Sal Island: Relaxing & No Stress Holiday Package, 8 Days 7 Nights

Stayed at the Hilton Cabo Verde in Sal on a half board basis 26 Mar -2 Apr. To say we are disappointed would be an understatement!Basic customer service skills courses would beneficial to some staff at this hotel. Staff behave as if they are above some customers & they are doing you a favour by carrying out their duties. Yet again, skin colour seems to determine how you are treated which considering staff are black/ of colour, is shocking. Staff at the swim up/pool bar were the worst, rude, unfriendly, unprofessional. It seems that certain members of staff equate skin colour with whether you should be a guest here. these people had no issues pandering to certain guests but found it so difficult to give the same level of customer service to others. And no, I am not being over sensitive nor do I have a chip on my shoulder. In comparison to other 5* hotels we have stayed in, this hotel falls short, at best it’s 4* and that’s being generous! Our room was full of flies on arrival & although we made reception aware, it took approx 6 hours for them to send someone to check this. In that time we discovered that the flies were coming out of the sink basin overflow & we had to stuff it with tissue to stop the flies. Eventually they sent 2 operatives who poured bleach down the sink. In addition there is black mould around the shower enclosure which was really off putting. We were not offered the option to be moved to another room. We wanted to make a hot drink in the room but the inside of the kettle was rusty. We asked for a new kettle and got one shortly after but it was not much better than the first one provided, there was some sort of black residue inside all around the edge so we couldn’t use it and didn’t bother to ask for another replacement. The food in the main buffet restaurant was awful. The salmon was so dry, it practically crumbled when you tried to pick it up with your fork. The chicken needed seasoning and the saffron rice was always rock hard! The fresh juices were hit & miss - some days they were nice, other days they had been watered down so much, you could hardly taste whatever flavour it was meant to be. The apple juice was the only one that was consistently good and tasted of apples. The restaurant on the beach had the best food, offering catch of the day fish options for you to pick then watch being cooked. The roast chicken was also very nice, seasoned & well cooked. You can also request take way option. The walk to Santa Maria is nice but be prepared to be pestered by vendors to buy stuff! Doesn’t matter how many times you say ‘no thank you’ they don’t stop trying to sell you stuff. Simples Gelato in Santa Maria was very nice & you get 2 good scoops for $350CVE. I struggled to finish it! The Spa in the hotel was great, treatments were really good, we had couples hot stone massages which are reasonably priced & you can use the sauna/steam room/jacuzzi prior to your treatments if you wished. The ladies in the Spa were very professional, polite and friendly. Special thanks to the ladies who gave us our treatments and also to Darling who supervised during breakfast at the buffet restaurant. Darling is so very friendly and remembered guests, addressing you by name each morning. Also thank you to the lady that checked us in on arrival. I told her it was my husband’s birthday the day after we arrived, she made a note but nothing came of that. However, staff in the main restaurant acknowledged another guests birthday & all gathered around them to sing happy birthday! She was not a person of colour! Thanks also to the American/cape verdean lady on reception,she was very helpful. Apologies for not remembering your names. Other staff members could learn from both of you as your customer service was great. Needless to say, we won’t be visiting this hotel again or Cape Verde but I'm sure they wouldn’t want us too either!