Great Family Location!!

Spectacular location for families, not suited for couples or the single traveler.. Very well kept grounds, the beach sucked, nothing but rocks and seaweed... Way off the beaten path, if your looking to do 5th Ave. or any off location site seeing, save yourself the trouble and stay in closer to town.. Excellent Echo resort, evening entertainment was always a show, with little interaction with the guests... Best for the quiet traveler..Quinton our agent onsite was extremely helpful

Fantastic Resort!

We loved that the resort was full of trees and wildlife! Our room was perfect, the food is great, and the staff were friendly. The evening show was amazing!! Freddy Jackson is a MUST SEE!! My daughter wanted to go into Kids Club everyday. Kids Club put on an Eco Fashion Show that the kids were in, and my daughter also got to be a Princess and Mermaid in the Fantasy Show. Such a wonderful experience. I was super impressed that this resort is envronmentally responsible, and they spay/neuter and pr [... read more]ovide vet care for the kitties on site. 2 thumbs up! We would definitely go to a Sandos Resort again.

Great family resort

We just got back from a week at this resort and would go back in a heartbeat. We went with two young kids and my only complaint would have been how far our room was from everything....but we could have requested a closer room. The resort had great entertainment for kids, always had kid friendly food available and lots of stuff to do with them. when you arrive look out for the "time share" promoters that want you to meet the following day. ... for us it was a waste of time! We would definitely g [... read more]o back to this resort with our kids!

We didn't want to leave!

Traveled March 12-19 with another couple. This was my 1st trip to Mexico, 4th to the Caribbean. To say this resort met our expectations would be an understatement! To start, Alan Medina was in contact with my husband prior to our trip and booked all our a la carte reservations for us so that we didn't have to worry about it once we got there. He also got us rooms in the same building, with balconies. My husband and I had champagne and a plate of fruit waiting for us upon arrival, which was a nic [... read more]e & thoughtful touch. There's been a lot of talk in reviews about Timeshare "vultures", and our Sunwing rep even warned us but we weren't approached once by anyone so maybe they've changed this because of the negative reviews. The Guest Services staff did talk in our welcome meeting about the benefits of booking directly through Sandos, but this was a 2 minute bit and that was it. Resort: This is an absolutely beautiful resort. It's an eco resort, so there has been little clearing and you really feel like you're in the middle of the jungle. There are cenotes and Mayan Ruins on the property, as well as lots of wildlife and special features to look at. We did a lot of walking, but there are golf carts available to shuttle you to and from. Yes, this is a family friendly resort. We didn't really find this a problem, there didn't seem to be any more kids than we have normally found at an all-incusive over March Break. The only issue we had was there seemed to be a lot of kids in the main pool, and it often seemed like they had the run of the place with no supervision. Splashing, doing cannon balls right over your head, etc. This is more a parenting issue than a resort issue. There is a kids club & pool for your child, I shouldn't have to be worrying about other people's kids. Although to be honest, sometimes adults were more annoying (someone was spitting chewing tobacco into the pool one day- what is wrong with people?!). That being said, this isn't a "party" resort, but we weren't looking for that atmosphere anyway. There were people drinking and being social, but it certainly wasn't a "Spring Break" type of place. There are yoga classes offered every morning except Sundays at 8 am. Unfortunately I only made it to one class due to excursions and being the only one in my group interested- that being said it was hands down one of the best classes I've taken! It's Ashtanga/Flow style, but very doable as Juan Carlos is an excellent instructor who makes you feel comfortable (while challenging you at the same time). I would definitely recommend! Wifi is free, but is only available in public areas- Sports Bar, Theatre, Pool/Beach, Lobby. Mosquitos weren't an issue for me for the first half of the trip, second half I got lots of bites so make sure you bring bug spray! Room: We were in Building 44 which was a decent walk from the pool/beach. You can certainly get buildings closer to beach, but then you're a walk from food. I don't think you can lose out on rooms...we didn't bother upgrading to Adults Only as it seemed to be quite isolated from everything else and the furthest from the beach. We just didn't feel it was worth it! They don't have bottles of water (which is great), but instead a water cooler in each room. Bring a water bottle with you! If a hair dryer is a necessity, bring one. The one in the room was old and looked like a vacuum cleaner. Beach: Yes, the beach isn't as beautiful as other beaches in the area. I thought the note in other reviews about water shoes was an exaggeration, but if you want to enjoy the water you really do need them. We had some cut feet before we found a path out to a sandy area. There was lots of seaweed, but this was the case everywhere from what I heard/saw. Vendors do approach you but they're very friendly and we didn't feel pressured. We never had any issues finding chairs by the beach, even on the day we didn't make it down there until after lunch. The pool was a little tougher, but we were usually in the water anyway so just set our stuff on one chair. Food/Drinks: Since this was our first trip to Mexico, we were blown away by the food. There is one main buffet that is open for all three meals. Lots of options- I don't eat a lot of meat but always found lots. We also liked the Mexican for breakfast, and the Italian for lunch. These become a la cartes in the evening but have great selection for breakfast/lunch. The 24 hour sports bar wasn't anything fancy, but you could get burgers, hot dogs, nachos, fries, etc. Guacamole on everything. The a la cartes we visited were the Teppanyaki, Mediterranean & Brazilian. All were amazing butt the Teppanyaki was my favorite, mainly because of the experience. Drinks were standard all-inclusive: lots of sugary/slushy drinks but still good! Mojitos were fantastic, and often the little drink stand by the pool made delicious things not on the regular menu (rum punch, Oreo milkshakes with Baileys). Entertainment: Wow. Just..wow. This was the best entertainment we have seen in our four trips south. The Michael Jackson show was insane. The Mayan shows were so different from anything we've seen, and I loved that they had them in different locations around the resort (Mayan Ruins, beach, cenote). You have access to the Sandos Playacar as well. We went one day, because we were told the beach was amazing and had friends who had stayed there. It was a $40 return trip by taxi which was reasonable for two couples, and we weren't disappointed! The beach is gorgeous, but I found the Caracol grounds were much nicer, maybe just because they were different. I don't want to call these complaints, because they really didn't bother me that much but these are a few things we noticed during the week: It would be nice if there was a snack bar (even if it was small) on the beach. We really liked this about the Playacar. The disco doesn't open until 11, but often the shows only go until 9:15-9:30, so there was a large gap of time we had a hard time filling. Because of this we only made it to the disco one night. It would be nice to separate the main pool into family friendly/adults only...it's big enough that I don't think this would be an issue. This is the first resort we've visited where I didn't want to leave, and would go back in a heartbeat! If anyone has any questions feel free to message me!

