Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles

Just back from 8 nights here after learning of its existence on this forum.

The stay was great value on points but I would be less impressed if I had paid in cash at circa 800 euros a night or almost 1000 euros a night in the room we stayed in.

I have to say the experience was something of a mixed bag. We were upgraded from the redemption standard kong deluxe to an Oasi one bed suite with garden. I would not describe the rooms in either the Oasi or the main wing as luxurious by any stretch although in my experience poor furnishings etc. are not unusual in even high end Italian hotels the rooms were not really on keeping with my expectations of a Conrad (based on many other Conrad stays). I was pleased with the additional space of the suite we had as a regular room may have been too small. The bathroom though was quite small and difficult for two people who don't normally share a bathroom (or when we do have lots of space, his and hers sinks etc).

The Oasi wing (effectively a seperate hotel adjacent to the main Conrad and badged as the Oasi hotel on the in room statutory notices and floor map). The Pool on the Oasi wing was quite nice and often felt like a private pool for the 2 of is (it could accommodate only 5 couples and we were often by ourselves). The downside was no service for drinks or food at the pool and a pushback on taking drinks from the room (I appreciate the apparent danger of glass by a pool but the attendant could have had plastics available or they could be left on the room).

The Bioquam main pool was bigger but with inbuilt effective cabanas and poolside service. It also had fabulous views over the lagoon and towards the sea.

The biggest issue was the food across the resort. Oddly the main restaurant Terrazza used for breakfast was by far the best evening dining option in the wider Laguna resort. We ate at every restaurant apart from the 2 buffet restaurants in the piazza and curio. Food beyond Terrazza was really quite disappointing, being poorly seasoned and bland, the feature Sardinian Restaurant was bland, the steak restaurant served steak with no seasoning and consequently not much taste. Even the fish restaurant at the Curio Dune was similarly lacking real taste despite great fish. I love Italian food and out of resort in other places we enjoyed food that was tasty and fresh with a local twist, this was really not true within the resort with the honourable exception of Terrazza (where the half board guests get reservation priority).

Even the pizza place (effectively a section of the piazza) delivered soggy bland pizza. This wasn't great but was somewhat unforgivable given Maldives level pricing (e.g. 25 euros for a cocktail, 500% markup on wines and champagnes so 25 euro bottles being sold at 140 euros etc.). I expect to pay a little more in resort but I found some of the pricing positively offensive. The best overall value for money and ironically the tastiest was Terrazza but it also had the highest drink prices. Oddly the standout meal I had was a room service burger which was really really good, cooked medium (a rarity in the UK) although hardly a snip at 45 euros including tray charge, it was really very good

The gym and spa were great and service overall whilst patchy on places was generally good. The proximity to the wider package tour focussed Laguna resort and it's extensive and loud Animation programme was a bit of a problem for me and likely so for other guests dropping 1k euros a night.

So the property really is a mixed bag. I would recommend mainly eating out of resort and there are some great options in nearby Pula, including the awesome Michelin starred Fradis Minoris where a 7 course tasting menu and matched wines with aperitifs, and digestifs and coffee came to less than we spent on 4 courses, and a bottle of wine in property.

It is a real shame also that they do not offer a wine experience evening. Sardinian Wine has very different variatels than most non Sardinians will be used to and only by tasting many do you build a picture of the variatels and styles you like (my express tip is that pretty much all wines from the Santadi vineyard are excellent even if sold at many multiples of the price on the winery, which we visited rather enjoyably).

If you are not a foodie then the shortcomings may not impact you greatly but if you are, you are likely to find yourself very disappointed with much of the F&B.

One further tip is that complimentary Prosecco (or local Sardinian Sparking) was not available at breakfast either self pour or offered by the servers, which again in my experience of high end Italian properties is an outlier, it's practically thrust upon you elsewhere.