Melia Tortuga Beach

Jan-Erik Eriksen

When we arrived at the hotel, we were told it was overbooked, and we were given a “villa upgrade.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t ideal since we were travelling with a 3-year-old, and having a pool right outside the door felt unsafe. We had originally booked two triple apartments, so this was a disappointing start. After two nights we were able to change, but were then moved to two two-bedroom apartments instead of what we had paid for. We also had to ask repeatedly for fresh towels and water, as housekeeping often forgot to replace these. The buffet food was decent with good variety. The restaurants can fill up, so it’s smart to book a few days in advance. The beach restaurant had the best food. The beach itself is close, and the hotel’s outdoor areas are pleasant, though some parts could use renovation—there were missing tiles and some mold on the pool bar counter. There aren’t many activities for children. Overall, it’s an acceptable hotel for the price, and the nearby beach is very nice.

Jessica edwards

🌴 Review of Meliá Tortuga Hotel Our stay at Meliá Tortuga was truly memorable. The location was breathtaking, with stunning sunsets and a beautiful, clean beach that set the perfect backdrop for relaxation. 🍽️ Food & Dining The food was varied and catered to many tastes, which made mealtimes enjoyable. While I wasn’t entirely convinced by broccoli and carrots at breakfast, overall the selection was impressive and inclusive. 👩‍💼 Staff & Service The staff were outstanding—polite, hardworking, and always ready to help. A special shout-out to Fred at the Spice Bar, who was a lovely host and made evenings feel extra special. We also had a fantastic massage at the spa, and thanks to Amy for guiding us to the perfect treatment. 🛏️ Rooms The only downside was the room itself. While very clean, it felt a little outdated and would benefit from renovation. The TV kept turning off due to a poor wire connection, and the air conditioning wasn’t very cold. Despite these issues, the cleanliness and effort of the housekeeping team were much appreciated. 🎉 Activities & Atmosphere We chose this holiday to completely relax and unwind, so we didn’t join the activities or excursions. However, there seemed to be plenty on offer for those who wanted a more active stay. ✨ Overall Meliá Tortuga gave us exactly what we needed—a relaxing break in a stunning location, supported by an incredible team of staff. Thank you for helping us recharge and enjoy a peaceful getaway!

Freak

I really enjoyed my stay here at Tortuga. We stayed in the villa which was pretty clean, although the pool wasn’t always maintained. Luckily we didn’t really use the pool as we didn’t have the time, but one the odd occasion when we did want to it was unkempt. The welcoming in the villa was lovely though with drinks and snacks for when we arrived. The cleaners always kept us stocked up with plenty of towels and water everyday however, there were a lot of ant situations going on in the room. Despite us making an effort to keep it clean and have food out the way, the large amounts of ants that would be there at times were a problem. I have no idea where they came from to be honest, but we’re not very squeamish and got rid of them ourselves using spray. The remnants ended up being cleaned away by the cleaners when they could be. The beds were comfortable and there was plenty of space in that villa, we did really enjoy staying there- it wasn’t far from the restaurant and we still had close access to the all inclusive buffet, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The food was super yummy and there was a great variety of it too. For myself who didn’t eat any of the meat, I still had so much fish and vegetarian options which I enjoyed. The staff were good and really attentive in the restaurant also. There is a private beach which is nice to have if we didn’t feel like going into Santa Maria. The private beach does go a long way it’s quite big with plenty of seating areas. Santa Maria (the centre) is about a 45 minute walk I would say, but they do have a shuttle that takes you there and back at set times. I would say we’re in a good location- although it isn’t completely central, it’s a nice quiet location where the resort is. The gym isn’t great at tortuga, very limited equipment compared to their other branches. We paid VIP for a day where we upgraded our stay to get access to their neighbour resorts (there’s like three others). From doing this I did find there are nicer lounging areas and gyms, but all in all we had everything we needed in tortuga itself. We tried the spa facilities at tortuga- we were able to enjoy the jaccuzzi and sauna- this is charged at an additional cost (but included in VIP upgrade). We weren’t able to find a massage booking time that suited us so we didn’t get to experience that. We did book some of the restaurants at tortuga which is free for all inclusive guests, but to be honest we preferred the buffet. There is a Japanese restaurant at one of their neighbour branches which we tried. This was a nice experience to try some different food but is also at an additional cost. We did order room service once and it was lovely the food but it took over an hour for the food to come. We didn’t utilise the bars much as we mostly just drank water, but there are plenty of bars spotted about for drinks. The resort itself is clean, tidy and quite pretty.

Yola Fort

A haven for the soul. The location is breathtaking, with endless views, and the services are perfectly balanced for relaxation — everything you need to unwind is here. The staff is warm and genuinely caring. Any issues in the apartments, or during your stay in general, are resolved quickly and with understanding. I’d say it offers good quality without pretension — a place where you can truly relax and be yourself. The apartments are spacious and cozy, though they could use some renovation as things are showing their age. One drawback: dogs. There should definitely be signs reminding guests not to feed them.

Mariyah

We stayed in a three bedroom villa which I would highly recommend if you are travelling here with friends. The villa includes a pool, tv, microwave, stove and also 3 toilets. The only downside is that the pool is not always kept clean and there are easily ant infestations. We had a few infestations and one of them was in the bathtub. I came from breakfast and saw a whole load of dead ants in the bathtub. I’m assuming the cleaner killed them and left it like that because I left the bath tub plug hole uncovered and when I returned it was covered. This is one of the reasons I wouldn’t give this resort a five star. It didn’t have a 5 star feel either walking into the hotel in general however, it is very homey and welcoming. They offer a VIP day for €50 where you can explore the other branches of the hotel, get a spa, room service etc. I did this for one day which I’m glad I did however, I personally wouldn’t do it again because the ‘Level Lounge’ was extremely packed and actually didn’t have much space in there and after trying the other buffets, the food in Tortuga was my favourite. However, the lounge area in the other hotels are much better. VIP also allows booking for different types of restaurant, we went Nami which was Japanese cuisine and I was very impressed with the food. Bikini beach is also available however, we didn’t check that out due to leaving soon. Tortuga has minimal lounging. However, there are shows during the night (around 21:00) which are pleasant to watch if you manage to get a seat. I’m pretty sure the beach in the hotels are all connected, the beach is also pleasant. I was quite sceptical eating in Cape Verde with the bad rep it has on food poisoning. However, the buffet food was one of the best I tried as it offers a wide variety of options each day which is suitable for any diet, I didn’t eat meat during the trip but there was always seafood available, there are also veg, lentils, salads and a wide variety of cakes which I would say were the best all inclusive cakes I’ve had too. I did this and managed to avoid food poisoning, I would just recommend being extremely cautious with tap water entering your mouth in your own hotel rooms. The staff here are very friendly, welcoming and as a bonus, pleasant to look at 😉 All in all, I would recommend coming here if you’re looking for a laid back trip.