Excellent family resort

PROS - beach was beautiful - food at buffet was fantastic - staff and service phenomenal - very attentive to detail (especially for wedding couple) - entertainment was different every night and very well orchestrated CONS - rooms are dated, had to be moved 2x (air condition was low, and huge tree obstruction on balcony) - resort was huge, front lobby to beach/pool was too far, very inconvienent - music at pool was poorly set up, and entertainment at beach was mediocore Overall, a v [... read more]ery good experience for friends and families, and especially for Wedding, the wedding coordinator did an amazing job and the actual wedding day went as perfect can be and was beautifully set up (very impressed with wedding day) Manny.

Good Resort - Large Beach, Decent Food, Mediocre Experience

The beach was large and had lots of chairs and space (the resort was quite empty) The food was good, the burrito and crepe place was amazing but the buffet had cheap meat but lots of options and a good breakfast. The overall service and feel was poor, half the staff was not very happy or accommodating, if you showed up a minute late or anything they would not serve you. This was one of the weaker points of the resort for sure. We only had the bottom tier bracelet but really a third of the re [... read more]sort is for higher tier customers, which was annoying even though it wasn't a big deal. The rooms were kinda run of the mill, same as every other okay resort. We did have an incident where some woman's panties (clearly not mine as I am petite and they were large) appeared hanging in our bathroom while my hisband and I were out in the morning, which was quite disturbing. The rooms were adjoining so we were not sure if it was staff or other guests but we were not pleased. Either way, after expressing our extreme disgust and numerous complaints we were moved (well we moved ourselves and packed everything up - how fun) to move to a higher tier section of the resort. The room was almost identical and I think we got to go to another smaller buffet in the morning but I really don't think there was a difference. Also some staff memever between me arriving on the bus to going to my room broke my suitcase (the handle could no longer be pulled out to roll so now it's trash) so that's another negative. All in all I think this is a meh resort, wasn't worth what I paid but kinda what you expect from this price point in Mexico. I will not be going back.

Attention: people with disabilities

I have mixed feelings. First of all, I read a lot of reviews but I should have listened when people told me about the layout. The resort is pretty big, I was at location 1206 so not bad since the buffet, pool and cart stop was beside me. Kinda of central location. Other rooms I found too far. I noticed some stairs had no handrails and at certain places a little hilly for me. If you have bone problems, walking might be difficult. I would have preferred a smaller resort. Plus the little cart [... read more]s can't hold more than 7 people and if you have to wait, it might be line 15 mins. The food was so so, you'll find your regular buffet. I only went to the main buffet most of the time. Entertainment was good. Live band/ singers. A little better than usual resorts. Café was good for coffee but didn't like the cakes/ frosting - no much taste. Some were ok like pineapple cake, cookies, ice cream. I would say if you have to buy something just walk done the road to where starbucks is and the have lots of shops and good prices. Also go to 5th avenue and there is lots of selection. Go later in the afternoon when the sun goes down. To end it off. The bus never came to pick me up to take me to the airport. I asked the reception to find out why and BD Travel bus carrier ended up sending someone else to take me to the airport. It was a bad experience because he was racing to the airport and get me there on time. I got there at 9:05 am and my flight was leaving at 10:40 am. I won't be visiting this resort again because it is too big for me, too hilly, no handrails and distance was about hour drive from the airport.

Amazingly beautiful

The hotel was beautiful. The staff were exceptional with any questions we had . The food was good ! The beach was beyond and my whole experience was amazing . I recommend sandos to any family looking for a place to stay!

Sandos Playacar was beautiful. My wife and I had a wonderful time.

