Winter Sun at Riu Touareg – First Impressions

Arrival at Boa Vista’s airport was quick and straight forward, you just walk over from the plane to the mostly outdoor airport building. Head through the passport check and collect your bags and find a TUI representative to tell you which bus to get on. I downloaded the TUI app which does say it will have details about your transfer 48-24h before your trip but this didn’t seem to be updated for my trip. No hardship though, only my hotel is located in the South of the Island, so a quick check of the name and I know which bus was needed. The hotel is about 25 minutes away and since there is only one you don’t have to go through the tedium of stopping at every hotel before yours on the route to let the other guests get off, as so often happens.

The Riu app does have an online check-in option, I hadn’t gotten around to this before arriving but the normal check-in was very quick and easy. A quick check of your documents and you have your room number, map, Wi-Fi information and your ever-important wristband. Our bus had arrived before the official check-in at 4 pm so were directed to the restaurant serving food and told to come back in about 30 minutes. We were also told to leave our bags and the hotel staff would deliver them to our room. After getting some food, I returned to reception where my room key was ready for me. Not one for leaving my bags unattended I decided to keep my own bags with me, but please note if you do opt for this option there are no lifts, and some of the accommodation blocks are quite a walk.

Since we were going to be in the hotel for a month I fully unpacked something that usually doesn’t happen. The room is really spacious with a huge bed and a pull-out sofa bed if needed. There is also a large hanging area and lots of drawers, something that can be missed in some resorts. After settling in, it was time to explore and find everything that is on offer, and there is lots. I hadn’t opted for the adult-only section, but I will detail what they have extra, and you can make your own choice to if you want to pay the additional fees for it or not.

Pools

There are two pools available to everyone, with an additional one in the adult-only section and a child pool in Riuland, a child friendly area with a playground. The main pool is split into different areas so it feels like five smaller pools with sun loungers spread all around. This area has most of the daytime activities which can be found displayed on the board by the pool, or in the Riu app, so it can be a bit noisy at times. The main pool also has a swim-up bar and regular bar with covered seating so you can keep hydrated, and a jacuzzi on the centre island that you can swim to or walk over to on footbridges. The other pool that everyone can access is a standard oblong infinity pool. This one doesn’t allow inflatables, but it has its own bar and lots of sun loungers, many under retractable sun shades, so is a nice alternative if you want something a little quieter or want to do some actual swimming. Both pools have some built-in semi-submerged loungers which look nice if the day is extremely hot. All pools are open from 9 am until 6 pm but the towel hut times vary.

Food

There are five restaurants that everyone can access and an additional one for people who are in the adult-only section mostly located around the resort's central square. The speciality restaurants need to be booked, and I was told can only be used once a stay, but I haven’t found a limit on the number of times you can visit, so it might be once a week. The speciality restaurants can be fully booked up a few days in advance, so try to book in the Riu app as soon as you arrive to give yourself more options. They all have two sittings each night they are open, so it has a choice for early eaters and those that prefer to eat later. The specific times vary by restaurant, and they aren’t all open every night, so it's good to plan ahead. The adult-only section restaurant seems to be booked via reception, the app doesn’t specify that this is for people in the adult section only, it just says adults only which is a little confusing. But I checked with reception and you have to have the special wristband to qualify. Fair enough.

TIP – some people book and then don’t turn up, so if you can’t get a reservation go along a little after the sitting time and see if they have a spare table, you might get lucky.

Santa Antão (Main restaurant)

This restaurant is open for breakfast 7:30-10:30, lunch 13:00-15:00 and dinner 18:30-22:00 and has an amazing variety of food on offer. I don’t eat meat, but there is so much choice and the fish is some of the best I have had, so I really haven’t noticed the limitations due to my diet which was a worry. The staff will offer you drinks at the table during meal times. These are limited to beer, wine, water or soft drinks but you aren’t far from one of the bars if you wanted something else from the drinks menu, and you can also help yourself inside if you want to. They have a special main and dessert station that has something different each night which is always worth checking out, but personally, I don’t think you could get bored with the ever changing food available each day, as there is so much choice. Men must wear a top with sleeves (no vests) to eat here.

Da Marcello (Italian speciality restaurant)

This was the first speciality restaurant I tried and if I’m honest I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting something a bit more than what was on offer at the main restaurant I guess. First, you had to line up to be let in at the time you booked then you get shown to your table. Nothing was explained to us, so we really weren’t sure what to do. I found the food nice enough but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t get in the main restaurant - pasta, pizza and fish/meat etc. You have a buffet you can help yourself to for each course and it is a smaller number of guests so it doesn’t feel so crowded, but I left feeling that it wasn’t really worth it as none of the dishes on offer felt overly special compared to the amazing array in the main restaurant. Seating times are 19:00 and 21:00 they are open on all days except Thursdays. Men must wear a top with sleeves (no vests) to eat here.

The menu while I stayed is as below.

If the other specialities were like this I would be using the main restaurant for the rest of my meals during the month.

Boavista (Cape Verdean speciality restaurant)

The next restaurant I tried was the local fair restaurant, and wow did they make up for the Italian! You were shown to your table and given a menu. The starters and dessert are still on a buffet, but the main course has to be ordered. This restaurant is known for its local food, especially seafood, and it didn’t disappoint. Some things might be found in the main restaurant, but in this restaurant, it felt different, in a good way. The décor is calm blues and has huge pictures of fish on the walls, the staff were attentive, helpful and friendly (note they clear as people finish which is more common in America and can feel a little unusual to us Brits). I ordered the seafood platter for my main course and it was amazing. You can then help yourself to sides and salad if you want them in addition to the things brought out. There is a huge choice of desserts, and I left very full, and already looking for the next date available so I could book again. Seating times are 18:45 and 20:45. They are open every day but Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Men must wear a top with sleeves (no vests) to eat here.

