Hotel Riu Palace Cabo Verde

Set on the shore at Santa Maria, on Cape Verde's Sal Island, the Riu Palace occupies a stretch of open beach facing the Atlantic. The hotel runs on a 24-hour all-inclusive basis and counts Splash Water World and a children's programme called RIU Land among its grounds. It is part of the Riu Palace line, the group's upper tier within a chain founded in Mallorca in 1953 and now spread across 20 countries. The hotel holds around 500 guest rooms, each fitted with air conditioning, a safe, a minibar with drink dispenser, a kettle and a balcony or terrace. Two swimming pools sit alongside a children's pool, and a poolside bar serves swimmers without their leaving the water. A separate bar works the beach itself, under a sun terrace facing the sea. Restaurants run to multiple cuisines, from Asian to Italian, alongside a main buffet room. You can walk from the terrace onto sand within steps, the water changing from pale turquoise to deep blue as the shelf drops away. The hotel draws a mixed crowd of families and couples rather than one age group alone. Check-in runs from 3pm, checkout at noon. Santa Maria's small town centre lies a short walk along the coast, past the beach bars that give the area its evening trade.