Ouril Pontao Hotel

The hotel is in a superb location very close to the beach and the main street. The hotel it's self is pretty basic, but very clean, the cleaning staff are working all day, working very hard, they are all very friendly and always smiling and saying hello. Breakfast was good, a great selection of bread rolls, cheese, cold meats, salad, fruit, yoghurts, cake. On the hot counter you could get omlettes, fried eggs, bacon (no it is not English bacon, so don't expect this !) plenty of good food to fill up for the day. Swimming pool - ladders into pool only have 2 steps, so you have to have very long legs or be quite flexible to get out, older people would have extreme difficulty with this.

Have stayed before and gave in 4* Was bit disappointed this time Paid extra for pool view as last time was kept awake by Pirate disco. Were initially shown to top floor room directly opposite disco. We asked to be moved and were given a room by the pool. This smelt of damp and there was a large patch of mould on the wall. The toilet leaked water from the back. There was not hot water for the full week. The sunbeds were all reserved by 8am-luckily few guests knew about the upstairs terrace which was great. Breakfast was very good but chaotic constantly running out of everything. The evening meal was ok but service was terribly slow-the poor water was rushed off his feet doing everything. We ate out the other nights and there are loads of good restaurants in 2 mins walk Its basically a decent value hotel with great staff and a fab location 3mins from pier and beach--would I go again ?? --probably. If you want 5* you can probably get in an AI out of town --but you will miss so much.

Being a solo traveller, from the minute I arrived at the Pontao hotel, I felt so at ease andwas speedily shown my room. The hotel is well run, very clean and the staff go out of their way to make your stay perfect. I was on a bed and breakfast deal. The buffet breakfast had everything you need and was always replenished regularly. The location of the hotel is superb, being 3mins away from all the restaurants and beach.

Might sound mean only 2 stars but the non existent manager/management is the solo reason. They didn't respond to any of or issues. Main one being the mouldy ceiling in room 216. It has been temporary repaired many times but some poor sole will be in it again next week. The bathroom toilet drain stinked. Told them about tv not working, no deposit box etc, etc. All will be replaced next day😂😂. Apart from our problems the comunual areas are great and the hotel in clean in general. Hotel company to blame for for management and limited spending. Get it sorted!

The location is good and the facilities are good. We spent most of our time on the roof terrace more than the pool as it was quieter. The pool was a pleasant place to be but the terrace was our personal preference. Unfortunately I cannot give a review on the rooms as we had to sleep elsewhere. We arrived at the hotel, shattered from our flight, and we were told we had to sleep in another hotel as they had "electrical issues" in our room. The receptionist at the other hotel (Ouril Julia) told us that they'd overbooked. Whatever the truth of it is, it meant a bit of back and forth on our holiday. Fortunately Ouril Julia is about a 5/10 minute walk down the other end of Pedestrian Street so it wasn't terrible but there was a lot of carrying towels and swimwear back and forth. Pontao is actually in a really good location, close to the beach and close to the town but slightly round a corner so the nightlife doesn't disturb the hotel too much. Ouril Julia was right on the high street so it was loud at night, but the actual room was very very big - it had an upstairs and a downstairs. If you're a light sleeper, a decent pair of earplugs should do the trick. In my opinion, Pontao and Morabeza are the best two hotels in Santa Maria, in terms of location. We decided to go full board as we'd never been to Cape Verde before and didn't know what to expect. So we thought it would be less stressful to buy all our food ahead of time. The only thing to bear in mind is that full board doesn't include ANY drinks, not even water, after breakfast. This caught us off guard a bit, but there are supermarkets nearby which they let you bring in if you want to save a bit on drinks. I found that the food service was quite slow, not because of the attitude of the staff but for the lack of the number of them. The staff they employ are pleasant and friendly, and speak enough English to get by. There were 12 tables all wanting dinner at the alloted dinner time, and only one waiter and one chef. It was disappointingly slow at times and made the bedtime very late for the children. Also, be aware of the tourist tax, which is about 2 euros 50c per night, per person. This was an unpleasant surprise upon checking out. But if you allow 30 to 50 euros for this then you won't be caught off guard. Also bear in mind the airport tax. This has nothing to do with Pontao but just a general warning as we're on the subject of tax.

I had a mixed experience staying at this hotel. Let me just start with saying that this is very cheap, so you will get great value for money by choosing this. The bad things: - Shower was dripping for the entire week. Nobody had a hurry fixing this. A wet shower is not a problem, but the sound of it is something. - Cold water in the shower. - The room needs renovation. It have seen better days. The same for the sun beds. They are old and looks kind of dirty. - No wifi in the rooms, and bad connection some times. - Coffe is not good, and the bed is hard. The good things: - Good breakfast! The hotel offers fresh slices of melon, you can ask the chef for omelet, they got homemade pancakes, bacon, sausage, stired vegetables, several types of bread, cheese and so on. For the price of this hotel, you get a pretty good breakfast! - Great service in the lobby. I asked for hangers, and I got some later that day. I also needed help with some other stuff, and they were great! - Nice location in Santa Maria. I loved staying in the city. Would reccoment that over an all inclusive resort. Or do as we did: stay here first, and take some days with luxury on a resort before you leave the island. It is so worth it to live by the locals, and explore the colorful streets of Santa Maria. - The rooftop was great for tanning. Will I stay here again? I can absolut consider it.

The hotel is ideally located for the most stunning beach , bars, restaurants and shops. The hotel its self affords you with well sized and equipped clean rooms. The reception staff are friendly and helpful, as is the staff that clean and make up the bedrooms. The food is well below average the breakfast is passable however the evening meal is not only of very poor quality there is a severe lack of choice. My experience with the evening meal is if you are pre paid be prepared to wait an average of an hour plus before you are served extremely poorly cooked and served meals. The catering staff whilst trying to serve have a poor attitude towards the customer that sometimes are hungry and irrated because of the circumstances above. My opinion is maybe stay but definitely not eat

It was great to return to this friendly well run Hotel. The reception staff & other staff are always pleased to assist guests at anytime. The rooms are clean & comfortable. The breakfast was variable & tasty. A cosy hotel conveniently located at the top of Santa Maria & the beaches only a few minutes walk away. I love returning to this hotel.

The hotel is well positioned for those visiting the island of Sal for business or work. It is located right at the entrance to Santa Maria, close to a public transport station for those who prefer this type of transport and save travel costs. Reception staff are friendly and willing to help guests