Melia Tortuga Beach - All Inclusive

On return to Meila tortuga we found the hotel as we did over many years clean and welcoming From start of arrival Bruno, Fred and the team helped us with the bags with big smiles on faces Reception for checking in Jacqueline and staff all friendly and happy to help with the process which is great after the flight Maria from the shop came out and welcomed us back and Sara from the spa also welcomed us Fabio also welcomed us as he recognised us from before Huge Thank you to Vania who always welcomes with a smile and a great manager with her team Heidy as well Working our way to our room saw many friendly faces seen before William, Marissa and Loretta, Ivan,Elvis, Eliene,to name a few but the staff old and new friendly from all aspects of the jobs . Rooms lovely clean , choice of food excellent from spices and can always book into 3 others if needed . Entertainment around the pool and on the beach was great if you wanted to join in and the 2nd week there lovely time to welcome Ivan back to the team with two others from the dunas. Night time entertainment hats off again to Danilo, Fortz, Sara and Solange, Tanya and lilia for dancing on Tuesdays and Thursdays always a great show. To book trips in Sal on the beach will find Jonny cash and Yani to book with great people and very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Thank you for another great visit looking forward to the next Kate and Rose

We stayed at Meliá Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa in Sal, Cape Verde from 29th June to 6th July 2025, and unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing — especially given the price we paid. This was sold to us through TUI as a five-star, all-inclusive luxury resort, but what we got was far from that. The food and drink were VERY poor quality. All members of our group ended up unwell with food poisoning and all restaurants were substandard, particularly the 'La Cabana' bar and restaurant, where the chicken was inedible. The room itself was also in bad condition — the sofa and quilt were ripped, there was no cutlery provided, the iron didn’t work, and the curtains didn’t even cover the windows properly. Shockingly, the balcony doors didn’t have handles, and we weren’t even given a key at check-in — we had to ask for one ourselves. A lot of the facilities and features that were advertised simply weren’t there. There was no Jacuzzi, no billiards table, no DJ, no Bali beds, and no pool toys. The pool had missing tiles, many of the sunbeds were damaged, and there were hardly any umbrellas, which led to someone in our group suffering from sunstroke. There weren’t even basic chairs around the pool, and the entertainment was of a very low quality given the hotel's supposed rating. Accessibility was a major issue. There were no ramps, no lifts, and no stair-free access to the first-floor bedrooms. The entire resort was full of uneven cobbled paths, which made moving around really difficult for anyone with mobility needs. There were no accessible shower seats or seating in the common areas, and despite being listed, our room didn’t even have a bidet. Plug sockets were limited too, and we had to buy adaptors just to charge our devices. WiFi was sporadic throughout the stay, and unless you were willing to pay extra, there wasn’t much to do — hardly what you'd expect from an “all-inclusive” resort. The only positive notes were that of our rep Kelly, who we kept informed of all issues and was determined to help wherever she could- unfortunately, most things were outside of her control. May I also give a special mention to staff members Fred (Spices Restaurant) and Fabricio (Late Bar) for their hard work, friendliness and attention to detail. All of the above made what was a miserable holiday that little bit better. Overall, I would not recommend and would NOT go back to this hotel.

Just returned from a lovely relaxing 10-night holiday and am relieved after reading some of the reviews. I travelled with my husband, and 3 teenage children. The hotel is located on a beautiful beach – lovely to have your lunch by the sea or a drink / dinner in the evening. 4km up the road is Santa Maria’s beach which is stunning, and well worth a trip on the free hotel shuttle bus. Staff are hardworking and friendly, and plenty of staff. Big shout out to Fred at the main restaurant – always made you feel welcome. We found the food of a good quality, but glad there was a choice of 5 restaurants, so we didn’t eat 30 meals at the same place. The cakes were amazing! The Secret Garden and La cabana were our favourites. Sometimes the service was a little slow – but it’s fine, you are on holiday – no stress. Our bedrooms were spacious and even had 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen. There is not a lot to do outside the hotel / evenings, but we knew that before we went. Our TUI rep Kelly was so helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. We enjoyed a boat trip organised by TUI. The hotel doesn’t give you the immediate wow factor, and some parts look tired, but this doesn’t affect your holiday enjoyment. Melia Tortuga Beach – it would be great to have a long mirror in the bedrooms and - more chairs in the Sway bar, reception and stage area. Look out for – the cobbles – flat shoes are a must; my wedges did not work. - mosquitos – definitely take some repellent, plug-ins, bands – the lot. - poor Wi-Fi – but who cares, nice to take a break from your devices on holiday.

Tive uma semana hospedado neste resort e adorei a experiência, comida variada, quartos sempre limpos todos os dias, empregados muito simpáticos e sempre atentos a todos os pormenores. Passou se só uma situação desagradável no último dia em que deixei a carteira em cima da mesa do quarto e me foram retirados de lá 30 euros por quem foi deixar toalhas ao quarto, fui me queixar á receção mas não conseguiram resolver, não dou 5 estrelas por esse motivo pois adorei a estadia mas esta situação foi bastante grave.

We had a mixed stay at the Meliá Tortuga. Check in was fairly straight forward but our room wasnt ready until 4:30pm when check in said 3pm which wasn't ideal but not the end of the world. Our room was okay, but a few minor issues which made it not feel like a 5* (which is to be expected in Cape Verde). The Aircon leaked 3 times during our stay and kept having to get maintenance late at night which was frustrating. We didn't have any issues with bedbugs like previous reviews have mentioned. The cleaning process was mixed, it got done every day but sometimes not until 5/6pm. We found the staff quite friendly, especially Fred he was great! The beach if you walk down a bit further by Bikini Beach is lovely! Santa Maria beach was by far the most breathtaking one though, amazing! The two main let downs for us were the low quality food, especially in the buffet. Same thing every day and no real quality, and alot of flies. The A la carte restaurants were quite good though, other than La cabana. Lovely setting but the food there was below par. The second thing is a severe lack of sunbeds, they are all taken by about 9am! They need to add more sunbeds, and the ones that are available are very worn. Also, we got absolutely attacked by mosquitos all over even using sprays. This obviously is out of the the hotels control but thought I should warn people, it can be very annoying ! Overall, we would come back to Cape Verde but we'd probably go B&B and eat in the local restaurants in Santa Maria! If you go expecting 5*, you'll be disappointed. It's more of a 3*. We had a nice time, nonetheless.

Lovely staff very welcoming , fun activities to book and live entertainment everyday at the resort the food was amazing and the room I stayed in was very spacious and clean