Hotel Riu Karamboa - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Rui Karamboa Cape Verde First impressions nice resort but not 5 star 4 at best …. My opinion did not change Adults only resort yet children from Palace next door was with parents walking through resort not stopped by staff. ? sports bar ok but live sports keeps buffering SportsBar Very poor TV coverage and unfortunately the pool table was substandard with broken parts see attached photos Rooms very spacious with spirts and mini bar , safe in room , wardrobes are located in the bathroom , Bathroom had a small shower, no power and no bath - limited shower gels Kings size bed with seating area and 2 seated balcony Housekeeping very loud in the morning woke us up at 08.00 by shouting and being loud in the corridors even though they did not enter our room that early , is not what you you expect for a peaceful holiday. No clean towels when we went to exchange them at 1630 Drinks no branded drinks at the pool area whatsoever , Bacardi available at the main reception bar only but all local brands available throughout - no procesco or sparking wine but was told we can buy it … no Bombay Sapphire no Apple spritz Gym opened at 8 am poor size not enough equipment for the size the hotel very disappointed. But at the least did manage to do sessions by getting there at 7:45 to ensure I was the first one in line no water bottles or towels provided so take your own Food Reservations are easy to be made on the app but was told only 1 themed restaurant booking per stay ? - what’s that all about ??? Italian first night and it was as expected , plenty of choice and really tasty and service was spot-on , 3rd night we went back and the food was poor and the service not great to start with and food not replenished as you would expect . Restaurant as expected service is really good with plenty of choice of Asian foods white wine was house which was fine but again no sparkling wine. Ala carte restaurant by far the stand out food of the holiday everything course was spot on and delivered to the high standard you come to expect with a 5 star resort unfortunately everything else was not where near 5 star Lunch buffet - was told at 14.30 - that the club sandwiches were finished when I asked to be replenished - but buffet did not close until 17.00 poor service … Rui white party was excellent entertainment and sax player was superb Had to reinstall the RUi app twice which was not great

The hotel is literally a stone’s throw from the airport which is a huge bonus. It pays to check in online as it streamlines the process when you arrive. As the title indicates this is more a 4* not 5. On arrival the reception is well decorated. No welcome drink but that can be forgiven. What cannot be forgiven for a 5 star hotel, is no fizz at all served at the hotel. I have never been to a 5* all inclusive ever in the world that does not serve sparkling wine. As for the room - well equipped except for the bed. We ended up with a twin - each half skated on the floor every time you sat on it. Not the most comfortable. Food - really good. Plentiful and tasty. Very impressed. Easy to get sunbeds. Weird the towel hut wasn’t open before 9am though. We did enjoy our stay but there are things that could be improved.

We had the best time here, a fabulous complex, so clean, lovely food, great entertainment and the staff were lovely! Bonus sighting of hump back whales off the beach too!