The grounds from the beautiful sand beach and turquoise ocean to the well designed and pruned gardens surrounding the properties were incredible. Pathways were beautifully lit in the evening and Cozumel sparkled, across the ocean, in the dark night sky. The staff were very attentive and helpful, from arrival to departure. The dining staff were very professional and attentive. Thank you to our waitress at the Asian ala carte for recommending a dessert......heavenly!!!! Thank you to maintenanc [... read more]e, (there were a few small problems with our room), all was taken care of promptly and effectively. We made use of many of the different food venues and found all to be excellent. Coming from Nova Scotia and being a lover of seafood, I must say....I could live there forever and eat nothing but the seafood...it was amazingly prepared by your chefs. Did not always recognize the type of fish but was never disappointed...soooo delicious. Memories: Happy children everywhere. Amazing beach. Fantastic shows Delicious food. Romantic evenings. Whether you are a couple or a family, this resort has it all. We had a great time, and would recommend Sandos Playacar to others.

Disappointed!!

We are in our 40s with two boys (7 and 4 ½ years old) and we travel at least once a year during the winter to the Caribbean to All Inclusive resorts. We stayed on room 8316 from Sunday Feb 5 to Sunday Feb 12. I would start with the positives: Some members of their team that made our trip more enjoyable - Jorge Ruiz from the Brazilian restaurant: Awesome customer service skills. Organized a big celebration for my son’s 7’s birthday. Thank you for that!! It made our trip. - Alfonso [... read more], our server at the Brazilian restaurant: he worked with Jorge really hard to put together something different for us. - Monica, from Asiana: after a survey I completed with her she tried to improve our stay at the hotel; booked for us many restaurants and escalated my concerns and complaints to Ingrid (Manager of Guest Services). Thank you for looking after us. - Guadalupe: looked after our room and she was awesome and tried to solve all the issues we had in our room! - Luciano, from the Mexican restaurant: Again, great service and great recommendations - Raquel Avalos Arias, in the main buffet: she looked after us almost every day and her service and attitude toward us was always excellent - There was a pregnant lady (I don’t remember her name) at 8.00 am who was the only one that knew better how to prepare a good espresso at the Cupcake Café. Thank you for allowing me to have a least one good espresso every morning. Best restaurants (food and drinks): 1- Mexican 2- El Gaucho and Il Piemonte 3- La bambola (awesome creppes) 4- Chayita (awesome burritos) 4- El Agave Blue Bar (better service than in most other places) 5- Riviera Blue Worst restaurants (food and drinks): 1- Asiana 2- Le Gourmet 3- Fogo de Janeiro 4- Cupcake Café (coffee was terrible, I believe training was not provided to the baristas and they are the ones suffering the consequences with reviews like this one) 5- Iztapalapa (drinks have been in general the worst I ever had in any resort I have ever been to; watered down, with a lot of sugar or a sweet syrup, lemon juice, awful, even beer in many cases was warm. No complaints to the barman as he was almost the only one service 100 of customers a day, so Kuddos to him but Sandos should allocate more resources to this bar and team) Amenities: Spa and Gym I would consider good and within my expectations. Use the Gym early mornings 3 or 4 times and the spa during the pm 2 times. Kids club: It was good and our kids loved the Lite Teens Club. Nightly Entertainment / shows: We loved most of them and I thank you the entertainment team for all the hard work. Beach was nice with a lot of entertainment. The family pool beside the Riviera Blue was super clean but the one located beside the beach, overcrowded, slippery and not that clean. Rooms: We were on the family area and rooms are way overdue a renovation. The other issue and most important one is that their A/C system is gone and have to be replaced. They now this as they put dehumidifiers in many rooms guests complaint about a smelly and damp room. As a matter of fact, they were replacing A/C units in at last three or four rooms in the first floor of our area. My in laws were on the Adult’s only area and their room looked exactly like ours but worst because their A/C seemed to not work at all. Fridges don’t cool down and need to be replaced. Both my in laws and ours had the same issue. Iron didn’t work and needed to be replaced as well. Management: On the positive side, they reacted to any issue we had on the bad side, it seems to be that they react to problems instead of try to avoid them. The staff from the Members club were annoying, they called our room every day at 8.00 am asking how everything was going trying to sell us a membership to the point I needed to asked and the guest services office that we didn’t want to be bother; next morning, they called again… Finally, first and last impressions I believe matter. The best scotch they have available even in the members club bars were Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky or Ballantines (first impression from the bars). We left Sunday evening and they gave us a courtesy room to shower and change in the Adults only area: the room was durty, with only two dry towels and all other towels wet on the batroom floor, really it looked disgusting. (last impression). Would I return? Well, I really feel bad for all the good people that work at the hotel but I believe I would not go back until they upgrade the rooms, and make some changes.

