This is more like a 4 star hotel and as my partner and I are both airline crew we have been in a lot of hotels in our time. The rooms are basic but clean and with everything that you need. The staff are friendly and helpful and willing to answer any questions you may have. We did a 4 hour quad bike tour to the north of the island which was fantastic and a day trip to neighbouring island Boa Vista where you will find breathtaking beaches. Well worth a visit. Sal itself has an extinct volcano in the north where you can visit natural salt lakes where you float, similar to the dead sea. Well worth a visit and only 5 euros entry fee. Back to the hotel, we were all inclusive, there for 4 nights and the food was great. Loads of choice and all good quality and whereas in Egypt in 5 stars we both got food poisoning twice, we didn't here.
The only negative I should mention is that I did have a skirt and a top hanging outside my apartment that disappeared. It is a very windy island - great for windsurfing and surfing - but I doubt the clothes could have blown clear of the trees and the bushes. Bit strange but something to be a bit wary off. This definitely wouldn't put me off coming here again though. The surrounding areas and beaches etc. felt very safe. You do get bothered a bit by the locals trying to sell you stuff but they soon leave you alone if you tell them you are not interested. They all say "ok have a great day" so nice and friendly and not too pushy.

The climate here is perfect, absolutely perfect, all year round and if you are a keen surfer the waves here are unbeatable.. I have never seen waves like it in my life. They hold the windsurfing world championships here at Porta Preta beach.

A great location and in our view a great hotel as very reasonably priced, food good and all you need in a hotel.

Oh the only other thing to bear in mind with the food/drink is the wine.....awful!!! I stuck to vodka but this is not included in the all inclusive. It was a bit like a detox holiday for me!

good hotel, good kitchen, very quiet. Maybe too much quiet.
Appreciable for the diving (500 m far) and fot the kite surf.

I returned from Sal yesterday. The hotel is near to the beach front. There are sun beds but there is no bar at the beach. There is a large sea water pool area with plentry of sun beds with sun covers. The drinks are provided in small childrens party style cups, the coffee is provided in a proper cup and is very good. There were very few all inclusive drinks - coffee tiamaria style, punch, whiskey, beer and wine. No gin or vodka etc...The staff are generally friendly but do not speak English very well.
There was only one restaurant open. The food served was the same each day - 2 fish dishes, 2 meat dishes, potatoes, rice and 2 pasta dishes. There was a small salad bar. There was very little food available for vegeterians who do not eat fish. Generally the food was average but the fish was very fresh and well cooked. The bread and pastry was of a very good quality. There were only 3 other groups of britsh people at the hotel - some out of each group had stomach upsets but there is no evidence of how they became ill.
Water to take back to the room was 2 Euro for a bottle.
The rooms were of an average size and had pre-set air con which could be either off or on. The rooms were basic. The hotel only has twin rooms and beds are pushed together on request with a blanket placed over the gap. The bathrooms had a bath, sink and shower of a good size. The rooms needed to be updated ie a lick of paint and the repair of cracked tiles.
There are entertainers who do aerobics in and out of the pool. The hotel entertainers had 2 shows per week in Italian but we did not attend, There was a local group of drummers who came on Monday and were good and a great local style dance troop on Friday. The other nights were send in the square near the bar with no music or any form of entertainment.
There were taxis to santa maria for a few euros. We walked along the beach one afternoon and it took 20 min. There was very little to see. There was a small Irish bar called Tam Tam which had the sports channels for football matches and a couple of beach front bars. There were very few trips on the island - the salt mine or boat trips along the coast.
The holiday was very relaxing and the beach had plentry of space to relax and read a few books. If you go to this hotel be aware that there is very little to do other than relax or swim. The hotel rooms and facilities are basic. We enjoyed the sun and relaxation. The cost of our 1 week all inclusive holiday (flights, hotel, transfers) with holiay options via thomas cook was 9 hundred pounds per person and i do feel that it was overpriced.

On an excellent beach with a good size pool. The food was excellent and the staff, with 1 exception, were very friendly. The hotel caters mainly for Italian guests with some Brits and Germans, but that is not really a problem. The beach is not really suitable for young children as the waves are quite strong and there is also a fairly strong current.
The town of Santa Maria is about 20 minutes walk along the beach.