Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort

Ben Heywood

Room - Booked King suite with pool and sea view nearly 12 months prior to arriving. Only to find when I arrived that I was placed on the ground floor with no view of the pool or sea, and due to the hotel being sold out as a conference was more important than high paying guests nothing could be done to fix this room wise, was given discount on a meal. Also I’ve stayed and worked in Hilton’s and to have my full room rate charged at check in is very strange. Then on check out to here that because another guest is a higher tier member than myself they did not have room rate taken. Service - the islands motto is ‘No Stress’, if visiting take that very literally as you will wait on end to be served and once served you will more than likely have to chase where your food and drink is. Multiple times waited over 30 mins. A number of times throughout our 11 night stay food arrived before drinks and had to ask where drinks were after food has arrived. Location - Can not really fault the location of the hotel it is right on the beach with easy access to Santa Maria town and well connected with taxi services and excursions, but due to all of the other problems listed above was not able to fully enjoy this holiday. Overall, this hotel lets the Hilton brand down, last few days at breakfast buffet wasn’t replenished as often and overall quality was lower than first part of the holiday, and after settling my extra room service charges the day before check out and paying directly on card for my final dinner at the bounty beach restaurant for the hotel to also charge this to my room and try and make me double pay at checkout. I chose this holiday for our first family holiday with our son and a milestone in mine and partner’s relationship. It’s safe to say I won’t be returning or recommending any friends or family to visit this hotel.

Hayley Horsman

From the looks the hotel is lovely and rooms comfortable. Unfortunately the food lets it down along with the disorganised chaos in the dining room. Food serving space is not big enough and not a lot of variety. Cooking stations are so slow as they don’t start cooking anything until asked do you just as well cook it yourself - at least then you would have chicken that’s cooked and not raw in the middle as chefs rushing as queues. Lunch time bar kitchen - unorganised not worth waiting 1 hr for a burger. Drinks expensive compared to going 10 mins to town. Sun loungers torn and room doors water damaged- definitely not what you expect from a 5 star establishment. Staff not rush to do anything. On a plus note the place was very clean.

Joanna P

Decent hotel considering the location. Probably wouldn't be liked by people looking for all-inclusive luxury but the location is excellent on the beach only a few minutes' walk from Santa Maria town. Service is patchy but clearly due to a lack of training / understanding of what Westerners will expect in a hotel like this, rather than anything else. The facilities were adequate, although allowing people to reserve sun loungers with towels and then not use them all day was annoying. It would be good if the gym opened before 9am so it is possible to do a workout before breakfast.

Joe C

The Hiton Cabo Verde is a nice hotel. The staff is excellent and always willing to help. The only issue was I requested feather free pillows 2 days before my stay and my room had feather pillows on my late 00:30 arrival and the front desk said it was all set when I checked in. I was able to fix the pillow situation myself as no one answer the front desk phone for over 15 minutes. Everything else was nice with room. The breakfast buffet is nice. There are alot of choices and the omelet was delicious. The dinner buffet needs work. The choices where nice but the quality of steak and lamb was poor. The fish was better. The precooked lamb and paella where dry and not very good. The staff was friendly and helpful in the restraunt as well.

Daniel L

Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) Overall, we had a pleasant stay, with good room standards and some strong service elements, but also several areas that need improvement and affected the overall experience. Pros -Very comfortable beds and a spacious, clean, and well-equipped room -Good housekeeping throughout the stay -Generally strong and reliable Wi-Fi, both in the room and around the pool area -Smooth service after check-in – the hotel contacted us via WhatsApp and handled a request quickly and efficiently -Nice option to have breakfast at the beach restaurant for some variation from the main buffet restaurant Cons -No sun on the balcony in our room – shade both in the morning and afternoon (some rooms have better sun exposure) -The dinner buffet at Magellan felt chaotic, with large crowds and high noise levels It took a long time before we were able to order wine during dinner -The food at the buffet was unfortunately just average -Noise levels are slightly better if you arrive right at opening time around 6:40 pm -Some staff members (not all) could be more welcoming – a smile makes a big difference -Drinks at the bars are relatively expensive, approx. 150–170 SEK, comparable to Swedish prices -The pool felt rather cold, heated to around 23°C – closer to 25°C would have been more comfortable -My birthday was not acknowledged at all, despite the hotel having access to passport details and our stay continuing for several days after the date -A clearer evening dress code is needed in the restaurants – for example, men wearing shorts should not be allowed -Unfortunately, one person in our group experienced food poisoning on the last day, likely related to something eaten at the pool restaurant. As a precaution, guests are advised to be careful with ice, drinks containing ice, and undercooked or poorly handled food Summary A modern and comfortable hotel with good rooms, breakfast, and basic service However, shortcomings in food quality, atmosphere, personal hospitality, and some practical details prevent it from fully living up to expectations for a Hilton property