Melia Laguna Beach

The extra restaurants you can book were tasty, no complaints there. We came for sunshine and quiet, and that part worked really well. The hotel is clean, and the rooms are clean too, but the beds are rock hard. It’s incredibly peaceful here, almost silent all day, which is great if that’s what you want. Staff are okay, though many speak very limited English, which can be inconvenient sometimes. The always-available buffet is very basic. If you don’t eat fish or shellfish, there are almost no protein choices apart from pork. There was never chicken or beef, or maybe once. Even fried or dough-wrapped items had fish in them. In six days I couldn’t eat there for lunch or dinner even once, so we relied on the Tropice snack bar. Fries and chicken nuggets ran out a few times. Food came within four minutes, so it seemed premade, and was usually cold and chewy. The pool is clean but incredibly cold. It stayed that way all five days we were there and was practically always empty. This is decent overall, but definitely not a 5-star hotel, more like a borderline 3-star. If you want sun and peace and eat fish, it may suit you. The hotel stands out more for what it lacks than for what it offers.

The staff were so welcoming and really made an effort to learn what I liked. The bar staff even knew what I wanted before I did! The hotel was spotless, in a beautiful location, and there was plenty for a fussy vegetarian like me to eat. I thought I might go hungry, but that wasn’t the case. I can’t fault the holiday or the hotel. It’s a beautiful place with beautiful people. I’d recommend learning about Cape Verde and tourism’s positive and negative effects. ❤️

The restaurant staff were amazing and clearly run off their feet because they’re so short staffed. A few somehow kept smiling, especially the lovely guy serving coffee jugs in the morning and wine at lunch. The sunbeds are very comfortable, and the seating in the bars and dining areas is nice. We always book a beachfront room, which is like the others but has a nicer outlook and afternoon sun. The staff generally are lovely, and the food at La Serina a la carte was very good. That said, this was our fifth visit, now under a different name, and we won’t be back. Check-in had a big queue and took about half an hour. We paid around €30 in local taxes, then had to put down a €40 cash deposit for two pool towels. Since we knew the way to our room and reception was backed up, we carried our own bags. The rooms look tired, the mattresses are very hard, and bath or hand towels weren’t always provided. I asked for a nonslip shower mat and never got one. The receptionist I spoke to kept calling me “Darling Girl” and “Gorgeous Lady” while insisting she knew what I meant, which wasn’t good service. Room coffee was never replenished, though bottled water was, and the room WiFi was awful. The toilets by the main restaurant are both unisex, and the first had no seat, which wasn’t suitable for us ladies. Bob Marley music played constantly, and I never want to hear him again. There were long bar queues, and premium brands cost extra. The food was mostly atrocious, worse than last year and the year before. We overlooked it before, but not this time. They ran out of fresh eggs, so omelettes and scrambled eggs were made with powdered egg. The “British” sausages were dried out and tough as leather, fruit plates at breakfast were usually empty, and there were never cereal spoons or glasses for the watered-down juice. The single toaster is a joke: you put bread in one side, walk around to retrieve it, then repeat because it isn’t toasted yet. Lunch was pizza and paella every day, plus chips, salad and other unappealing dishes. Soup was usually cold, with no spoons, and most mains were cold too. The boiled potatoes weren’t cooked one day. While waiting for meat strips, I couldn’t tell if they were pork, chicken or turkey, I watched the “chef” put raw meat on the grill and then serve me the cooked portion with the same spatula. That’s asking for food poisoning. Dinner brought shortages of plates while staff tried their best to restock. The dishes were unappealing, soup was cold again with no spoons, and one night a bowl of chunks of “pigs head” sat beside Brussels sprouts, which I skipped. Desserts were mostly okay if you could get a plate and spoon. I know everything has to be imported because nothing is grown here, and getting food out daily for so many people is a big job. But if potatoes aren’t cooked properly and all the meat and fish are overcooked and dried out, something needs attention. Quite a few people we spoke to had been before and said they wouldn’t return. There was also a desk by one entrance where someone marked room numbers on sheets, but people using the other entrance didn’t do it, so I don’t know the point. We were told a non-slip shower mat would come, but it never did. Please don’t reply with a standard thank-you and promise to address the problems, because I don’t believe they will. And don’t say you look forward to welcoming me back. We’re not coming again.

The room was excellent, and the staff really tried to make us feel welcome. It needed some maintenance, but the issues were taken care of within a few hours. I did feel for the security guards, though, they had their hands full with the looky looky men.