Hotel Morabeza

Founded in 1967, Hotel Morabeza - Beach Club is a long-established address on Sal, built around the beach rather than tucked away behind a road. You stay directly beside Santa Maria beach, with gardens, pools, restaurants and bars arranged for a holiday that can be as active or as unhurried as you choose.

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside French, German, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish. That matters when you are discussing breakfast, a late arrival or the small practical details that become rather more important when you are tired and sun-warmed.

The hotel suits divers who want more around them than a bed and a transfer vehicle. There are three restaurants, three bars, a beach club, several pools and enough activities to keep a non-diving day from turning into an extended argument with a sun lounger.

You are in Santa Maria, on the island of Sal in Cape Verde, with direct access to Praia de Santa Maria and its white sand. The village is within walking distance, so you can leave the grounds for a coffee, a meal or a wander without planning a small expedition.

The immediate surroundings are useful rather than merely decorative. Restaurants including Lobstar Sal, Cretcheu and Bombay are about 0.1 miles away, while Funana Casa da Cultura is around 0.6 miles from the hotel. Viveiro, Botanical Garden & Zoo di Terra is about 2.9 miles away for a change from beach, pool and post-dive horizontal thinking.

Amílcar Cabral International Airport is about 11 miles away. The hotel sits on the seafront, with Santa Maria beach at the door and Praia António Sousa around 0.5 miles away on foot.

The room choice is less about collecting categories and more about deciding how you want to spend the hours between outings. Rooms and suites have terraces or balconies, with views towards the sea or the gardens, while apartments in the Bazamore annexe suit longer stays when having more independence matters.

Every guest room has air conditioning, a fridge, an electric kettle, a wardrobe and a private bathroom. The fridge is useful for keeping water cold; the kettle deals with the first cup before the day properly starts. A flat-screen television with satellite channels is there for quiet evenings, and some rooms add a seating area when you would rather not spend the entire night on the bed.

Couples can choose a room with outdoor space and settle into the slower rhythm of the resort. Families have family rooms, while the Executive area is reserved for adults aged 18 and over. Upper floors are reached by stairs only, so that point is worth keeping in mind before you commit to a particular room location.

Breakfast is a buffet served from 7am to 10am, with fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurt, cheese, ham, bread, homemade pastries, pancakes, preserves, fruit juice and eggs prepared with your choice of garnish. It is the sort of spread that lets you build either a sensible start or a full morning's rations before heading out.

Three restaurants cover the main meals. Beach Club sits beside the sand and serves lunch from 12.30pm to 3pm, with a light, varied menu influenced by Mediterranean cooking, including fresh seafood and grilled specialities. Les Palmiers takes dinner beneath large established trees, with a refined menu available within the half-board arrangement. Its Saturday Cape Verdean evening brings local dishes, music, traditional dance and artisan displays.

La Tortue serves varied evening menus in a relaxed setting overlooking the esplanade, from 7pm to 10pm, and closes on Saturdays. Three bars give the day a different pace: Aquarius is the beach bar for cocktails and sea views, Pombal is beside the pool for refreshments, ice cream and sandwiches, and La Tortue Bar runs into the evening with music until midnight.

Three outdoor freshwater pools give you several ways to spend a non-diving afternoon, including a large pool in the adults-only Executive area. Sun loungers and beach chairs are available, and the beach is directly outside, which means you can move between sand, water and shade without turning it into a logistical exercise.

For a little more movement, there are two tennis courts, volleyball, a fitness course, a gym, archery, mini-golf and boules. The games room adds billiards, table tennis, darts and board games. Yoga classes run twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for those who prefer stretching to competitive holiday athletics.

Nativa Spa offers massages, body treatments and facial treatments. On the water, the hotel has stand-up paddleboarding, jet skiing, wing foiling and boat excursions. Cultural excursions can take you to Pedra de Lume, Buracona and Algodeiro, while evening entertainment brings local groups, Cape Verdean music and dancing on several nights. Families have family rooms, children's meals and activities for children, with special entertainment during the Christmas and New Year's gala dinners.

The hotel can arrange an airport shuttle from Amílcar Cabral International Airport, about 11 miles away, on request. A 24-hour front desk is useful for arrivals outside ordinary daytime patterns, and luggage storage is available. WiFi is free throughout the hotel, with an ATM and currency exchange on site.

Check-in runs from 2pm until midnight and check-out from midnight until noon. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in. There is no minimum age for checking in, and children of all ages are welcome; cots for children aged up to two can be requested, subject to the accommodation option, while extra beds are not available.

Pets are allowed on request. Public parking is available on site, and the hotel also offers a shop, a beauty and barber service, laundry and ironing services, a doctor on request, and four meeting rooms. The upper floors are accessible by stairs only, a practical detail to settle before arrival rather than after a long flight.

Since its opening in 1967, the hotel has worked with renewable energy sources and with the particular environmental limits of Sal, an island where water and energy are not abstract concerns. Solar panels and wind power form part of its energy mix.

Water is managed through reverse-osmosis desalination and a solar distiller. Waste water is recycled for watering the gardens and flushing toilets, while low-consumption lamps are used across the property. A waste-recycling programme is being planned, alongside these existing measures.