Kabuki/ Asiatico (Asian speciality restaurant)

The last of the speciality restaurants to be visited and we had high hopes. I love sushi and we often have Asian-inspired food at home, so I really hoped it was good. This restaurant is buffet style the same as the Italian, but the food is very different from the main restaurant. There is a huge sushi station along with other hot starters, a variety of main courses and a full choice of desserts. I think the desserts were the same as the main restaurant, but the restaurant is well worth a visit. I left very full again but very happy and looking for a return visit. Seating times are 19:00 and 21:00 they are open every day but Friday. An example of the menu on offer while I stayed is below

Bereber (Poolside restaurant)

This restaurant is open from breakfast through to 5 pm. Breakfast 7:30-10:30 Continental breakfast 10:30- 12:00 Lunch 12:00- 15:00 and snack 15:30-17:30. It has a reduced choice compared to the main restaurant, but if you have missed the main restaurant being open it will do. They have more burgers, hot dogs and chips here but they do also offer salads, fruit and desserts as well as hot and cold drinks.

Kulinarium (adult-only section restaurant)

This is described as a gourmet restaurant that you can book once per week you are staying if you are in the adult-only section. Seating times are 18:45 and 21:00. Men must were a top with sleeves and long pants to eat here. Bookings are made from reception for this restaurant rather than through the app.

Atlas Bar has snacks from 23:00-7:00 but I’m not sure what this entails as I wasn’t awake at this time to go and check.

TIP between 15:00-15:30, 17:30-18:30, and 22:00-23:00 none of the restaurants are open so make sure you get something around these times if you are hungry.

Drinks

There are lots of bars around the resort and the restaurants also have drink stations that you can use for beer, wine and soft drinks when you are there. They have quite an extensive menu, and seem to be able to do other variations with the same ingredients if you ask nicely such as Irish Coffee etc in the Atlas bar.

Atlas bar is located in the main hotel reception and is open 24h it also has a real barista coffee machine, if you need a caffeine kick. There are coffee machines in the reception area and in the restaurants that you can help yourself to, but if you are a bit of a coffee snob like me this is the place to go to first thing in the morning.

You then have three other bars in the hotel town square that are open from 18:30 until midnight – Mali, Rabil and Lacacão. There are lots of seating areas around the square and some are designated as non-smoking which is nice, shame some of the smokers don’t seem to be able to read the signs, or insist on standing right next to them to smoke but at least the hotel has tried. The staff are all amazing, seeming to serve three people at any one time and doing it with a smile on their faces.

Each of the pools also has its own bar which is open during the pool open times with the main pool also having a swim-up bar area just for adults.

There is an on-site nightclub called Pacha, open every day from 23:00 until 2:00 for anyone over 18. I haven’t made it past 23:00 yet, so haven’t been able to check this out.

I had read some reviews that the drinks are watered down, but since I am not usually a drinker they taste pretty strong to me. I have also tried each of the mocktails and they are all pretty good. They don’t seem to have a limit on the number of drinks they will let you get at any one time like some places I have seen before and they don’t have any premium spirits that you have to pay for, everything is included in the hotel fee you have paid.

Since we had booked through a company as a package, we did have the added benefit of having a TUI rep onsite if we needed any additional help. There seem to be quite a few who work in the hotel so it is easy to find one. They are onsite from 9:00-13:00 each day in the hotel reception and you also have 24h support through the TUI app if you download it, as this has a chat function. They have the obligatory welcome meeting the day after you arrive, but I was pleased to see it wasn’t a pressure meeting meant to make you book their excursions. Having been a rep myself, I had the same attitude of giving people some highlights and if they are interested they will come and talk to you. They have been helpful when needed, and unobtrusive the rest of the time which is what I would want.

We did have a problem with our safe when we arrived but the hotel was quick to initially deal with it by replacing the batteries. After a few days, it stopped working again so we asked for it to be replaced. The reception desk said they would need to get permission from the hotel manager, so we reported it to the TUI rep as well. The rep spoke to the hotel and ensured it was dealt with, and I’m glad to report the necessary work was done, and it is working fine now. It was a little frustrating to carry all your valuables around each time it broke and while it was being fixed.

Overall conclusion

Overall I’m very happy with the choice of this hotel. The staff are friendly and attentive, the food is well cooked (I saw staff regularly temperature monitor the food on the hot buffet) and has lots of variety, and the beach is beautiful. If people are looking for a relaxing location and don’t want lots of places to go out and visit then you couldn’t do much better than here. It is remote though, but I liked that. We walked along the beach to one of the other coves and had the whole beach to ourselves, just what I wanted, but other people might what a bit more life in a resort. If the other Riu hotels are run in the same way I would definitely look to use them again. I believe this hotel has only been open since 2019, and with the pandemic, I’m sure it was closed for some time soon after. It is clean, tidy and well thought out. The gardens are immaculate, and the gardeners seem to work on them every day, and were adding to the outer areas where my accommodation block was located while I stayed here. These are my first impressions from my first week here. Since we are staying for three more weeks, the longest I have stayed somewhere without it being a job, I will let you know how things go and any other thoughts I have along the way. With views like this though, I can't think of much I could complain about: