Maria Palace Aparthotel

An amazing 10 night stay! Everything was perfect! Hotel/room/food/service! Everything top notch! Fantastic pool areas to soak up the sun. Great holiday!

We recently stayed at the Riu Palace Santa Maria and overall had a good experience, though there are some key points to be aware of before booking. What we loved First impressions were excellent – this is an exceptionally clean and lovely hotel. The housekeeping team does a fantastic job, and staff are constantly tending to the grounds, pools and walkways which are kept spotless and beautifully maintained. The buffet offers an extensive spread of dishes, and while it could become quite repetitive after a couple of weeks, there are two different lunch buffets with slight variations, plus several à la carte restaurants you can book for dinner. Bookings open at midnight via the official Riu app, which you can also use to request housekeeping, maintenance, or minibar refills – though we did find the app locked up occasionally and the digital key didn’t work even after reception activated it for us. Daytime entertainment around the pool was lively and fun, though some the evening shows weren’t really to our taste – at times they felt a little like of Butlins! So we generally avoided. It’s great to have self-service soft drinks and water stations by the pool, though note there is no waiter service here, and you’ll need to clear away your own glasses and plates to help keep flies away. If you’re visiting, I’d strongly recommend requesting a room on the 1st or 2nd floor – we did spot a few cockroaches on the ground floor; nothing excessive, and something we’d expect in this climate, but worth avoiding if you can. We also saw suggestions online that wardrobe dehumidifiers are essential, but we didn’t find we needed one at all in our sea view room in Block 6. On the beach, the red flag was mostly flying on the beach right by the main central path, but usually a yellow flag applies 50 metres further down in front of Block 3 – the current can be very strong. Areas that could be improved There were a few niggles and issues that we personally had. Occasionally birds would get into the buffet area, which happens only because some guests irresponsibly feed them – something the hotel could do more to discourage. Flies and horse flies around the beach were also a nuisance. During our stay there was an incident at the pool bar that meant the main pool had to be drained and fully cleaned, which was an unexpected disruption. This is a very large, family-focused resort, and we noticed many families travelling with children taken out of school during term time. We don’t have an issue with this personally given how much more affordable it can be, but it’s worth noting that some adults choosing term-time travel do so hoping for a quieter, child-free environment, which you won’t find here. We were also disappointed by the standards of hygiene from some other guests, and the hotel is surprisingly short on public toilets – for a property with around 1000 rooms, facilities are limited to one block near a pool, one inside the Praia restaurant, and a couple more by the Cimboa bar and reception at the far end of the resort. Skip the included holiday company transfer and take an independent taxi for around €20 each way. You’ll reach the hotel far faster and beat the huge check-in queues, and you’ll avoid long waits at the airport when you head home too. Verdict: A well-run, spotlessly clean hotel with great facilities and friendly staff, but go with your eyes open – it’s busy, family-oriented, and has a few small practical shortcomings. If you know what to expect, it’s a solid choice for a Cape Verde break.

This is the second Riu Palace hotel i've stayed at. Unlike the other Riu Palace in Jamaica - This hotel is certainly not a 5 star hotel. I would class it as a mediocre 4 star hotel at best. Pros: Good entertainment. Good food. Very spacious rooms. Powerful shower. Cons: Strong odour of damp in the room. Poor air conditioning. Slow service at buffet. Minibar rarely filled. With the exception of the cleaning staff, most of the staff are sour faced. Sun loungers are covered in bird droppings and are amongst the most uncomfortable i've ever sat on. Whilst cleaning staff are friendly, they do like to shout back and forth to each other starting at around 8am. A nice wake-up call when on vacation. Myself and my partner drink a lot of juice. The "free" minibar in the room advertised was one of the reasons we booked this hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we were told the mini bar would be "filled" every 2 days. Upon arrival the minibar had 4 tins of juice and plenty bottled water. 4 tins of juice doesn't take very long to drink. The self service juice at the pool is not branded and is instead cheap knock off coke. I went to reception one day after the minibar had not been filled. I explained that during the week I have had to spend over €35 on tins of coke at €2 per tin at this "all inclusive" resort. Instead of getting an apology or an offer to have the minibar refilled - The receptionist Derio or Dario started arguing with me. I did not go to the reception for an argument. Again another example of very poor service from hotel staff. Eventually he apologised after I suspect his manager told him to do so. It's very rare that I write negative reviews regarding a hotel and very rare that I complain when at the hotel. Had Derio apologised and offered to have the mini bar filled, I would have accepted that and left. I then had to come back to the room and call the reception to ask that the minibar be re-filled. At the time of writing, that was an hour ago and still nothing. Had this hotel been advertised as a 4 star hotel, I would have accepted all of it's flaws. However I do believe the 5 star rating is very very generous as in my opinion, nothing was 5 star accept maybe the room itself - Which as stated above - Had a strong odour of damp. Do your research before booking this hotel as undoubtedly - There are better options out there.

Great hotel—quiet and clean. Nothing to complain about. The staff are always smiling and helpful. The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and sunny. A warm experience.

I honestly don’t understand where all the positive reviews come from. The hotel looks nice at first glance, but it definitely does not live up to its 5-star rating. The rooms are outdated and in need of renovation. The food was one of the biggest disappointments. There was a wide selection and everything was presented beautifully, but the quality was poor. The meat was often tough, rubbery, and almost inedible. There were also very few food options for children. Overall, this hotel did not meet our expectations, and I would not rate it as a true 5-star resort.