Awesome family resort

Sandos Caracol is an amazing, nature filled resort. The builidings are all small and spread out which gives you more of a feeling of being right in the jungle. The buffets and the a la cartes all have amazing food. It is a very family oriented resort, although my husband and I don't have children we didn't mind at all (there is an "adult only" section but we stayed in the regular section). For children there's a small water park, kids club with activities every day and a children's show every ev [... read more]ening. All the kids at the resort seemed like they were having a fabulous time. For nature-lovers it's a really great spot, there are jungle and mangrove paths everywhere, cenotes to swim in and wild animals (monkeys, coati's, raccoons) right on the property. The downside: because it is an eco resort the rocks haven't been cleared from the water in front of the hotel, getting in and out of the ocean can be tricky without water shoes. I say this is a negative but there is a plus side, because of the rocks there is decent snorkelling right in front of the resort. The night life is pretty much non-existant, there is a nightly show at 8:30 that ends at 9:30, after that you're on your own. Most of the bars close at 11:00pm. We thoroughly enjoyed our week at this resort. We went on a few excursions but mostly spent our time wandering the paths on the property, swimming and snorkelling in the ocean and of course eating!

Great resort but...

I have been to many Carribean Resorts and this one certainly measured up to the better of them all. HOWEVER... I was very disappointed in the beach - too rocky, slippery rocks and plus plus seaweed which was stinky after a few days and made entry into the water unpleasant. I don't use the pools much but they looked fine to me. The "Eco" aspect was interesting and the on- site trails were fun. The shows were very good and the entertainment good. The food was good and the wedding we attended was l [... read more]ovely and tastefully done. I would recommend this resort BUT Not for the beach.

Amazing resort for any type of group!

We absolutely loved the resort, exceeded our expectations. The food was amazing other than the Brazlian Restaurant. Grounds were clean and well lit at night. Several pools to choose from including the children's water park. All in all a great family vacation.

No Complaints!

The resort was great. The hotel grounds were large but it was only a 10 minute walk from one end to the other. We were very pleased with the cleanliness of the rooms, they were simple but just what we needed. Very friendly staff, always willing to help and very accommodating. The beach was okay, definitely been to nicer beaches but as long as you followed a certain path into the water it was fine. I feel like the rest of the resort makes up for it. Overall, no complaints! I would definitely retu [... read more]rn.

Amazing family resort!

