Hotel Riu Touareg - All Inclusive

My husband and I stayed here for 2 weeks in July for our wedding anniversary. We read reviews for many months before, so we knew what to expect. The flight from Gatwick was long (six and a half hours) and cramped, the journey to the hotel was bumpy and quite an eye opener, not much to see just volcanic rock and a few skinny goats. Then this amazing sandcastle looking hotel came into view. We emailed the hotel previously and requested a high floor room in block 9, which we got. It over looked the sea, the view was amazing and we could hear the waves crashing all night (lovely). Upon our arrival we was given a cold drink and told our room wasn’t ready. After an hour or so our luggage was taken to our room with us following. Our room was nice and clean. The toilet did have a strong chemical smell, so we kept the door shut. The bathroom was open plan, which wasn’t a problem for us, but not very good if you are here with someone who’s not your partner! The complex is huge, almost like a village. Our block (9) was quite a walk to the restaurants and reception but close to the infinity pool and beach. The staff are always happy and smiling, from the bar staff, reception, porters, waiting staff and cleaners, they really are a credit to the hotel. We stayed by the infinity pool for our entire stay as it was much quieter & not as busy as the main pool. If you wanted a particular spot by the pool you had to be up early to reserve it but there were some sunbeds available throughout the day. Reception give you a ticket for a beach towel and you can change this however may times you like. The beach was lovely, but was red flagged every day. We walked along it every day and had a paddle to our knees, but even then we felt like we could be dragged in. The main restaurant was always busy. There was show cooking and a very large selection of different foods to choose from. I am a very fussy eater and always found plenty of things I liked. We mostly ate breakfast & lunch at the pool restaurant, as it was much quieter. Breakfast was the best, the waffles were really good and quite addictive. We booked all the themed restaurants, which have to be done in advance, our favourite was the Berber which has a nice ambience, relaxed with soft music. The evening entertainment was in the main square, again busy but a nice atmosphere. Its here that you realise just how many people are actually staying here. The shows were very much the same, mostly singing. We didn’t stay to watch for very long as were not fans of passive smoking :( We did a 4 hour quad trip to the north of the island & visited the ship wreck at Santa Monica beach. I found 4 hours too much but my husband thought it wasn’t enough! Tip: if you think you will do this trip, take old shorts, t shirt and shoes as you will be totally covered in thick orange dust!! The cats: there were quite a few, cute kittens as well. They really didn’t bother you. They did come into the pool bar and lots of people did feed them, my hubby included and he’s not a cat lover at all, lol. Take some mozzi spray.Hubby got bit 5 times in the first 2 days.Then he used the spray and a mozzi band and was ok after that, no more bites. We also used a high factor sun screen all the time, there were a lot of burnt people. The wifi was ok, we got it on our balcony(but not in the room) by the pool and in all the restaurants, it did keep dropping off where it was busy, like in the main square in the evening. We chose this hotel as we wanted a couple of weeks of peace and to relax. This is exactly what we got. So if you have booked to stay here, don’t listen to the moaners. There is nothing to moan about! Enjoy the sun, good food and drinks. Happy days :) :)

Just returned from a two week trip to the riu Touareg and we truly had a wonderful time staff were amazing, food good and the adult only amenities were well and truly worth paying for as the other pools were crazily busy and crowded. Overall a brilliant holiday however there were some tiles in need of repair round the pool and observed a number of arguments over the four poster beds around the pool - maybe you need more of they are so fought for !!? However wonderful relaxing break and would definitely recommend - my advice would be don't forget sun cream and toiletry essentials as they are very expensive in the shop

