MELIÁ Hotels in Santa Maria

Firstly I would like to say Thank you to all at Rui Funana, It wasn’t the the smoothest of starts but the staff of Rui Funana were first class. After a 4 hour delay at Gatwick we arrived at Rui Funana just after midnight, we were checked in & offered for someone to take our bags, we declined thinking that it would just be quicker & less hassle to do it ourselves. We were given our room number. It was a short walk to block 8. Once we found our room we opened the door to find some guests already asleep in there. We closed the door quietly and laughed to ourselves how we must have got the wrong room, after double checking & the other guests locking the door for no more interruptions we proceeded back to reception to report that there were already occupants in the room. The staff on reception were very apologetic & upgraded our room which was a bit closer in block 9. The room was lovely, but after a couple of days we woke up on the Monday morning to a flooded bathroom, the air con system had leaked through the ceiling, we reported the fault & were told that it would be fixed (no stress) we went out for the day & came back to the room all cleaned up & decorated for our anniversary we went to one of the a la carte restaurants to celebrate our anniversary, we were made to feel special & we thoroughly enjoyed the meal & especially when the staff then sang happy birthday to my wife 🤣 great night. That night & the next we had the same issue with the air con system flooding our bathroom in the end the staff moved us to another room which had 3 bottles of Prosecco in the fridge. The staff were great they made our room up everyday with different towel arrangements & decorations. I said to my wife that you can tell how good a hotel is by the way they deal with problems, Rui Funana were first class ! We would like to thank all the restaurant staff, especially Jacira Cruz who made us feel very welcome and was so attentive, she is an asset to your hotel. Everyone works very hard at the hotel & are always happy & friendly. I’ve rambled on enough, I’ve even bored myself. Thank you for a fantastic holiday even with the adventures, we will be back xx

The best hotel in the whole island of Sal, except for Riu, is Hilton. Unfortunately, there is no Riu at the time of booking, but Hilton is very new, the decoration is very beautiful, and the facilities in the room are very modern. The hotel swimming pool is very large, the beach is outside, the greening is very good, the photo is beautiful, but the room is a little far from the beach, only half of the sea view room.

Can’t complain! Was a good beautiful hotel with plenty of food and drinks for all guests! Very easy to get there from the airport and everyone speaks English if you don’t speak the native language or similar. Most requests are done via their handy app which is easy to navigate and all inclusive is true to the name! You only pay for anything extra such as treatments in the Spa or items from the shop located on site otherwise everything else is included in the cost of your stay! I would have preferred more options for the 24hr “snack/food option” but this was only used out of hours so not many times for me.

The complex are blocks of apartments that are mainly for self catering. It was quite a distance from airport costing 20 euros by taxi. Check in was a lengthy process with little info on the resort surrounding area, apart from shuttle bus time table. There was no local public bus information regarding destination and timetable, which would have helped us a lot. We were very impressed with the spacious suite of 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen and through lounge with large balcony to the rear, overlooking the pool and another large balcony to the front. Ironing board and iron, hairdryer, showers were effective with good temperature control, air conditioning units. Everything spotless, clean towels when needed, towels for pool supplied. Free shuttlebus service to town, capital city or the beach. There is a bank on site as well as a supermarket, coffee shop, restaurant and small bar. We were half board basis and were very disappointed with the choices of the buffet dinner each night plus the food was cold. We did report this after our first meal but nothing was done - still cold each night!. Breakfast had the same choices each morning but was ok. Staff were friendly and helpful throughout. Overall, our stay was enjoyable with impressive suite of rooms but was marred by the dining experience.

