Melia Tortuga Beach - All Inclusive

For the money, it was about what I expected. The room had some cleaning, the pool and garden were nice, there was some all-inclusive food, and a few staff members were helpful. Everything felt limited, though, and I'd give it three stars for now. They'd need to raise their standards to be a five-star hotel. I'd only recommend it to someone trying to save money and have a cheap stay in Cape Verde.

We had a lot of space in the villa and the beds were comfortable. The resort is clean, tidy, and pretty, with a quiet setting that felt like a good location even though it wasn't right in the center. It was close to the restaurant and gave us easy access to the all-inclusive buffet, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The food was super yummy with a great variety. I don't eat meat, but there was plenty of fish and vegetarian food for me. Restaurant staff were attentive and good. There's also a large private beach with lots of places to sit. If we didn't want to go into Santa Maria, that was nice to have. The center is about a 45-minute walk, and there's a shuttle at set times. The villa was pretty clean when we arrived, and we were welcomed with drinks and snacks. Cleaners brought plenty of towels and water each day, but there were a lot of ants in the room. We tried to keep the place clean and food out of the way, but sometimes there were so many ants that it was a problem. I don't know where they came from. We're not squeamish, so we used spray ourselves, and the cleaners cleared away the remains when they could. The pool wasn't always maintained. We hardly used it because we were short on time, but on the odd occasion we wanted to, it was unkempt. Tortuga's gym isn't great, with very limited equipment compared with their other branches. We paid for VIP for a day to use the neighboring resorts, there are about three. They had nicer lounging areas and gyms, but we had everything we needed at Tortuga too. We used the jacuzzi and sauna at the spa, which cost extra unless you're on the VIP upgrade. We couldn't find a massage time that suited us. We booked some of Tortuga's restaurants, which are free for all-inclusive guests, but preferred the buffet. We tried a Japanese restaurant at one of the neighboring branches, a nice chance to have different food, though it also cost extra. Room service was lovely when we ordered once, but took over an hour to arrive. We didn't use the bars much because we mostly drank water, but there are plenty of them around the resort.

The evening shows lasted an hour, from 9 to 10, and that was the one area that really needs an upgrade. More things to do at night, like bingo or quizzes, would go a long way. Otherwise, we found everything and everyone welcoming. We stayed at meila tortuga Beach and had only a few days left before leaving this beautiful island. We were seen promptly when we arrived and given our key card. Our deluxe double was huge, with a large shower, spa bath, and an enormous balcony. The bed was very comfortable, although it was two singles pushed together. Service was outstanding, the room was very clean, and there was a massive choice of food and drinks. The beach was a short walk away, very clean, with a stunning sea.

The beach restaurant and bar was my favorite, with a great atmosphere and really friendly staff. I'd happily have lunch there every day. The main Spices restaurant can get busy, but there was always room to sit and staff cleared tables efficiently. At the main pool, the bar was convenient and snacks were available all day. The pools were cold, but there were always plenty of loungers. We came with our family of 14 for two weeks in February 2026. It was a great hotel with a good choice of restaurants. Some needed booking, but that was fine apart from Secret Garden, which I reviewed separately. The food there was very poor and wasn't BBQ as advertised. Staff were generally friendly, and the room staff kept our room clean and fresh the whole time.