Name: Fashion Beach Club
Address: Praia Antonio Sousa, Sal, CV, Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Santa Maria, 4111, Cape Verde
Rating: 9

Location

Amilcar Cabral International Airport

Rabil Airport

Fashion Beach Club

Santa Maria

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kitchen

With my wife having always fancied visiting Cape Verde, but my aversion to mega-resorts with their thousands of people, sunbed, and buffet fighting, when she happened upon Budha Beach we felt it would be perfect for us.

Booked through LoveHolidays and opted for the combination of a Superior Double with Balcony/Terrace and Sea View, on a half-board basis.

Communication with the hotel pre-departure was great, happy to answer my many questions, send me a copy of the drinks list etc. so I could work out how much I was likely to spend with All Inclusive not being an option here. Also arranged a private transfer through them for 20EUR each way..

Driver was ready on arrival, and it was lovely to get straight into his very clean, air conditioned car, and not join the crowds boarding coaches.

Welcome drink on arrival, easy check-in process, details provided about where things are, how dinner works on half-board, and tokens for pool towels, shown to the room which was ground floor and just around the corner from the pool, suited us as even more privacy and a whole host of sunbeds/cabana beds immediately in front of the room with a perfect sea view and a 50 yard walk to "shell cemetery"

The room was perfectly serviceable, though a little dark at times, the bathroom is spacious and the shower is huge and good water pressure and temperature. 

There definitely a few simple things which would help improve the stay even more though:

The only bin is in the bathroom - tiny, and so light if you use the foot pedal it flips over. No bin the bedroom despite having tea/coffee facilities etc.

Very limited storage space, one small wardrobe, no drawers, the bedside tables also don't have drawers. We managed to make it work, but if you were there for a fortnight you might have to live out of the suitcase.

If you wish to utilise the plugs by the bed (as most people do) there is only one plug, so you need to unplug both of the bedside lamps and make them unusable. 

The capsules for the coffee machine didn't get replenished (though am sure if I'd gone to reception (24 hours) this would have been done promptly)

The bed was large, and extremely comfortable, the aircon was great and worked perfectly. We had one 5 minute power cut while we were there, but that was all. The mini-fridge worked well, though the bottled water does not get replenished either.

Food wise - breakfast was really good, self-serve coffee machine and juice machine...meat, cheese, fruits, bread (and a toaster), and a changing selection of pastry/savouries (including ham and cheese croissant) then a few cooked items which can be ordered, including cachupa with fried eggs and bacon (our daily choice!)

"Snack" menu which we only tried at a couple of lunchtimes, burger was decent, as was the quesadilla, decent size, and not a massively dissimilar price from other places in the area.

Dinner....now this is where I was a little frustrated. For those on half or full-board packages, the offering here looks to have changed recently...you have a choice from a handful of starters, mains, and desserts, and these DO NOT CHANGE, so if you stay for a week or more you will have to eat the same thing twice. Additionally, a number of the dishes share the same sauce/garnishes, the vegetables for example are pretty much the same on every dish, and are also the entirety of the stir-fry dish.
The "croquettes of the day" are clearly pre-bought and thus never change, and indeed are sometimes available at breakfast. None of this is to say the food was bad, it was perfectly fine, just a little "samey".

My frustration here is that I asked if we ordered from the al-a-carte menu would we receive a discount due to being half-board, was told no, full price. Upon looking at the al-a-carte menu, it gives instruction on how half/full board works, and that some items incur a supplemental charge (such as paella, lobster etc.) which I would have no problem with, but apparently "it doesn't work like that anymore" (see photos for both menus). I really don't see the logic behind this, and it brings the whole place down from what I believe is aspirations of being "higher end", whilst also offering me no incentive to eat from the al-a-carte, indeed we went to a couple of local restaurants where it was easier to ignore that we were basically paying for dinner twice.

Drinks choice was ok, but no draft lager and only small bottles (250ml/25cl), which don't last long, as far as we were made aware (and I still feel like this might be a misunderstanding because it's so bizarre), no wine by the glass at all! Prosecco (despite it being a cocktail ingredient for both Aperol Spritz (which were very good) and Bellini, is also not available by the glass?! This meant buying whole bottles (cheapest is 18EUR I think) at dinner then taking back the unfinished to our room. I'm sure they might label the bottle and let you leave it there for the next night, but it's just generally pretty odd!

