Five-star Santa Maria, Sal
Hotel Riu Palace Santa Maria
Six blocks of rooms on the beach at Santa Maria, each marked by a twelve-metre mask over its door, with two sister hotels joined on.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Rooms
- In six blocks on the beach
- Opened
- March 2021
- Pools
- Eight, with a water park
- From the airport
- About 20 minutes, our estimate
The hotel
Six masks on Santa Maria beach.
RIU opened the Riu Palace Santa Maria in March 2021, as Sal came back to life after months without visitors. It is joined to two sister hotels, Riu Cabo Verde and Riu Funana, and the three share two pools and direct access to the beach in front. RIU, founded in Mallorca in 1953 and still owned by the founding family, now has three hotels on Sal and three on Boa Vista.
The rooms are spread over six blocks. Each has a portico crowned by a twelve-metre mask, every one different, so you always know which building is yours. The main facade is clad in natural limestone from Sal, and the lobby is built around a large central skylight. Inside, the rooms use dark wood and earth-coloured floors, and everything runs on a 24-hour all-inclusive plan.
- Splash Water World A water park inside the hotel, with play areas, slides and the RiuLand club for children.
- Eight pools Six facing the beach and two more shared with the sister hotels, including a swim-up bar.
- Renova Spa Treatments, a gym and the RiuFit sports programme.
Rooms & suites
From doubles to a private pool.
Rooms are furnished in dark wood with earth-coloured floors, and the top category has a pool of its own.
- Double Double Room The standard room, with a sea-view version facing the beach.
- Families Family Room A room for families, in a hotel with its own children's club and water park.
- Adults only Double with private pool A double with its own pool, booked by adults only.
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Board All inclusive around the clock, across five restaurants and seven bars.
- Children A family hotel, with RiuLand, a children's pool and slides. Only the rooms with a private pool are for adults.
Getting there
Flying to Sal.
Amílcar Cabral International, near Espargos, takes both scheduled flights from Europe and private jets. The drive south to Santa Maria takes about 20 minutes, our estimate.
- Dakar 1 h 15
- Lisbon 4 h 00
- Geneva 5 h 55
- Paris 5 h 55
- London 6 h 00
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Is Riu Palace Santa Maria all inclusive?
- Yes, around the clock, with five restaurants and seven bars.
- Is Riu Palace Santa Maria adults only?
- No. It is built for families too, with a water park and a children's club. Only the doubles with a private pool are reserved for adults.
- Which hotels are connected to Riu Palace Santa Maria?
- Riu Cabo Verde and Riu Funana. The three hotels are joined and share direct access to the beach.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Sal?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Sal, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Sal
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Meliá Llana Beach Resort & Spa An adults-only, all-inclusive Meliá on the sand, opened in December 2016.
- Meliá Tortuga Beach The first of the group’s resorts on Sal, open since 2011, towards the surf beach of Ponta Preta.
- Oásis Salinas Sea Opened in 2013 with 338 rooms on Santa Maria beach as the first five-star hotel of the Oásis Atlântico group.
- Meliá Dunas Beach Resort & Spa An all-inclusive of more than a thousand suites, opened in November 2014 on a beach facing a coral reef.
Staying at Hotel Riu Palace Santa Maria?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Sal, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.