Just returned from Touareg after a 2 week stay with my wife and 2 children (7 and 5). Now initially I compared our stay to last years holiday in Sal at the Melia Dunas resort which was great! This is a huge hotel with 1150 rooms and 3000 guests when in full capacity, and the scale of the place is unreal. Credit to the whole organisation of the place as it runs fairly smoothly. Initially we were located in block 9 which is quite a way from the main pool and restaurants, but we didn't mind the stroll. However my young son cut his foot and toes quite badly on the first day in the main pool on some broken tiles. The main pool is in real need of restoration. Many tiles loose, missing, and patch up jobs here and there. We complained to the hotel who just seemed to shrug things off and allowed me to use the first aid box for the first 5 days to dress the wound. We also complained to Thompsons about this and they were fully aware that people were cutting themselves, but blamed the state on the pool on the fact that the resort is a 365 day a year resort and repairs are difficult. To me this is not good enough for a "5" Star resort. Just how far will they let things go before they close the pool and renew the tiles?? To this end we spent most of our pool days at the infinity pool which is nice and new. I also had to carry my son on my shoulders for the first week until his foot was healed! (Not ideal in the 30 degree heat). We asked for a room change to a block situated closer to the centre of the hotel, and was allowed to move on the 4th day which made things easier, only to be told on check out that we owed 180 euros for the upgrade!! Which we wasn't advised on before we moved. Which leads me to the rooms. The rooms are tired and the initial one bed family room is just not adequate for 4 people. One double bed and a sofa bed for the 2 kids to sleep on, crammed into a tiny room. The rooms are generally tired and old, however kept clean daily by the maids which was appreciated. We had issues in both rooms with the safe and waited around for hours to get this sorted. The good bits- as most of the reviews on here. All bar staff and restaurant staff are friendly and eager to please. The beach is lovely, and if you are keen for a stroll there some cliffs to the left about 20 mins walk up the beach with another great beach over the other side. My wife saw a turtle laying eggs in the day time and watched it go back to the sea, which was great. The infinity pool is nice, with a great bar. If you want a sun bed around any of the pools you need to be up early, as people go crazy with the towels as usual, and the hotel do nothing about this even thou their policy states otherwise. Most days we alternated with the beach where you can always find beds in the shade and then grabs a bed round the pool in the afternoon. Make no mistake, the sea is rough. The red flag is up all the time. We paddled and I ventured a bit further out a few days only to be tumbled back to shore. Not safe for anyone. I saw people with arms strapped up and one guy with a neck brace on. The TUI trips are expensive but worth if to see the island. We went on both north and south tours and the family catamaran trip. All good, and broke the holiday up. The food is good. Always something different. Yes it's busy in the main food halls, but this is to be expected. The snack bar serves breakfast and lunch throughout the day and is generally a little quieter. The themed restaurants are good. All self service style, with drinks brought to the table, and we managed to visit all, with the Asian being my favourite. I had an upset stomach for the first few days but this could have been caused by anything. The drinks are ok. The beer isn't bad, and the spirits are good. The cocktails are poor and we didn't fancy them after seeing them sloshing doing in slush style dispensers all day. The wine is bad, Prosseco is additional apart from the Sunday mornings where it's served in the main restaurant with breakfast which was a nice touch. The evenings entertainment was hit and miss. Sometimes it's that bad it's funny. However the entertainment team do work very hard to put on a show. All in all, a good trip with some serious flaws that need addressing. This isn't a 5 stat resort but it has the potential to be. It represents value for money and provides a fairly hassle free holiday. Good to chill and relax and gain a few extra pounds and of course make some good memories with the family.

Just returned from a 10 day break away from here as a young couple. Starting with the flight without a doubt recommend extra leg room seats the plane is very small and for the length of flight well worth the extra little spend. We ended up enjoying the flight much more for just having more leg space. Quickly left the airport and on route to the hotel considering the small size of the airport which was very impressive, checked in the extremely quickly and was placed in quiet area of the hotel room 2211 which was right near adult only section so very relaxed and chilled. The whole hotel was constantly clean and couldn't comment a negative word about any of the staff whom couldn't do more to help or please you in advance every part or the hotel. We had only two instances needing Tui assistance one amending date of an excursion and they helped straight away accommodating to a new date and an issue with our room door was quickly resolved all with their help. This hotel is great and is exactly what you pay for nothing less and nothing more. Definitely would recommend young couples do adult only as we didn't get one day near a pool at all so would have liked the opportunity. This place is definitely a big complex and a lot of walking around to place to place could only say as small improvements would be that their be an additional adult only pool external from the Santa Monica section of the hotel - the pool bar with the kids needs something changed nearly every time we got in there kids jumping off the pool tables and chairs drinks always going in the water not enjoyable to sit around at all other than that there is nothing at all I could negatively comment on. Beach bar would be great as well!! The staff was amazing and always happy to help and friendly and welcoming. Trips would definitely recommend the romantic dinner on the beach absolutely stunning setting and brilliant food and staff. Great holiday!!