The pool, sun-loungers etc. are very clean, a few cabanas with broken curtain ties (not surprising with how the wind can pick up), very visible security, staff do the rounds during the day and ask if you would like any drinks etc.

All told I really did enjoy the stay here and would definitely go back but only on bed & breakfast, as the location is so good with an easy walk into the centre of Santa Maria, and the opposite end of the massive hotels. For those concerned by the "end of a dirt road" references in earlier reviews, I don't get it, yes it's unpaved, but it's very well lit, and perfectly walkable. There are no sunbed fights to be had, in fact most days we almost had free choice of all of them!

TLDR: Location is great, clean and tidy, staff are friendly and helpful, room could do with some tweaks, and I wouldn't recommend choosing to upgrade from bed & breakfast though would definitely stay again.

A peaceful sanctuary, but needs some tweaks

We had a wonderful week here - Melany and the staff, including the two young ladies who provided excellent massages, were attentive and helpful and the hotel was a perfect size for us. The staff kept the grounds and room spotless (the housekeeping and ground  staff work hard to maintain the area) and the location was just right for us, tucked away from, but easily and safely a short walk into, the main part of Santa Maria. We were very fortunate to be given the suite on the ground floor and loved the view and privacy it afforded. Any queries we had were handled professionally and promptly.   We enjoyed our breakfasts with a range of options, including fresh fruit and a variety of different baked goods. We also enjoyed the frequent live musicians who performed in the evenings. (Just to mention the sparrows can be a little intrusive around  the restaurant during breakfast  but we quickly learnt not to leave our food unattended and to avoid further encouraging them by feeding them!)

 Its a few minutes walk to a sandy beach and bar, with plenty of windsurfing options etc and the sea was clear and the perfect temperature! 

The hotel pool was bracing to get in to but refreshing, very clean and never felt too busy at any point during our stay, with plenty of sunbeds and loungers around the pool area and overlooking the sea - great for cooling down as part of the relaxing days we enjoyed. 

We researched and went to a few of the smaller  restaurants, including one which brewed craft beer in town and the brilliant Art Kafe just a few streets away from the hotel.  Much needed winter sunshine and relaxation - brilliant. 



Winter sunshine and relaxation

Seafood the best.
Chef Mario's seafood dishes have been excellent, full of flavour, quality over quantity but still enough.
Great presentation
Check photos
Service staff, very friendly, efficient & always with a smile 😁
What more could you want.

Chef Mario & staff

My husband had cancer so this was our 1st holiday abroad for 5 years!  Loved every minute of it,  staff were wonderful,  food was amazing,  pina colads spot on!!!  Loved every thing about it,  booked a couple of days trips to see more of the island,   cant wait to return xx

Well needed after 5 years x

We stayed at this wonderful hotel from 22nd December to 5th January 2024.
It is by far the best hotel in Santa Maria.
All of the staff from the security team to the chef were delightful and it would be wrong to single anyone out.
We were blessed with room 24, a sea view suite, the best room in the hotel.
The attention from the staff was incredible and the food first class.
We encountered no service delays in the restaurant to which reference has previously been made and the track leading to the hotel is part of its charm.
The hotel is a very short stroll from the town providing a peaceful location. 
The safe and sandy beaches are close by and we were amazed how warm the sea was.
One big criticism which the management needs to address in our opinion. OK, this is 'no stress' Cape Verde but sparrows flying around at breakfast atttacking exposed food is not acceptable and highly unhygienic.
I saw one bird poo on exposed cake which I was able to dispose of. This problem could be easily remedied by utilising the simplest of coverings.
Apart from that, two magical weeks were enjoyed.

Great experience

The official rating of this hotel is 4 stars, and with a bit of cosmetic upgrading and better staffing in the kitchen, I could see it reaching that level (it seems like it may have once been a real 4 star).

As it was, the room quality itself was more 3 star, and the outside area was 4 stars. We had a 'deluxe sea view' with no terrace. There was lots of rough paintwork and lack of maintenance on the small details in the rooms, but overall it was fine, with a huge comfy bed and a nice shower and a lovely view out the window. Unfortunately the entry was at the street side of the hotel which was our smoking area, and that view was just the dirt road and some houses.

