Boa Vista Experience

[Sandra]

Hi,

Like Helen I have also found this website very helpful and seeing the pictures showing the construction of the Riu Karamboa over the last few months have been brilliant and helped alleviate any worries that it would be built on time!! Stayed at the Riu Garopa last November which exceeded our expectations.

We are staying in the Riu Karamboa from 14th November for 2 weeks and would love to hear from anyone holidaying at the same time.
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Sandra

[M.Melkova]

Hi all,

I have just checked at www.riu.com and there is a press release about opening Riu Karamboa today.

"The ClubHotel Riu Karamboa opens its doors in Cape Verde
This luxurious 750-room resort is Boa Vista Island’s first and RIU’s third in the country
Today, October 30th, RIU is inaugurating the ClubHotel Riu Karamboa, the Cape Verde island of Boa Vista’s first ClubHotel and the chain’s third in the country. The 750-room, five-star resort is located right on Praia de Salines beach and joins RIU’s two other resorts on Sal Island: ClubHotel Riu Funana and ClubHotel Riu Garopa."

So happy holiday.

[kiwifudge]

Hi I am flying out to Rui Karamboa on Nov 21st and have found this forum very helpful. I have stayed at a couple of Rui hotels and really enjoyed them. Please keep up the good work you are doing through this forum. I have my tickets they came last week.

[CLS.1277]

Hi we are also flying out to the Karamboa on the 21st November......haven't received any tickets from Thomson yet though.

[admin]

Hotel Riu Karamboa opens today on Boa Vista

30-10-08
All is in place for the grand opening of Hotel Riu Karamboa on the island of Boa Vista today. Various personalities disembarked at Boa Vista International Airport this morning to take part in the ceremony, which will have as its guest of honor Prime Minister José Maria Neves.

The Riu Karamboa is Cape Verde’s largest hotel, with a capacity to lodge nearly 2,000 guests in 750 rooms. Located along the beach, the Riu Karamboa will work on an “all included” basis and features four restaurants with Cape Verdean, African, Asian and European specialties, as well as bars, a night club, a gym, a hair salon and leisure and spa facilities.

The opening of this new hotel enterprise is expected to create some 1,000 job posts. The local population, however, is somewhat skeptical, considering the low wages many of the island’s hotels offer employees.

Meanwhile, a number of landowners dispossessed for the construction of the hotel were, as of yesterday afternoon, waiting for a response from the government regarding the compensation to be paid for the loss of their properties. Some had threatened to block the entrance to the airport with trucks and equipment.

Among the other guests invited to the grand opening of the hotel are Minister of the Economy Fátima Fialho, representatives of the Cape Verdean chamber of tourism, UNOTUR, and MpD leader Jorge Santos.

Source:ASemana
Andre

[Tracey]

Hi
I have looked at the Riu website ann can't see the press release on the Karamboa, am I just being "thick", would love to see some real photos of the finished thing, rather than the computer generated ones.

[andre]

"Club Hotel Riu Karamboa opens its doors in Cape Verde"

30/10/2008:
Today, October 30th, RIU is inaugurating the Club Hotel Riu Karamboa, the Cape Verde island of Boa Vista’s first Club Hotel and the chain’s third in the country. The 750-room, five-star resort is located right on Praia de Salines beach and joins RIU’s two other resorts on Sal Island: Club Hotel Riu Funana and Club Hotel Riu Garopa.

The new hotel has more than 140,000 square metres of gardens and dunes where guests can enjoy the generous adult swimming pool, children’s swimming pool, space for relaxing and zones for sports such as volleyball or tennis. The resort also offers a chance to enjoy nautical activities, such as windsurfing, diving, kayak and snorkelling.

Cuisine is one of the key features at the new Club Hotel Riu Karamboa, as it always is in RIU establishments. On this occasion, the hotel offers an international buffet and show cooking in “Santiago”, its main restaurant. It also boasts three à la carte restaurants specialising in Cape Verde, Asian and African cuisine.

The hotel being inaugurated today pays special attention to the family’s youngest members, which is why it is offering RiuLand, a new concept in children’s activities and entertainment created by RIU’s professionals this very year. RiuLand is a programme based on fun outdoor activities in groups adapted to children between the ages of 4 and 12.

The inauguration of this hotel is a clear sign of RIU’s commitment to Cape Verde, since Boa Vista Island, despite being the archipelago’s third largest, has lacked major infrastructures and international companies until now. Thus, the Club Hotel Riu Karamboa has already become a frame of reference among the island’s holiday hotels and hopes to reap as much success in the different European markets as well as in RIU’s resorts on Sal Island.