First up, the positives: Food: A good (compared to many other all inclusives) selection of food available in the main buffet, but the restaurant can get crazily busy at times. We were staying in peak school holiday season though. Plenty of seafood available at lunch and dinner which was good for my wife and kids. We always had breakfast at Bereber by the main pool which was a bit more relaxed. This also opens a little earlier at 7:00am Staff: The staff are a credit to the hotel - very good all round Entertainment: We only sampled the kids entertainment, with the mini disco at 18:30 and the kids karaoke from around 20:00. Both kept the little ones entertained, although the mini disco can get a bit repetitive after day 2! Apologies to everyone for my 5 year old's nightly murder of Katy Perry, but the staff were very helpful in getting him up on stage early before he got too tired! Pools: The main pool area can get very busy, and the pool by the beach bar has a different vibe. The areas around the pools were well maintained but you have to get up early to bag the best spots. 06:30-45 generally gets you a good area, but on my last morning before checkout I went for a coffee via the pool and towels were out along the front row at 05:15 - c'mon please!!!! There are some areas for improvement though: Pools: Far too many cuts and scrapes from missing tiles, both in the main pool and the children's pool. Lots of people were effected by this. This really needs to be looked at and it a bit of a deal breaker if we're to return in 2019 - we'll be checking the reviews nearer the time. Rooms: The bed was uncomfortable. The sofa bed managed to be really uncomfortable as a bed and sofa. Many hotel chains offer a pillow menu these days. Riu Touareg's pillow options consist of lumpy, hard, manky or random Toilets: The negatives for the pools and rooms can and should be remedied, but the public toilets issue is a bit of a design error if you have very little ones. In some of the restaurants it's a massive walk to the toilet if you're little one gets caught short (generally just as you've sat down after the buffet melee). The Italian restaurant in particular is a long long way away. So overall it's a 4/5 from me - we'd definitely return if the pool tiles are sorted and would probably go again next year if we hadn't already booked elsewhere. The food isn't gourmet, but it met the needs of my family far better than many other equally priced family holidays. The buffets generally served less choice in a slightly quieter environment but quality was no different. The Cape Verde restaurant was a bit of a let down as the main course is a la carte but it took over an hour to arrive. Many reviews may be biased based upon the luck of the draw as to who you're sharing your holiday time and facilities with - our first week did have a large group of boys who weren't best behaved around the pool, while their parents were making use of the pool bar.

Firstly, I would like to point out I was slightly worried before I went as I'd read the negative reviews on this hotel. Total misrepresentation and we could not find fault. We had emailed the address to ask for their new block 9 and were accommodated. We were greeted in reception to a warm welcome and a drink. Our room wasn't ready but this was fine as it gave us a chance to grab some lunch after the journey. Our room was spotless and cleaned everyday with nice little displays on the bed most days. There are a number of pools to choose from and plenty of daytime activities. The beach is red flag most of the time but it's ok to wade in but most of all it goes on for miles and is unspoilt. Those who say there is no choice at meal times must have their eyes closed, there is chicken, pork, beef, fish, turkey, lamb, hotdogs, burgers, pizza, chips loads to choose from plus lovely desserts. Breakfast is lovely too. Also speciality restaurants. There are plenty of bars and self service stations dotted around. Entertainment is provided of an evening but we loved the karaoke bar and pascha the night club for a little dance. Saw not one mosquito despite reading several reviews it was full of them. We wore bands and used sprays because of this but not one bite. Trips we did arranged by Thomson were great 2 hour quad trip and sunset tea both good value for money. All in all it was amazing and we will definitely return in the future.

