The value for money is unbeatable. The hotel location is perfect very central in a very cheerful street. All the staff is amazing, they helped me in everything I needed. If I was late to the breakfast and something was over I asked for it and they gave it to me very kindly . They even accompanied me at all times to a place near the hotel to cure a problem I had on the sole of my foot. 👏👏 The room cleaning service is excellent.👌 Special mention to Sandra y a Lura they where very attentive and kind. Thank you💖
Standard-TOPS! Professional, welcoming, family oriented, helpful, responsive, accommodating and sensitive to guests. My family and I felt quite comfortable here. Central to everything. Book and check in you will not regret. The rooms decor and service are spectacular. Hotel offers tours-Buy one.. worth every penny. How else can your circle 1/2 the island in 7 hours? See photos taken during tour. Spectacular views. Restaurant Cimboa at hotel-reliable. Tasty meals. Ohhh the breakfast——a virtual spread. We ate to our tummy delight. Merci Beaucoup Staff.
We had a one night layover between flights and decided to try the Hotel Santa Maria – what a disappointment! It was definitely the worst place we stayed on our trip to Cape Verde. Well, it wasn’t totally awful. Other than the 11 points outlined below, it was OK. The location was good, right in the heart of the pedestrian mall, but that’s about it. 1. As soon as we walked in, the service at reception was surly and bordering on rude. These people were definitely not happy. 2. We reserved and paid extra for a “suite”. However they stuck us into a tiny closet of a room and claimed that the hotel was full and that there were no other rooms available. 3. The room was tiny! There was hardly even any room to put our bags down. Only one person could move about the room at a time. 4. We had no real window outside, just a window out into the service corridor where all the AC units were mounted. The room was very dark and dreary and all the AC units made a lot of noise. 5. There are no extra power points in the room, not at the desk nor at the bedside cabinets. There were a total of 2 in the entire room. One of them was being used for the TV and decoder box, while the other was being used for the fridge and light. So you had to unplug other appliances just to recharge a phone or computer. 6. The Wifi was crap, constantly kicking us off and then not reconnecting for a long time. Almost unusable. 7. Two of our light bulbs were burned out. I had to remove them and take them downstairs to get some replacement bulbs. 8. The TV didn’t work. All we got was a message on the decoder box that said “boot”. We couldn’t turn it off or on. 9. The water temperature was wildly variable – from freezing cold to scalding hot in a matter of seconds, all without even touching the mixer. This variability was fixed the next morning when all we had was cold water for our showers. 10. There was a huge amount of hallway noise – we could hear everything out in the hallway, every door that slammed, every person talking. It was as if our door wasn’t closed. 11. Breakfast was a real cluster! There are only 6 tables available in the tiny dining room, all packed closely together, such that when everyone is seated, there is almost no room to walk between. There were about 40 people vying for the food and tables so it became a race to see who could get their food and get a seat. It was so crowded, people just couldn’t move. We just ate as quickly as we could and got out of there. It was chaos! This is definitely not a hotel I would recommend to others. There are so many better options around. For 84 Euros, it was very poor value and we will never stay here again.…
They served an expired beer that tasted horrible. After a long diskussion with the waitress we got a new one. But they wanted to make us pay for all the beers and even after another diskussion the made us pay for that beer. Unbelievable.
Good clean room, helpful staff, good breakfast. Location, on Praia's main pedestrian street, is ideal for exploring the central ('plateau') part of town, which has plenty of places to eat and drink. The hotel also serves lunch and dinner; prices very reasonable.
We stayed here for a one-night stopover in Praia. It's close to the airport, which was ideal for a late night arrival, and it's centrally located in town. The hotel is very basic but has all the amenities you'd need for a short stay. Rooms were clean, but dated. The staff was friendly and helpful.
Acceptable for what it costs but prepare to be treated like a potential criminal. We arrived after midnight from a late flight and were told we had to pay in full before even being allowed to see the room. We didn't have that much cash on us (and for credit card they run the usual % scam). Despite them having our passports and credit card details from the booking and paying at check out being the standard in hotels, they continued to treat us like criminals who were going to run off in the morning. They refused to offer any solution so ended up roaming the abandoned streets of Praia trying to find a cash point. Never a pleasant start to a stay.
