Dunas beach resort, 2 bed 2bath apt with roof terrace and pool and sea views

The resort staff are very friendly and helpful , the appartment kitchen was well stocked but needed a kitchen stepping stool as the top cupboards are high , also a sievewould have been helpful. A few minor problems need to be sorted , 1 broken bedside light , lamp in livingroom not working, safe in bedroom not working overall the appartment was good we stayed there 11 nights but was no offered a sheet change. The hotel staff took us to our accommodation and dropped our luggage at the door . Overall the appartment was good. Our host kept us informed along the way .

Fantastic stay at Roys apartment. Everything was perfect.

The apartment is well maintained and was spotlessly clean. A couple of really minor issues were almost instantly resolved and the communication throughout the booking and the stay was excellent.The resort common areas are clean and well maintained. There’s always loads of vacant loungers on the sunny and pleasantly breezy beach. Buy drinks or coffee from the hotel bars with your credit card which are cheap and strong! The Dunas hotel has some bad reviews but that doesn’t affect the apartment or common areas so don’t let that put you off.Villa Verde supermarket is an easy 10 min walk away or shop in town at the Chinese-run Huang Supermarket had the best range and prices. The host can recommend great restaurants. Also try Cafe Creolo for the best cooked grilled fish I’ve ever had - and for something a bit fancier try Sal Grosso. Walk about 20 mins south down the beach to Ponta Preta for amazing seafood on the beach (plus free sunloungers for customers). Taxis are readily available outside the resort to town with a fixed fare of EUR5. It’s also a safe 35 min walk back from town if you prefer.Santa Maria is very safe but scruffy in places (this is Africa not Europe). On the beach folks will try to sell you souvenirs but they’ll leave you alone if you give them a polite but firm “no”. The resort’s WiFi is slow so don’t count on streaming movies while you’re here so download the Google Map of the island for offline use and use free restaurant WiFi to sync your Facebook!

We stayed for 2 weeks in April, family of 4, with 2 daughters aged 4 and 7. Roy was very helpful prior to our trip, providing contacts for airport transfers and car hire, and information about the island (shops, restaurants etc).The hotel is really good - our kids loved the waterslides, pools and the playground, and also had fun at the kids club. Pools are good with plenty of sunbeds - although towels were a little scarce! We had a lovely day on a Bali Bed on the beach - with fruit and prosecco included for €25.The vast majority of guests at the hotel are all-inclusive but we didnt find it particularly difficult getting meals / drinks etc. Breakfast at the main buffet was €24 per adult and the kids were free - dinner was €50 per adult and again kids were free. We also ate in one of the other restaurants a couple of times - each restaurant has both a small buffet / walk up station (eg pasta bar) and a la carte - there is a price for the buffet and a priced a la carte menu if you ask - we ended up just having the buffet and it was €25 per adult - again kids were free. Drinks at the bars during the day were €2 for a bottle of water or a glass of coke. We decided not to bother with any days all-inclusive - the price would have been €65 per adult and €33 per child per day.Santa Maria is a lovely town, either €3 taxi ride (€4 at night) or about 30 minute walk. There are lots of good restaurants and we ended up eating in town most nights - we didnt have a bad meal at all. We tested the tuna tartar in most restaurants and decided the best was in Angelas, a restaurant on the front, just along from the pier!There is only one supermarket in town - we didnt actually cook in the apartment, and only ever ate breakfast there (cereal and toast) so cant really comment on how easy self-catering would be - but there did seem to be a selection of basics. Amy at Surf Hub was really helpful with car hire and other outings - we had a car for a day and did a tour of the island - salt mines were great viewed from the top of the hill (we didnt go in), the blue eye was good - best bit was the natural pool. We also did a half day sailing trip with some snorkeling, the kids had a body board for a few days and my husband had kite surfing lessons which he loved - all arranged for us by Amy.In summary - a fantastic 2 week break, perfect apartment and hotel, and I would definitely recommend exploring the town and island.