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Food & drink prices at Sands Suites Resort & Spa

Food and beverage pricing at Sands Suites Resort & Spa is heavily criticized for excessive charges on basics like water and wine, with limited value despite the resort's 5-star positioning. Some meal plan options offer reasonable balance, but hidden costs and steep à la carte pricing frustrate guests.

NegativeStrong evidence·based on 14 reviews

Complaints about water charges and wine pricing are consistent across the entire review period (May–July 2026), with no evidence of recent improvement or deterioration. The most recent critical feedback (July 2026) mirrors earlier complaints, indicating the issue is persistent and unresolved.

What the reviews tell us

Water—both still and sparkling—is charged during dinner service, even for guests on half-board, which reviewers found surprising and inappropriate for a 5-star resort [claims 239884, 258799, 231393, 231746, 259133, 266340]

Wine pricing is exorbitant, with bottles ranging from €55 to over €80, and alcohol more broadly incurs charges beyond meal service [claims 231746, 266349]

Evening beverages including tea and coffee must be paid for, while identical items are complimentary at breakfast [claim 236112]

À la carte dining allowances are insufficient, often failing to cover even one course without supplementary charges [claim 317566]

Half-board meal plan offers reasonable value with flexible lunch snack options and acceptable pricing, providing the best balance of convenience and cost [claims 256840, 260354, 245798]

The hotel's food and beverage value proposition is dominated by negative feedback regarding unexpected charges and premium pricing. Most criticism clusters around the charging of water—still and sparkling—during dinner service, which reviewers from multiple countries found surprising and unreasonable for a 5-star resort, particularly those on half-board arrangements. Wine pricing is uniformly criticized as exorbitant, ranging from €55 to over €80 per bottle. Evening beverages including basic items like tea and coffee incur charges, whereas breakfast offerings are free. The à la carte dining model introduces per-head allowances that frequently prove insufficient to cover even a single course, requiring supplementary payment. While some reviewers acknowledge that the half-board meal plan offers reasonable value and acceptable pricing for lunch items and snacks, the overall perception is undermined by resort-wide beverage marking and non-transparent pricing at certain venues like the Dolphin Bar. The buffet quality itself is noted as not befitting the hotel's standing. Breakfast inclusion in the rate appears to be a standard, but essentially all other food and beverage consumption carries additional charges that reviewers found inconsistent with market expectations for this property class.

Half-board value vs. resort-wide beverage cost expectations

A subset of reviewers (France, unidentified) report that the half-board meal plan itself offers "perfect balance" and "acceptable" pricing for lunch snacks without excessive charges [claims 256840, 260354]. However, this positive experience contradicts the broader and more numerous complaints that water, wine, and beverages are charged extra even under half-board arrangements [claims 239884, 258799, 231746, 259133]. The contradiction appears to turn on meal type and venue: reviewers praising half-board may be referring specifically to lunch service or à la carte snacks, whereas complaints center on dinner service where water and wine charges apply. One German reviewer on half-board explicitly noted surprise that water was not included at dinner [claim 259133], indicating the half-board package does not cover all beverages at all meal times. This suggests the positive claims reflect partial or limited experience rather than comprehensive value.