This three star hotel is very well located and provides anything one may need to make one's stay comfortable enough - from the kindness of its employees to the cozy hotel rooms (some better than others).
Topping and tailing our Cabo Verde holiday here, we chose the Santa Maria primarily for its value for money and location. By European/Western standards it would probably rank as a two-and-a-half star hotel rather than a three-star one, since there are quite a few niggling little things that count against it. I'll list them according to the room we were in. 1st night - ROOM 109 *Some lights not working *Leaking shower cabin *Lack of consistent hot water *Dearth of power points for charging phones and tablets. (We took this suite so as to have a bit more room, and there was quite a bit of that, but there was only one available power point in the main room that I could find that didn't involve unplugging something else, and one in the bathroom.) *In every single remote control the batteries weren't working, or had to be 'warmed up' before they did, and almost all of the TV channels were blocked, meaning limited choice. 2nd & 3rd nights - ROOM 110 *Even fewer power points than in the other room - if you want to recharge anything you'll have to use the one available socket in the bathroom; alternatively, unplug the TV and/or set-top box, although since these are up on the wall you'll need either really long recharging cords or you'll have to balance things on top of the tele. There are no power points under/next to the bedside tables, and even where the writing desk is there's only one power point, so the lamp doesn't work if the fridge is plugged in or vice versa, and neither works if the air-conditioning's on. *Bigger room but a real lack of lights, with none in the entryway - I had to use my mobile as a light to read the instructions for the safe (which didn't work anyway) and there were none in the 'sitting room', so with the lamp not plugged in it was a pretty useless dark corner. *Lack of ventilation in the ensuite again, and no toilet roll holder (as in the other room). For the same money, Room 110 is significantly larger (although the ensuite is still pokey - good luck not having to sit on the toilet diagonally!), with a little 'sitting room' corner with a couple of armchairs and a coffee table. Also on the plus side, the air-conditioning isn't right above the bed as in Room 109, so you can have it on all night without a chill wind on your back the whole time. The bed in Room 110 is also extra-large (a King, I guess?) and very comfortable, so a good night's sleep is no worry. An unexpected plus on our return to the hotel, but not the first time (maybe it depends how many nights you stay collectively?), was that we were met at the airport upon our arrival back from the island of Maio by the "hotel's own driver", who whisked us to the hotel free of charge. (The taxi costs 1000$/€10 as a flat rate otherwise.) A very nice touch. I'm not mentioning any of these things to run the place down: the reception staff, and the bar and restaurant team, are bubbly, helpful and very chilled (whether chatting away in English or, like the main barman, in Portuguese even when he's long since realised you don't understand it!). Those are definite plus-points, as were the big, comfortable beds and air-conditioning. The minibars (though empty when presumably meant to have something in them considering the spiel you're given) were useful when we bought our own water and provisions. The ensuites were a little pokey but otherwise fine, bar the aforementioned lack of ventilation. The place generally has its share of character, with a musical theme (local artists and big names) running throughout, and you can see that despite the wear & tear and shortcomings here and there that the team are definitely putting their heart into it and want you to enjoy your stay at the hotel. Luggage can be stored, taxis can be ordered and more. They generally seem eager to help you out however they can. Not a single card payment worked for us with European cards at the hotel, so we paid for our rooms in cash (card payments are subject to a 3% commission on top of whatever rate you're paying anyway, so we made a small saving). There is also a great shortage of change whether you're paying for your room or just a drink at the bar. We're not talking large amounts, obviously, but almost every time they had to scurry about looking for coins and low-denomination notes or else had to give it back/asked us to chase it up later. The Cimboa bar on the front terrace offers dirt-cheap cocktails (400$/€3.70 for a large Cuba Libre!) overlooking the main pedestrian strip on the Plateau: great for people-watching, most reliable WiFi in the hotel bar the lobby itself and close to some decent souvenir/local ware stores. Cocktails are made by the enthusiastic staff, who'll do their best to get you to stay for a meal as well.…
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