About Cape Verde: The Republic of Cape Verde is situated in the Atlantic Ocean opposite the coast of Senegal. The country comprises the volcanic archipelago of the same name made up of ten large and five smaller islands. The islands of Barlovento include Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia (unpopulated), São Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista and the Sotavento Islands include Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava. Their mild climate, practically virgin scenery, white sandy beaches, possibilities for enjoyment offered by the ocean and proximity to Europe’s major countries make them an ideal tourist destination.

About RIU: The international RIU chain was founded in Mallorca by the Riu family in 1953 as a small holiday firm and is still owned by the family’s third generation. The company specialises in sun and sand holiday resorts. RIU Hotels & Resorts now has more than 100 hotels in 16 countries which welcome over 2.7 million guests a year. RIU is currently the world’s 27th ranked chain, one of the Caribbean’s most popular, the leader in the Canary Islands’ accommodations offer and the third largest in Spain by revenue and number of rooms.

source: FTN News
Andre

[angie]

we arrive on the 28th of November and will post our view of the riu Karamboa on our return....we cant wait!!!

what weather should we expect ??

[admin]

Sun glorious sun, no rain, cloudless skies with a light breeze to cool things down a bit! Don't forget the suntan lotion and always keep fluids close at hand! Take your own suntan lotion with, it is a lot more expensive there! Sunglasses and head protection is advised.
AB

[andre]

For all you Karamboa visitors eager for info!

Boa Vista: First guests arrive today at the Rio Karamboa

02-11-08

The Portuguese are the first guests at the Hotel Rio Karamboa in Boa Vista. They are 157 tourists who disembarked on Friday, of a flight proceeding from Lisbon. The International SATA is the Azorian company that will go to assure the linking Lisbon to Boa Vista. All the first “lodgers” will be awarded with a diploma of first guests. A set of activities of good comings already is programmed, that it contemplates the cultural and gastronómica part. Riu Karamboa waits more flights of other European cities, between them Stockholm, Copenhagen, Brussels, Hannover, Munich, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. With the entrance in functioning of Riu Karamboa the flights charters for the island of dunes go to increase every week of three for nine. It will have international flights every day. From 15 of December it will have days with three the four flights charters per week. The foreign transporters who will go to operate in the AIBV will be Levingstone, Neos, Thonson, Jetairsul, International Sata and TUI (Nordic, Germany and UK).

Source: ASemana
Translation:Babelfish

Andre

[Mick and Carol]

Hi to all who are travelling to Boa Vista on the 7th November - there seem to be loads of us now - the time is getting closer and thanks to this wonderful website we now know that the hotel is open - YIPPEE. I think we should have a meeting point for members of the Boa Vista Experience - maybe we could start Chinese Whispers at the Welcome Meeting!! 5 days now and counting. For those travelling on the 7th - see you there.

Carol
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pixy

[admin]

John/Jason,
We missed a trick! We should have given them all BoaVistaExperience T-shirts. They could all have arrived in the dining-room one evening in their T-shirts!

Riu Karamboans,
We have previously had BoaVistaExperience T-shirts made, they went down well. Unfortunately they cost a packet, and this is the credit crunch of the century!
I am sure many of you will meet up at Gatwick already, I am sure you will have a good trip, please come back to the forum, tell us all about it, and hopefully this is not your last trip to Boa Vista!

Andre

[jak]

Carol,

I am really jealous of you guys getting to go to Boa Vista next week. I will not be able to make it back to paradise island until early 2009.

Remember to print off the map of Sal Rei from the website before you leave, this will help you find all the bars, restaurants and shops. We have also recently updated the things to see and do sections of the website and we will add details for the brick factory, which is only a short walk down the beach from the Riu Karamboa, before you fly out.

Have a great trip and don't forget to let us all know how you get on.

Regards,

John Dowling

[Mick and Carol]

Thanks John for the info and will do - will post all of our news when we get back together with lots of photos.

Thanks again for a brilliant site

Best wishes
Carol
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pixy

[andre]

I have just spoken to Elena on her mobile, she is at the Riu Karamboa tonight. Paul is singing there!!
She has visited the Riu hotels on Sal. In her opinion Riu Karamboa is more beautiful! 750 rooms. The largest hotel in Cape Verde. Supposedly the next Riu on BoaVista will be 3,000 rooms. They will have to lengthen the runway to take the Airbus A380!

Andre