Robinson Club Cabo Verde — Hotel in Sal

I visited here last year with my parents and niece and we stayed for 1 week AI. The hotel itself is pretty basic but I’ve found a lot of Caribbean type islands are decorated in this fashion. ||We had 2 rooms between us and the air con did not work in 1 room. We needed aircon as it was hot and humid. I rang reception and they sent a flip flopped, dread locked maintenance man speaking no English to my room. However he understood my aircon was broken and he stood on the balcony rail and pulled himself onto the roof to fix it. We were amazed at how he flitted around in flip flops but the main thing was he fixed the air con. ||The rooms had double beds, sizeable wardrobes and desk drawers along with a TV set. The bathroom had a good size shower and toilet. They did feel slightly dated but they were clean. ||I was celebrating my 40th birthday and the hotel left me a bottle of wine and a gorgeous cake on a flower petal decorated bed. ||The restaurant area was sizeable and basic. Plastic chairs and tables throughout with cutlery placed on the tables. There was also many outdoor areas to sit if that is your preference but the mosquitos made it difficult to sit outdoors. The food was plentiful serving a large selection of fresh breads. Soups changed daily. Pizza and garlic bread was available each day and always a great selection of cakes and fruit. There was always chicken/fish/and some kind of meat on the daily menu and there was a pasta section. Hot food however was served to you, it was not self-service and often the portions were small resulting in having to ask for more please! My only grumble about the restaurant was the drinks. Wine was self-service in huge barrels but always warm as was the beer that was also self-serve. Part of the issue was the hot (freshly washed) glasses. There obviously wasn’t enough. ||The pool area was spacious and you could always get a sun lounger. I think it could have been maintained a bit more but the sun was shining and the beer (bitter) was on tap. Snacks like hamburgers, fries and sandwiches were served in the small pool area on the bridge along with tea/coffee and ice cream. It wasn’t great but it served its purpose. ||Entertainment around the pool was very good especially the Latin dancing classes. Wow could those entertainment team move!||The beach area was where the true beauty was. The turquoise sea with its pounding waves was actually quite stunning but dangerous. We watched many people being knocked from their feet. But its beauty was something else. ||You could walk for miles along the beach and there was very little to see other than new structures being started. If you walked as far as the harbour area you could see the locals selling their daily catch. The men caught the fish and the women cleaned, gutted and sold the fish. It was a really great thing to see and for me this was the real Cape Verde. Just outside the hotel on the beach was very dirty and strewn with rubbish and this spoiled the area. All along the walkway of the beach was the same. I could not believe why anyone would want a beautifully stunning country to look like this and have so much rubbish lying around. ||There was no evening entertainment whatsoever so evenings was slightly tedious. Queuing at the bar to get 2 drinks each in small plastic glasses seemed to be the main issue. ||It’s a small complex but with a lick of paint and some new glasses could be great. ||We ventured out of the complex and seen quite a few much larger more luxurious hotels. Yes they looked great but they didn’t have the character of this little gem. ||I’d recommend if you intend to visit Cape Verde, to do it now as in a year or 2 the place will be spoiled with many hotels. Currently it’s pretty much a desert. A beautiful unspoilt desert. I'd wanted to go to Cape Verde for years but to be honest it want what I thought it was going to be. I'd still go back though....

We recently stayed at Robinson Cabo Verde for a couple of weeks, and while there were some highlights, the overall experience was deeply disappointing. Here is an honest and professional summary of our visit:

What We Enjoyed: The food quality was ok, and some members of the management team, like Mary, were genuinely attentive and approachable. Mary was a standout in her efforts to address concerns constructively, and her professionalism was appreciated.

Areas for Improvement: Housekeeping Disturbances: Housekeeping starts as early as 8 a.m., often gathering and speaking loudly outside guest rooms. This daily disruption made it challenging to enjoy a peaceful morning. Adjusting the schedule to begin at 9 a.m. or later would significantly improve the guest experience. Smoking Policy: The prevalence of smoking across the property detracts from the serene environment. Establishing designated smoking areas is essential to create a more pleasant atmosphere for all guests. Dining and Bar Spaces for Staff: Having staff share dining and drinking areas with guests felt unprofessional and uncomfortable. While a staff canteen exists for local employees, European staff were regularly seen in guest-only spaces, creating an imbalance. Providing separate facilities for all staff would better reflect the standards expected at a premium resort. Noise and Nightclub Concept: Combining a nightclub with a hotel designed for relaxation seems contradictory. The noise from these events often disrupted the tranquil environment many guests seek on vacation. Spa Experience: The spa was a unique experience, but not in a good way. When the nudist sauna broke down, nudist guests were redirected to the non-nudist sauna, creating an awkward and uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. This lack of clear management over the facilities added to the overall frustration. Better organization and communication could prevent such situations and ensure a more enjoyable experience for all spa users. Inconsistencies with the Robinson Brand: Having previously enjoyed a stay at Robinson Nobilis in Belek, Turkey, I was shocked at the lack of consistency in service and hospitality here. Rudeness, lack of training, and a rigid “rules over service” attitude seem ingrained in the staff’s approach. Lack of Essentials and Amenities: Certain details, like failing to replenish coffee in the rooms and charging guests for thread when requesting a sewing kit, felt penny-pinching and out of place at a resort of this caliber. Forced Dining Experience: During the resort’s 5th anniversary celebration, all guests were required to participate in a picnic-style dinner in the garden, with no alternative options. This lack of flexibility left many guests feeling frustrated and alienated.

Final Thoughts: Despite a few bright moments, the overall experience was marred by incompetence, poor service standards, and a lack of attention to guest needs. It is evident that systemic improvements in staff training, guest relations, and operational policies are urgently needed.

As someone with decades of experience in travel, tourism, and hospitality across over 250 countries, I regretfully cannot recommend this property and will not return. It’s a shame, as the Robinson brand has great potential, but this particular resort does not live up to the name.

Thank you, Mary, for your genuine efforts to listen and address concerns. Unfortunately, a single person cannot make up for an entire team’s shortcomings.

I hope this review provides constructive feedback for the management...

My girlfriend and I were looking forward to a relaxing break at Robinson Sal – a place to unwind, sleep in, and enjoy some peace and privacy. Unfortunately, our stay was marked by a series of issues that left us disappointed and stressed rather than rested.

To start with, the room had major maintenance problems. The ceiling was leaking – likely due to the air conditioning – and the design of the shower caused water to pour out underneath the glass wall and flood the bathroom floor each time we used it. We had to use our towels just to keep the area dry. These are not one-time issues either – they’ve been mentioned in earlier reviews, and clearly nothing has been done to fix them.

The layout of the room offers no real privacy. The toilet is separated from the sleeping area only by a frosted glass wall, which offers very little sound isolation and only partial visual cover. It’s extremely uncomfortable if you're sharing the room with someone, even your partner.

We were hoping to sleep in and relax, but this was nearly impossible. Around 8:30–9:00 AM every morning, cleaning staff gathered in the hallways and spoke loudly just outside the rooms. One morning, we were shocked to wake up and find a cleaner had let herself into our room without knocking, while we were still asleep. This is an unacceptable breach of privacy.

There was also a very unpleasant surprise when €5 went missing from our bedside table after room service had been through. That money was meant for our taxi, and the stress of suddenly not having it available was real. When I called reception, I was told by Robin Edmilson that he would “make a note of it” but couldn’t offer any further support. That was the end of it — no responsibility, no follow-up, not even a proper apology.

On top of that, the hygiene standards in the restaurant left much to be desired. Sparrows repeatedly entered the dining area and ate directly from food trays or guests’ plates. This happened more than once during our stay. Robinson often responds to reviews saying they “do their best” by keeping doors closed, but that clearly hasn’t worked. The frequency of this issue shows that no real solution has been implemented. It’s not only unpleasant, it’s a hygiene risk — and it seems the hotel accepts it as normal.

And just when we thought we had seen it all, we had to call for assistance tonight because we found a cockroach in our room. One is enough to question the overall cleanliness and pest control measures of the entire facility. Again, not something that should be happening in a supposedly premium resort.

When you look at all of this together — the lack of privacy, poor maintenance, noise, questionable cleanliness, ineffective customer service, and lack of follow-through on repeated guest complaints — it’s hard to see how this hotel continues to ignore such clear and repeated feedback. Polite responses to reviews are one thing; actually fixing the problems is another.

Robinson Sal may look appealing in photos, but the experience in reality is full of frustrations that no guest should have to deal with. We left feeling more stressed than when we arrived. We will not be coming back, and we do not recommend it to others looking for peace, comfort, or...