Sandos Papagayo, Lanzarote

A Fascinating History

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" said Micheal Corleone (Al Pacino) of his attempt to leave the Italian Mafia in the hit movie The Godfather III.

If you've ever fancied yourself as a bit of a mob boss, staying in a luxury villa on some sun baked glorious island, feeling like a millionaire counting "contributions" from your latest protection racket, then you could do worse than head for a stay at the four star rated, all-inclusive Sandos Papagayo, in the upmarket resort of Playa Blanca, Lanzarote.  

Wait? What?  The Sandos Papagayo is run by the Italian Mafia?  Well, not quite, but it is the subject of a long running dispute over planning permission, as are a great many buildings in Lanzarote (and the wider Canary Islands, as I've previously spoken about in my YouTube videos), which is the not-so-proud host to the largest number of illegal hotels in the Canary Islands.

As it stands, 44 hotels across the island have had their building permits annulled, 6 out of 7 mayors who stood trial for corruption are now behind bars, and tragically at the height of the dispute, two people were shot and killed in escalating tensions said to be involving high ranking public officials and developers.

Back in 1998 when planning permission was granted to this, and other hotels, in what is now described as "the four day storm of urban corruption", it is said that the Canarian courts took cases of dogs biting people more seriously than the alleged millions slushing around the Canaries' underworld.  You can make of this what you will, of course.

Allegations are rife that the Sandos Papagayo was built too high and encroaching too much on to the beach as a result of palm greasing between the developers and certain members of the local authority.  

Even the all-powerful Dimas Martin, former president of the Island Council of Lanzarote and former leader of the Partido Independiente de Lanzarote (PIL), ultimately did not escape the long arm of the law.

But don't let that put you off staying at the Sandos Papagayo.

The Hotel

The extensive pool area and stunning views from the Elite lounge

The Sandos Papagayo hotel currently boasts 475 rooms, made up of entry level Mountain View rooms, through to the more pricey Sea View and ultimately the room type that I had, Royal Elite.  

Car parking is fairly limited but you can park on the street which is quiet.  

Checking in was a swift affair - so often with Canarian hotels there is a long winded speech about all the facilities but the person who sorted me out was quick and I had my room key within minutes of arriving.  My room was over looking the sea, as is standard for anyone with a Royal Elite room.  There are in addition to Royal Elite rooms, Royal Elite Suites but the price for those is significantly more.  During my stay in December, I paid just €13 per night more than a standard room, and the benefits are not just confined to the room either.  

The Royal Elite room comes with a bottle of sparkling wine on ice, which I thought was a nice touch.  I shared this with a friend who was staying in a room nearby.  

The Royal Elite service also provides for a private lounge and terrace.  Drinks are complimentary and again, I was impressed to see branded, unlimited, alcohol.  In addition to this, you also have the option to dine privately along with other Royal Elite-only guests and I was genuinely surprised by the quality and variety of food available here.  There is no menu service, it's all buffet, even in the Royal Elite restaurant, but you do get table service for drinks, including the excellent wine that my friends and I enjoyed.  You also eat in this same restaurant for breakfast.

The Room (Royal Elite)

My room along with the Royal Elite lounge

Royal Elite rooms are spacious and I found them to be very comfortable.  The bathrooms were functional rather than upmarket and my shower was nothing more than a slow drip than the power shower I'm used to at home and in other hotels. 

The balconies are large enough for a table and two chairs and although I enjoyed the view, paint was falling from the ceiling above meaning I had to watch where I was walking. Overall though, I couldn't fault my room beyond this.

The Royal Elite lounge is very nice and there were certainly plenty of chairs and tables to go around for all guests.  The hotel could have made a bit more of an effort with the lounge snacks - at the times I was there the snacks were limited to small basic sandwiches and some small hors-d'œuvre.

That said, the Royal Elite lounge does offer branded alcohol which is unusual in my experience so usually  the first thing that lets all inclusive resorts down. 

Food and Drink

The 24 hour catering along with my favourite churros and table wine served with dinner

Food is a key part of the experience here as the hotel is all inclusive ie each as much as you like / can!

I have never been impressed with all inclusive and usually avoid such places as I have never really had good experiences with quality and/or variety.  All inclusive places are usually an opportunity for hotels to provide the worst quality, least choice catering, to their benefit.

However, I was pleasantly surprised at the Sandos and I did enjoy the food with the quality and variety exceeding even my usual tastes, so top marks here.  I also enjoyed the wine choice and given this was an all inclusive resort, they had clearly chosen some nice whites to accompany dinner.  

Whilst not expensive at around €4.25 a bottle in the shops, I did actually like the Valencian Marques de Plata Sauvignon Blanc, shown above.

I was most impressed that you could still get food at 3 in the morning, if required, as the hotel provides 24 hour snacks and I believe that it is the only hotel in Lanzarote that offers such.  Whilst I didn't try it myself, my friend commented that one of the offerings, the hot dogs, were cold, however.

We also had one occasion where we were asked to pay for drinks in the main bar when the lounge closed.  We never got to the bottom of this.

All said though, as far as four star all inclusive's go, it wasn't bad.

Conclusion:

The hotel as I said earlier is currently the subject of a well known and keenly followed story regarding its future.  Nobody doubts that the hotel is currently a lot bigger than its original planning permission allowed for and one proposal being put forward is that around 100 rooms will be removed in order for the hotel to stay open.  As with all things Canarian however, this could take years to resolve, so I would still book the hotel confidently.

The hotel itself is well run and staffed to the extent that you don't wait long for things to happen.  Service is better here than many five star hotels that I have stayed at across the islands.

The room, food and drinks are all of a high standard.  Whilst it doesn't have the opulence of five star 'Gran Melia' or 'Iberostar Grand' hotels, it's absolutely every bit at the high end of what you'd expect from a four star establishment.  

I stayed for three nights in December 2022, in a Royal Elite room, costing €437 inc. taxes.  

Would I stay here again?  Absolutely.

Directions:

From the airport, the hotel is about a 40 minute drive using mostly B-roads including a short climb over a 700ft mountain and through the quaint mountainous village of Femes. 

As you leave Femes, there is a great photo opportunity spot on your left (below is a photo I took from this spot) or you can simply press on to get to the hotel. 

The hotel is at the outer edge of Yaiza, a small enclave of Playa Blanca.  If you think you've gone wrong because you've driven too far, you probably haven't.  Just keep driving until you can get no further, follow your GPS map on your phone and you'll suddenly find the hotel.