Overall we would stay here again as the room was fine, the staff were great, the pool area was amazing, nobody had any screaming kids (very quiet and peaceful, great for couples) and while the beach required stepping over rocks, it also had the best snorkeling area with the most fish. Another sandy beach with less fish and two beach bars is a 3 minute walk away, and the main strip with the main beach is a 10 minute walk (that one is useless for snorkeling but great for swimming). Besides snorkeling, it's also a preferred spot for wind surfing.

We happened to try the hotel restaurant on a really bad night apparently, we waited an hour for our seafood paella which was average quality but double the price of the strip restaurants. However, according to the other patrons who did all inclusive, the service was usually much faster. and the food usually much better.  We did also have burgers for lunch one day, and those were expensive but very nice. Breakfast was included in our stay and it had an extensive and delicious continental selection, plus hot eggs and bacon on order, always very fast. 

The staff were super attentive and completely on their game, absolutely fantastic service. 

We got a great deal on a package holiday with LoveHolidays, so for the price we were very happy and would definitely stay again.



Not a real 4 star hotel, but still nice with great snorkeling, plus no kids

Great location next to the beach and watersports centres. The rooms with a terrace have stunning views and are large with a very comfy/massive  bed.

It's a small hotel and very quiet with loads of sunbeds and a good sized pool. The staff are friendly and helpful 

This is an expensive hotel but the quality wasnt what we expected. The water is drinkable and the hotel hasn't got a purifier We had several days of cold showers which they eventually fixed and gave us a free meal.

The restaurant had a limited selection but was table service. We would want to eat there every night.
I would recommend it but there may be better options. It may be worth booking directly.



Great location, good rooms but quality a bit low for the price.

Beautiful little hotel on the edge of Santa Maria with gorgeous views out to sea and a great pool.
Probably the best customer service I have ever had at a hotel, all the staff made you feel welcomed and they were all really friendly. 
Great food in the restaurant, lovely to go half board and not have a buffet instead a great menu to choose from and everything was cooked fresh and really tasty (I would recommend the prawn tempura starter...lovely)
Everything was really clean and well cared for.
The hotel is quiet and peaceful but just a short walk (or €3/4 in a taxi) to the town centre where there are lots of great shops, bars and restaurants.
If I was going to be really picky I would say that the room (Rm20 Sea View Suite) could have done with a bigger wardrobe and a cover on the balcony as it was so hot when full sun was on it, but bed was very comfortable and huge and the shower was nice and powerful. I would definitely recommend this hotel. 

Best customer service ever 

We arrived in CV around 18:20 to find plenty of taxis outside the airport to take us to our destination BB HOTEL. On route everything seemed ok for the first 5 minutes or so until we noticed the taxi driver dodging every pot hole as we were been driven along a dual carriageway. Spent about 15 minutes or so swerving the pot holes to which the driver knew where everyone was, even in the pitch black. 
We then arrived in the entrance of SAN MARIA. As the driver was driving through the streets of san María I did start and become concerned thinking ‘ where the hell is he taking us’ the streets become more rough looking the deeper we drove into SM. Please note, this does become more appealing during daylight hours. The final 300 meters of the journey took us up what I can only describe as a dirt track which at the end of it was this little gem of a hotel called Budha Beach - both myself and my wife were so relieved to be getting out of that taxi ( 25€). Unbeknown to us, that dirt track was going to take us into town every night ( 10 min walk ) taxi back from town a little later was around 4€.
So, we where greeted at the hotel by Melany ( fantastic employee of the hotel, couldn’t do enough for you ) in fact the whole hotel staff were amazing and so engaging especially the bar/ restaurant team ( brilliant people )
Quick couple of lines on CV itself. Just of the dirt track there’s a place called the Adjulo, great snacks for lunch and a great location for hiring beds etc on the beach- next door there’s a restaurant called Collumbus which has a fantastic menu and the best pizzas I’ve ever experienced in my life. 
Overall, the Budha Beach and Cape Verde was a fantastic experience a would recommend whole heartedly. Just what is says on the tin, relaxation round the pool and all you can here is waves crashing on the shoreline.
Thank you Melany and the team.

Mr Dean & Gail - room 6

Dean & Gail

I Keith Thomas would like to personally thank all the staff for all the hard word they do there .  Me and my partners just got back from a beautifull week ..each day was just great the food was very nice the room was cleaned every day the pool was cleaned daily and inspected daily thank u all for that lovely experience ....if god spares life I will defiantly be back next year ......   thank you all 

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