Porto Antigo

Porto Antigo is a beachfront hotel in Santa Maria, a resort town at the southern end of the tropical island of Sal in the Republic of Cape Verde. Although the island itself is tiny, stretching only 30km from north to south, its extraordinary salt flats have been an important trade and tourist destination for decades. This whitewashed, red-roofed hotel sits on the sandy beach of Santa Maria, near a historic fishing port. The hotel has two pools one of which sits beside the ocean, with wide stone steps leading down from the pool and onto the sand. The semi-private beach itself is protected by a curved wall, giving the feeling of a secret tropical cove. You can enjoy views of this unusual feature from the hotel restaurant, which sits on the broadest part of the wall and stretches out into the water. When not sipping drinks on the sand or exploring the Santa Maria resort, you might like to enjoy a little island exploration. As Sal is quite small, most parts of it are easy to reach. A popular destination is the secret salt lake of Pedra de Lume, hidden inside the crater of an extinct volcano in the North of the island.

Sal is one of a handful of scattered islands that make up the Republic of Cape Verde, an archipelago some miles off Africa's North western Coast. It's the most developed of the islands, and although much of it is flat and dry, Santa Maria is an oasis-style resort town with palm trees lining the beach and avenues. North of Santa Maria are its famous salt pans; to the south lie the tropical open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. You may want to go island hopping around the other islands of Cape Verde by local ferry service from the port of Palmeira, on the West coast of Sal.

The hotel restaurant is open for a breakfast buffet in the morning and serves an a la carte dinner menu in the evening. You can eat inside or on the shaded terrace of the restaurant. Those wanting to cook for themselves will find ingredients in the shops in Santa Maria.

In Santa Maria you can watch surfers, go quad biking on the salt flats or board a ferry for a spot of Cabo Verde island hopping.

Two nice pool areas, one for each hotel building. Both have pool and deck with sun loungers and beautiful sea views. The hotel offers its guests free beach chairs on the beach.

Apartments and villas at Porto Antigo are simple and classic in style. Apartments have kitchenettes with basic kitchen equipment and fridges with freezers for Self Catering.