Great beach at lively resort

We stayed at Sandos Playacar for 7 days in January. The highlight of this resort is the fabulous beach. It is beautiful - lovely sand, shallow water and located next to a treed area on one side of the resort which creates a quiet, unpopulated area for walking and exploring. The rooms at this resort are ok, the beds are reasonably comfortable and the rooms were kept clean. We were told we would be on the 2nd floor, which was the case from the back but the room was a walk-out, so really on t [... read more]he first floor. We asked for a change as we always find first floor rooms noisier but the hotel was not able to accommodate us. It was noisy some nights with rowdy party-goers heading back to their rooms, although it didn't last too long as they eventually moved on. The pool was often crowded and didn't seem to be large enough for the size of the resort. My husband did a scuba lesson which started in the pool and after going underwater with a mask on he refused to go back in the pool again - said it was so dirty and that they needed a filtration system. Likely has something to do with the load on the pool being more than it could handle. There is a lot of activity going on during the day and the activity coordinators did a good job of getting people up and involved in whatever games or dance thing they were doing. It is a very fun and lively atmosphere and the music was always going. We did take advantage of the water sports - kayaks, snorkle gear, stand up paddle boards and simple sail boats. The guys at the water sports shack were great. I think some of the restaurants were being renovated when we were there and some of the locations were being switched around. The French and Mexican a la carte restaurants were our favourite. The Italian was pretty good but the Asian was only ok. We checked out the Brazilian and Steak house which seemed to be sharing a location that looked like a cafeteria with no view or ambience. We did not eat there. The buffet restaurant had been recently reopened after being renovated and offered a lot of options and the food was generally quite good although there was a tendancy to overcook the chicken and pork. Go for the seafood - that was always well done. Overall, we had a good time and it is a good choice of resort in this area with a reasonable price point.

Wonderful vacation!!!

Resort was great a bit big but shuttle service available distance from farthest room to beach is approximately.8 Km. Great for working off excess calories there is a donkey and goat enclosure as well as cat cafe along the way. All amenities are in between. Al la cartes were delicious and beach was an absolute 10. Could walk or bike to town very safe tourists everywhere it's about 2.5 km. Great shopping and local fare. Would definitely return to this resort again was there 10 years ago but won't  [... read more]wait that long again. Happy holidays!

Pretty good

The Hotel was huge. Loved the coffee and cupcake shops, and the burrito restaurant. The 3 sit down restaurants wernt great but wernt bad either. No real entertainment during the day which was disappointing.

Ok resort

We stayed for 1 week. We ended up very ill on the 3rd day of our stay and still continue to be sick 2 days after our return. Not sure if it was the resorts fault or not. Other than that, the resort was ok. The restaurants were not fantastic but they were not terrible either. The Italian was our favourite and El Goucho was probably our least favourite. The preferred club buffet was the best place for breakfast. We ate at the regular buffet the first morning and never returned. It was super busy,  [... read more]hot, and the food wasn't refreshed often as most dishes were empty. The preferred one was always fresh and tasted good. The wait staff around the preferred club pool were fantastic! David was amazing. He always brought us a drink as soon as he saw us. He always had a smile on his face and was joking around. It never felt as though he was brushing you off to run and do his job. It was great for the extra personal touch. The rooms were basic rooms. We stayed preferred adult only section. We had our room cleaned every day and every day except the last, where someone else did it, it was amazing. She did a wonderful job. We even ended up with a couple of towel art on the bed which were great. The ice machine was broke so we had to call front desk for some and they delivered quickly. We called room service with no luck but when we called guest services we got what we wanted right away. Just a side note for anyone calling, call 36 not 0. The grounds were always clean and tidy. There are a bunch of cats here. If you don't like cats, stay away! There was something for everyone though. Piles of stuff to do and if you were bored, it was your own fault. I would not return, but I would not return to any resort I've been to because the possibilities are endless and why go to the same old one when you can explore new places each time. Just my opinion. I would recommend the preferred club adult only if you can. The beach section is nicer and the buffet is a must. The time share garbage is terrible!!!

