which is likely why people start to feel under the weather.

Overall a very nice hotel, but could be so much better for the 5* the rooms are nice, but the Cape Verde bathroom setup still annoys me. Please put a sliding door in place to give the overall bathroom area some privacy. The gardens and public areas are very well kept and cleaned by staff. The Public toilets poolside could do with a revamp but are kept very clean by staff. The food selection is great if you love fish and meats. Their salads could be better I thought, but you will not starve. The staff are all very attentive both in the bars and restaurants. outside seating area near reception could be extended, there are not enough seats to enjoy the outside at night. The major downside of this holiday was the sunbed saga, the area is lovely with the swim up pool bar, but you have to be out at the crack of dawn to get a bed. inconsiderate guests putting towels out in the middle of the night and not appearing until 10/11 am. i went out one day at 5 am to see how many were out and it was busy even then. The management, unfortunately, DO NOT want to get involved and although this is mentioned on the pack in the room, and reception staff told me it was forbidden. The manager told other guests it's Not a policy to remove towels so were not intend to do anything about it. I'm sorry, getting up when its dark to put a towel out to secure a sunbed for me is not part of a relaxing holiday,

Fantastic staff, from the second we arrived, we were made so welcome. We booked into 2 of the speciality restaurants. Really enjoyed the steak house. Steak cooked perfectly. Went to the Cape Verde one, not so impressed, in fact, cancelled our other booking and wish we had made another booking for the steakhouse. Didn't try the Italian as we have stayed in Rui before and not enjoyed the Italian. Most reviews reflect our experience. Attended the neon party. Great night. The dancers were amazing. Re the sunbed situation, we stayed a week and went to the pool 3 times each time, arriving at around 8 am and managed to get a bed. There is a beautiful beach a few mins walk from the pool with a small beach bar, so no stress if you don't get a sunbed.. just go back after lunch and plenty to be had. It is easy to get a taxi down to Santa Maria, a fantastic beach, lovely people, great bars, and restaurants. We did 2 trips, the turtle nesting and salt lake and shark bay. Both fantastic trips. Please try to book with the locals if you can rather than further lining the pockets of Tui. Using get your guide or TripAdvisor gives you added protection with a local guide benefiting the local people. Why not 5 stars.. well, rooms really need an update for the cost and more security needed at night. We came back from Santa Maria one night after a chilled no stress evening listening to some fantastic music to go for a last drink in the Pacha nightclub. A couple in there were so drunk, and the male was being aggressive and refusing not to take his shirt off on the dance floor. The female was taking other people's drinking and drinking them.. ( it's all inclusive). Embarrassing to the British .. as we left, the male was refusing to leave blocking the stairs, and his partner was trying to drag him by the throat down the stairs. One poor security guard was dealing with his. We went re reception to advise the desk he needed help. We later heard they had been thrown out of the Sports Bar.. we question why they were allowed in the club.. It was our second time in Cape Verde, and we didn't experience upset stomachs. we ate mainly fish and vegetables between us. Avoided the rice and seafood. We will be returning back to Cape Verde one day.. at this hotel, probably not, mainly because we lived the town so much we would prefer a small hotel in town.