15 May, 2024 @ 16:16
2 mins read

British expat fury over ‘mad’ prices at ‘luxury’ new beach club in Estepona: €200 sunbeds and €10 tomato salad at site of former Laguna Village spark outrage

THE expansion of ‘luxury’ venues continues with aplomb along the Costa del Sol.

The latest edition is Sublim, the swanky new beach club in Estepona that has been built from the ashes of the former much-loved Laguna Village.

But British expats have taken to social media to criticise the venue’s ‘off the wall’ prices.

Among the most ‘excessive’ are the €200 sunbeds, although the menu stipulates that that includes €100 worth of food.

READ MORE: OPINION: I’m so tired of luxury venues on the Costa del Sol

The new Sublim beach club in Estepona (CREDIT: Facebook/Annwithoutane)

Although that might not afford you much, say onlookers, having seen the €10 tomato salad, seemingly consisting of 12 tomato quarters splashed with salt.

There is also a blue lobster salad for €100 and a small plate of vegetables for €9.

Meanwhile a rather small portion of fish and chips costs €18.

The size of the meals were revealed after a Facebook user shared photos from her day at Sublim on Facebook, including snaps of the menu.

One British expat commented on the post: “Prices totally off the wall. Way too pricey. I won’t be attending!”

Another said: “€10 euros for those tomatoes is crazy, sorry, they haven’t even bothered to present them well.”

Controversial: €10 tomato salad at Sublim (CREDIT: Facebook/Annwithoutane)
Under fire: €18 fish and chips at Sublim in Estepona (CREDIT: Facebook/Annwithoutane)

One local fumed: “If you want to offer something ‘premium’ then please make it a bit more premium!

“This is a side dish you would expect for €2 in the most simple chiringuito! I hope they read this and make a new signature tomato dish.”

Others were more taken aback by the sunbeds, which can cost up to €200.

“The price of the sunbeds though…” one Brit commented, to which another replied: “That’s what I thought, €200 for a sunbed is mad!”

Some rushed to defend Sublim, saying the work on the rebuild looked ‘stunning’.

One commenter said: “If you don’t like it you are not obligated to go!”

Sublim is owned by the world-renowned Pacha Group, which has a string of venues across Spain and is headquartered in Ibiza.

The Olive Press has contacted Pacha for comment.

It comes after another ‘luxury’ club in Estepona was criticised for its pricing last week, including a minimum spend of €75.

Beso Beach was accused of charging ‘rip off’ prices, including €22 for a portion of grilled vegetables, €9 for a portion of chips and €10 for sourdough bread and olives.

One Brit shared screenshots of Beso Beach’s menu in a local community Facebook page, sparking fury from commenters.

Beso Beach in Estepona (CREDIT: Instagram/Beso Beach)

One wrote: “Absolute rip off should be ashamed of themselves,” while another said: “Even if I were very rich, I wouldn’t go there, it’s just nonsense.”

Another said: “The mistake they are all making is that they are falling for the mayor’s marketing which tries to convince people that Estepona is the new Marbella and the new Golden Mile.

“For heaven’s sake I hope it never will be… Marbella is Marbella and Estepona has its own identity which sadly these places are changing.”

Another Brit agreed, adding: “Never a truer word said but sadly the ship has sailed and now the Dubai Investment Fund are building their luxury hotel and private apartments in the area.”

One said that you ‘have to laugh’, while another responded: “I’m laughing from my terrace because that’s the closest I can afford to get.”

Beso Beach is a hugely successful company that is headquartered in Barcelona.

It operates across Spain, with venues in Ibiza, Sitges (Barcelona), Mallorca, Formentera and Granada’s Sierra Nevada.

Beso Beach did not respond to the Olive Press’s request for comment.

Estepona is seeing property prices surge as the ‘garden of the Costa del Sol’ becomes an increasingly popular location for foreign buyers.

Prices currently stand at an average of €3,622 per sqm, representing a 15.68% increase compared to last year.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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