Residencial La Marea

Ufff, there are stories here… just awesome.

The room was nothing like the photos. We were put in what felt like a damp basement, with no fresh air, uncomfortable beds, and a fan and air conditioning that didn’t work. All night there were barking dogs and noise from other rooms, and there was nowhere in the room to work. We’d told them we were coming to Tarrafal to work remotely and had been assured the place was suitable. Mário said the internet would work on the terrace, the only reasonable place to work despite the machines making noise, but that wasn’t true either. We have videos showing it. When we complained, we asked to move to a place more like the photos and said we were willing to pay extra. They told us there was nothing available. There was no room for discussion, and they threatened to leave us out on the street at midnight. We left the next day, and they were dishonest right to the end. From arranging our arrival through check-in, everything was a problem. Mário and his wife were dishonest and among the worst people we encountered, which is unusual in Cabo Verde. We’ve made three trips and visited eight islands, and this was by far our worst stay in Cabo Verde or on Booking. The hotel is far too expensive compared with other places in Tarrafal. Cabo Verde and its people, otherwise, are wonderful. We just want to forget this experience and urge people to avoid this hotel at all costs.

We booked three of the four rooms, all of which have bathrooms. One room’s air conditioning was broken, and another bathroom had an unbearable sewage smell. The third room was fine. The little street-facing balcony gets hot and is very noisy, while the roof terrace has neither shade nor furniture.

The hosts were unfriendly, and the bathroom smelled bad. The fridge didn’t work, nor did the fan that was supposedly an alternative to air conditioning. They charged an extra €12 per night for air conditioning, claiming the listing included the unit but not its use. To me, that charge felt like attempted fraud.