We have been to Boa Vista twice before but first time at the Touareg. Great hotel, lovely staff, clean and very big! We needed a relaxing holiday but of course it coincided with the school holidays in our second week. Our issue not the families that can only do school holidays. But it would have been nice if parents of the lads shouting football chants in the pool could have asked them to keep it down a bit. We moved to the beach. Unfortunately there are notices to the entrance to the pools - no ball games, no lilos and the pool was full of both so swimming was limited to dodging large ducks, flamingoes and unicorns and the occasional alligator. Oh, and people put their towels on the sunbeds anytime from dawn to reserve them...... We will return as loved the hotel and the beach but if you want a truly relaxing break avoid school holidays as it is a great family hotel.

First of all, do not read the negative reviews; this hotel is beautiful. We stayed in Block 9 as I emailed the week before to request a room in this block. It has recently been refurbished and the rooms are very modern with lovely bathroom facilities. Our view was unreal! We had a sea view and it was just breath taking. The waves were incredible and although the red flag is always up, they are fascinating to watch from your balcony or on a walk down the beach. The grounds of the hotel are stunning and it's lovely to just wander around them. The food is lovely and there is always a lot of choice. Some nights in the main all inclusive restaurant it does get a bit repetitive, however it is always nice and there is something for everybody. The themed restaurants are beautiful! You have to book at 8am at reception for three days in advance but it is worth it. Our favourite was the italian and the fish one was nice too because you get waiter service. The hotel is very busy and it is amazing how they cater for so many people! The animation team are AMAZING! They are so friendly and although they are always trying to get you to take part in something around the pool, they will always say hello and have a joke with you! Their motto over there is 'No stress' and this is definitely reflected in their everyday work. There is lots going on but it is so chilled. The shows in the evening were good! The music is always something you know and they try so hard - they always get you tapping your foot and I looked forward to them every night. They vary from evening to evening from things like Grease (although they do mime) to cultural dance shows about Cape Verde itself. Some of the sets were amazing! However, if you don't fancy watching you can sit outside that part of the hotel and have a drink. The staff at the hotel are so helpful and will do anything at all for you! It was my partner's birthday when we were there and they left a bottle of their local spirit 'Grog' and a happy birthday message which I thought was a nice touch. We went with Thomson and I would highly recommend their 'Sea, Bay and Chill' trip. It involves a boat trip where you can sunbathe on the back of the boat and jump off into the sea with an afternoon at the beach where you can actually swim in the sea! The other trip we did was Capital sights. It was a trip to the Capital Sal Rei and was incredibly interesting. The temperature was about 30-32 but it was very hot and although it clouded over sometimes, it was welcome to cool things down. The Karaoke bar is good fun if you're into getting up and to watch is just hilarious! The night club was fun and is a great place to have a boogie!!! Overall, the hotel is beautiful and our holiday was stunning! We relaxed, had a good drink and had lots of fun so it is well worth the money. Ignore negative reviews! It was a gorgeous holiday with friendly people, lots of culture and lovely food!

On arriving we were given a much needed welcome drink. Check in took too long, they were prepared, but coach loads of people arrive at the same time, so expect a wait, or organise a private transfer. My friend and I stayed in a room in block 5 which was very close to the main restaurant and bars. Rooms are ok, but they have an open bathroom, the toilet is a tiny (non air-con) room with a door, and the shower a non lit cubicle with a curtain. This is the level of privacy in the rooms, which given I was sharing with a friend I found quite difficult. The water in the toilet stinks! Keeping the lid down and door shut does reduce the spread of the smell, but there is a background hum of sewage. Food is ok. Apart from the Cape Verdean restaurant everywhere is buffet based. There is a crazy system of booking the 'a la carte' (buffet) restaurants which involves going to reception at 8am to book 2 or 3 days in advance (depending on which of the reception staff you talk to). The choices of food is very similar whether you are in the central buffet or any of the other restaurants. Pools are very busy, and the towel game is alive and well. Finding a bed after 8.30am is quite difficult if you want a mix of sun and shade, unless you head for the beach. The pools would benefit from a bit of 'tidying'. There are a few tiles missing, grout is a little dirty in places. Beach is beautiful, and empty. However, it's not a beach for swimming. Every day the red flag made an appearance, and we were told this is the year round norm. Overall a nice holiday, I don't think this is a genuine 4 star, but nice enough for a relaxed week in the sun.