Family-friendly Hotels in Ribeira Grande

We stayed 5 nights in this hotel. Let's go one by one. Room: There was not exhaust system in the toilet. The smell of the sheets was awful since the very first day. The design was nice. Cleaning service was a joke... We had to ask up to three times for making up the room... Every day was a drama knowing when it was going to be done. Breakfast: A 5 star hotel does not deserve such a bad breakfast. Orange juice was not even fresh. Spanish Ham was awful(really low quality and bakery... just speechless) Restaurant: Extremely short variety of dishes. Again, not at expected level of 5 star hotel. Facilities: There were many rooms yet to be finished and not completely built. Surroundings are really ugly.... Additional comments: We saw many couples&families who had a booking in the frontdesk with no room available... Hotel was offering other room in other hotels at 17km!! We went to play to the pool (billiard) and there was a leakage on the ceiling... A new hotel with leakage??? Summarizing, the best of this hotel was the staff ...Poor them, trying to ”extinguish” all the fires caused by the hotel & hotel management. Specially front desk staff: Thx for doing your best! I provide 3/5 star coz I want to believe that they will fix all this issues in a short time and it will be good by then.

This apart-hotel complex is absolutely beautiful, flowering bushes everywhere with a lovely scent. Our apartment was large and airy and had a great private terrace on the first floor (2nd floor if you’re North American). It really was a home from home with a full dining area with table and chairs and lounge area with sofa, soft rug and tv. The main double bedroom was upstairs with an anteroom having a sofa/pull out bed for children or guests 3&4. Lots of storage in the bedroom but there was a distinct lack of hangers in the wardrobe but loads of drawer space. The kitchen is adequate enough for simple meals (no oven) with a twin hob and microwave, kettle and toaster, and a selection of pots and pans. We managed really well. The hotel provides breakfast 8am - 10am if you want it at 12euros per person. We didn’t try this option. Housekeeping are amazing and come every day! Everything is clean and beds are made. Towels can be changed daily if you like. For a self-catering holiday we found that a lot was provided in the apartment for us: washing up liquid, washing up sponge, washing up cloth and a tea towel. These are replenished and changed as needed. There is also toilet roll, shower gel and hand wash provided in the bathroom which was lovely - again, replenished when needed or on request. The complex gardens are beautiful and well-tended. The pool looked lovely and well-cared for, however we didn’t try it out. There seems to be a hot tub in a wooden building off the pool area - we took a look but it was grubby and the water had floating debris. I’m sure they would have sorted it out if we had asked, but we were out and about discovering the island every day. You definitely need to hire a car for the duration of your stay here as there isn’t any bus route nearby and taxis would be very expensive to get around the island. HANDY TIP: If you’re picking up your hire car on landing at the airport and driving to Quinta da Santana - to get into the complex there is an electronic gate that requires a remote control. When you first arrive, drive past the big metal gate and find the next smaller (pedestrian) gate. Put the hazard lights on in the car and get out to ring the bell. This alerts reception who will come and open the gate for you or just give you a remote straight away so you can drive into the complex. We had a horrendous time of looking and looking and going around and around the roads trying to find the entrance!! We didn’t know about the need to ring the pedestrian gate bell (face palm!) The reception staff are lovely and very accommodating and speak English very well. I’m not sure what other languages they can speak. The area that Quinta da Santana is situated in is the one fly in the ointment….it seems really run down and the road they are situated on is all full of industrial buildings and commercial businesses. Further exploration within Santana uncovers the grubbier side of agricultural life with its local working class community.