My husband and 2 daughters and I spent 9 nights feb8-17 and had a fantastic time! stayed in a deluxe room and was very comfortable, room was cleaned everyday and our girls looked forward to the new towel animals everyday. Food was adequate, lots of choices. Had no trouble booking restaurants for dinner, Japanese was our favorite, very entertaining! Grounds are amazing and beautiful! Beach was great, it is rocky but we wore water shoes and found a clearing to play in, so was not an issue. Heidi o [... read more]ur waitress at the beach was the best! Thank you! Kids loved all the animals, the water park was so much fun, even for my 11 year old. The nightly entertainment was really great, we went most nights and everyone was entertained. Jesus took us on a romantic boat ride, very nice would recommend it for sure. The kids club looked really good, only took our kids once because there was so much to do and I liked having our family all together. Overall we had a fantastic time, so much to do. This is not a super luxurious resort if that's what your looking for, but a great place for families to relax and have fun, we would definetely return!

Great family adventure

I really enjoyed all the activities available, from snorkeling, building sandcastles, jungle walks, water slides, kidsclub, to a pyrotechnics superhero show! The food was excellent and staff were friendly.

Eco all the way AMAZING

The Resort was great. The jungle walks were great, never knowing what you were going to see. All the trees and many different animals.The three part show was amazing and being held in different parts off the resort was top notch. Went with my daughter and two grandchildren but would definitely return again just as a couple. Love the whole resort

Just ok

Our kids (aged 6 & 8) had a lot of fun at the water park, kids club, the petting zoo, and exploring the whole resort and the adults found it a relaxing holiday as well, but I don't think we would come back. As soon as we come off the bus that transported us from the airport to the resort we were bombarded by a hotel worker 'Franklin'. At first we thought he was being helpful and offering us welcoming drinks, etc. But soon he was taking our information down and our 'welcome' was lasting an hour a [... read more]nd we hadn't eaten a good meal since breakfast (and it was now past supper). The last thing he did was request that each couple give him $10 to hold our spot for our breakfast and 'tour' the next day. This was the final clue to us that it wasn't a welcoming it was a timeshare deal. It made us mad that they weren't upfront with what they were actually doing and that they catch you at your most vulnerable time- when you barely have your feet on their grounds. In general their sales pitch for their timeshare deal was WAY too pushy. We ended up not going on the tour on our second day and Franklin harassed us every day he saw us in he lobby about booking another spot with him. He made it so we avoided going to the lobby. We found the other guests at the resort to be extremely rude- we've never experienced this at any other resort we have visited. I know his isn't the resort's fault but it did have a big impact on our holiday. There is no bottled water or straws at the resort because they are being Eco friendly. There are water coolers everywhere including your rooms but it is all warm water. Luckily we had empty water bottles with us that we filled from the water cooler and placed in the fridge. The beach at this resort leaves a lot to be desired. Our kids refused to go in the water and only played in the waves that came onto the beach. Without water shoes you couldn't comfortably walk in the ocean. By the end of our eight day stay we were tired of eating at the buffets. Because you are limited in how many times you east at the restaurants you can end up eating at the buffets three times a day. This is where the other guests were the most rude. The food at the buffets are practically the same every day - it would be nice to have a different choice now and again. Our last night at the resort we were shocked to find a baby tarantula in our room - I am not exaggerating! It was two inches in diameter!! The same night the other couple we were with had a mouse in their room at about 3:00am. It wasn't like they just found it running around in their room, it was eating crackers under the pillows they were sleeping on. All I can say is Thank god this excitement was on our last night there. The employees at the resort for the most part were great! Christina, the lady who cleaned our room was great!

We had a great time

The resort more than met our expectations - it was as naturey as any resort we've been to and seemed to be very eco-responsible. Nice beach, great food. Only minor complaint - room did not have enough electrical outlets.

First time in Mexico - great experience!

Immaculate grounds and friendly staff. Would suggest more venues for night life for adults, like the all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic in Punta Cana provide. Fell safer off the resort in Mexico than in the DR. Trip to Playa Del Carmen was a highlight. Joined up with friends who were making their 5th trip to this resort.

Exceeded expectations!

Sandos caracol was so much more than your typical all inclusive resort. It was a unique experience that my Husband and I won't soon forget! There is so much to see and do right on the resort...I'm not sure it's even possible to take it all in within a week! The entertainment was exceptional, the cenote was so chill and refreshing, the spa was heavenly, loved the romantic boat ride...I could go on. Sandos is in a league of their own, and we will return. Thank you Sandos for providing us with an u [... read more]nforgettable experience!