We travelled from oct12 to 26 First impressions were great. Only 2 story's but spread out over a large area with block 1 being near the restaurant and block 5 being near the beach. The room was lovely if not a bit dated . It was clean and the mini bar and coffee were restocked when asked. Also towels and sheets were changed when asked .TIP If you like milk in your tea or coffee take a small bottle to the restaurant and fill it with milk to keep in the fridge. At first glance the main restaurant looked amazing with every kind of food you could wish for,however the breakfast was never hot and I was very concerned about salads and fish being left uncovered for many hours .The 3 special restaurants were lovely in the evening but the Steak restaurant was awful at lunch with flies all over the salad. After eating at the Italian restaurant in the second week my husband band was vert ill will diarrhea and stomach cramps . TIP keep an eye on the app and book restaurants as soon as possible.Another tip is to avoid breakfast at 7 30 and eat when the fresh food is cooked . The pool and the beach leave a lot to be desired. As other people have said you really struggle to get a bed near the pool. If you put your hotel towels on the beds the staff will move them . Unfortunately this is the only way to get a be .TIP if you must safe a bed use your own towels.. The beds on the beach are old and most are broken, there are no tables and the only shade is under the trees . The bar only serves beer or soft drinks and water . Be careful in the see as the waves are very strong. Trips out..We booked 2 trips with Mr Africa on the beach,he gave us a good price.if you don't want to use these guys just say no thanks .Also went into Santa Maria at night, bars ,restaurants are OK and we saw an amazing dance group on the street. We also went to The dead she'll beach,not a tourist place but interesting, taxi there 7 euros and walked back TIP if shopping try the supermarket as its cheaper than the small stalls.TIp take euros, the hotel reception will change large notes into smaller ones. We tipped 3 to 5 euros everywhere we could as the staff work so hard and earn very little money. You won't be able to change escudos when you come back . We gave ours to the staff . Finally to finish we travelled back on a Saturday night, the airport is full of flies . When arriving home I was very ill with diarrhea and stomach cramps . This was the same as a lot of people we spoke to whilst staying there. All I can say is watch what you eat. Although we had a nice time we wouldn't go back and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This is a 4star not 5star hotel .only good thing is the amazing staff who work so very hard.

The official rating of this hotel is 4 stars, and with a bit of cosmetic upgrading and better staffing in the kitchen, I could see it reaching that level (it seems like it may have once been a real 4 star). As it was, the room quality itself was more 3 star, and the outside area was 4 stars. We had a 'deluxe sea view' with no terrace. There was lots of rough paintwork and lack of maintenance on the small details in the rooms, but overall it was fine, with a huge comfy bed and a nice shower and a lovely view out the window. Unfortunately the entry was at the street side of the hotel which was our smoking area, and that view was just the dirt road and some houses. Overall we would stay here again as the room was fine, the staff were great, the pool area was amazing, nobody had any screaming kids (very quiet and peaceful, great for couples) and while the beach required stepping over rocks, it also had the best snorkeling area with the most fish. Another sandy beach with less fish and two beach bars is a 3 minute walk away, and the main ***** with the main beach is a 10 minute walk (that one is useless for snorkeling but great for swimming). Besides snorkeling, it's also a preferred spot for wind surfing. We happened to try the hotel restaurant on a really bad night apparently, we waited an hour for our seafood paella which was average quality but double the price of the ***** restaurants. However, according to the other patrons who did all inclusive, the service was usually much faster. and the food usually much better. We did also have burgers for lunch one day, and those were expensive but very nice. Breakfast was included in our stay and it had an extensive and delicious continental selection, plus hot eggs and bacon on order, always very fast. The staff were super attentive and completely on their game, absolutely fantastic service. We got a great deal on a package holiday with LoveHolidays, so for the price we were very happy and would definitely stay again.

When you stay at Morabeza Hotel in Sal, you'll be on the beach, within a 10-minute walk of Santa Maria Beach and Santa Maria Pier. This beach hotel is 0.5 mi (0.7 km) from Nazarene Church and 0.8 mi (1.2 km) from Santa Maria Municipal Market.Dip into one of the 3 outdoor swimming pools or enjoy other recreational amenities including outdoor tennis courts and a fitness center. Additional amenities at this hotel include complimentary wireless internet access, concierge services, and an arcade/game room.Satisfy your appetite with French cuisine at Les Palmiers, one of the hotel's 3 restaurants. Relax with a refreshing drink at the beach bar, the poolside bar, or one of 3 bars/lounges. Full breakfasts are available daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee.Featured amenities include a computer station, dry cleaning/laundry services, and a 24-hour front desk. This hotel has 3 meeting rooms available for events. A roundtrip airport shuttle is provided for a surcharge (available 24 hours), and free self parking is available onsite.Make yourself at home in one of the 121 guestrooms featuring refrigerators. Rooms have private furnished balconies or patios. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and satellite programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with separate bathtubs and showers feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers.