Tienne Del Mar — Hotel in Santo Antão

This a very long overdue review of our experience at Tienne Del Mar in September 2022. I could hardly recommend enough that you choose this as your place to stay while in Santo Antão - this was easily the best thing that happened to us on our visit to Cabo Verde, in no small part thanks to the staff at Tienne and in particular to Hernany. The whole staff was welcoming and friendly, but Hernany might just be among the best in the world at what he does. He was our waiter in our first visit to the restaurant - we ended up going there for dinner 3 out of the 3 nights we stayed at Tienne! - and ended up also being our hike tour guide, ordering special dishes for us with the kitchen staff, and giving us tips for the rest of our trip when we left Tienne. The whole experience was fantastic. The room was great - we had the room on the upper floor, and its the closest you will get to sleeping next to the sea. The food at the restaurant was incredible - menu changed every day and every time it was fresher and more delicious than the day before. The great service, as already mentioned, was the cherry on top. The lounge/pool area gives you plenty of space to sit and enjoy a drink while staring right at the wavy sea. And Hernany made sure we had the best possible experience at Tienne - he called in with his colleagues to make sure they could get the ingredients for us to try a traditional dish that was not even on the menu! - but also proved to be a very knowledgeable guide of the island, walking us through a lot of its incredible hiking trails, views and villages, always with a personal touch. In short, go and...

In March ’23 my wife and I stayed four nights at Hotel Tienne Del Mar and it was marvellous. To put it into perspective we are adventurous and have travelled to more than 80 countries for work and holidays, but this stay was really memorable. To start, the location is superb, on Santo Antao Island, which to us was by far the most interesting of the Cape Verde Islands. The owner Etienne has not only renovated and fitted-out the hotel in a very stylish and comfortable way, but he runs the hotel personally and hands-on to ensure the enjoyment of his guests. Likewise with his very conscientious staff, who are all very hospitable. We dined in the hotel each night because the cuisine is excellent and varied. And one night was really special because it was my 80th birthday. My wife had pre-arranged things with Etienne and it was a lovely surprise, with a great cake and the staff joining in the celebration, followed by a superb meal. I rarely write a review, but we would certainly like to return to Hotel Tienne Del Mar and Etienne’s hospitality.|Charles O'Neil,...

We loved our 2 night stay. We weren't able to book an ocean front room but the mountain facing room also had a beautiful view and balcony. Staff were very welcoming and we were able to check in early. We enjoyed the views from the restaurant and 2 very tasty dinners. Breakfast was excellent too. ||We enjoyed 2 wonderful days of walking in the Paul valley.. we got a collectivo to the top of the valley from the centre of town one day but to go to the crater we had to get to Ribeira Grande by collectivo and then get the 11am collectivo up to the crater (worth the ride in itself). It was quite cloudy lower down the valley but we were able to come out into the sunshine at the top. Walking in the Paul valley back down to Tienne del Mar was incredible, zig zagging through the valleys, banana plantations and little villages. A very magical place and locals were very friendly. Climbing/ Descending the steep paths can be quite demanding on the knees...