Best place on earth

This was our second time at sands plya car and like the first time there IT WAS GREAT!!!!!, the staff was always there to help with anything we needed, the grounds were well landscaped, food and drinks were great and the beach and water was second to none, I would recommend this resort to anyone, I will be there again before to long, it really is the best place on earth

Great Resort!

Wonderful hotel, friendly staff. Adult section is far from the beach and activities. A lot of the evening entertainment is geared to Children, I would have liked to see more entertainment for adults. These are the only drawbacks of this resort. If you are travelling with children there is a lot to do. All restaurants do not require reservations and are casual dresss, eliminating long lines. We were able to try all the restaurants, without any long waits. Amazing French Restaurant serving Filet M [... read more]ignon Steaks.

Perfect Vacation

From the helpful staff, the excellent meals, and of course the superb beach we could not of ask for better. We particularly enjoyed being able to walk to Playa DelCarmen 5th avenue shopping/dinning by either the beach or via the streets all within a limited access community of Playacar.

Great trip to Sandos!

We have been to at 6 or 7 all inclusives in the Mayan Riveria. Sandos certainly ranks in the top 2! We stayed in the adults only section. The room was beautiful! Mattress was quite firm. No problem at the beginning, but towards the end of our trip our backs were a little stiff. A bit of a walk to the beach, but lets be honest, we could use the exercise after all the food and drink! Grounds are absolutely amazing. The staff are friendly and accommodating. Food was very good. Only complaint was th [... read more]at some items at buffet breakfast (scrambled eggs) were cold. We found the resort to be a very good value. We do not normally return to the same resort, however, if the price was right we would certainly come back with our kids.

Wonderful Time had by All

Sandos Playacar is a wonderful resort, all staff very professional and respect full. A no pressure shopping resort, food was excellent never had a bad meals had different cuisine each night. I attended a destination wedding that was fabulous. Definety would recommend this resort for total relaxation.

Beatuful place

Grounds very well kept, coos is good, people are always smiling. If the weather is good the beach is beautiful. After it rained not so much. But still nice and warm. The only thing I would work on is the catamaran rentals. They always have an excuse not to give them out. You only pay $10 and you can use them as often as you want but they have a very limited time for you to use them and always a differente reason for not giving them out. The Brazilian restaurant is good but takes forever between  [... read more]each serve. The first one comes fast and afterthe side dishes get cold while waiting for the next meat cut. In general we would return to this resort. It is very well kept and it's close to Playa del Carmen.

Almost 5 star

This resort is a few steps away from being a 5 star. We (gf and I) upgraded to the Adults only select club. I highly suggest this. My whole review is based on the fact that I upgraded to the Select Club Adults only section. If you stay select club adult only, you are in a different section in the back with a private pool just for adults, along with a nice swim up bar. The rooms are also renovated and are spacious, well above average. The walk to the beach is a good 10 minutes. We enjoyed this wa [... read more]lk because we got so see the whole resort and burnt off some extra calories haha.. As a select club member you also have a separate breakfast buffet close to your section and a separate select club french restaurant which are both excellent. Food on the resort in general is terrific. We didn't even get to try every restaurant because of all the choices. Alcohol! Dos equis and Sol are your 2 beer choices. They did have Crown Royal, Passport Scotch, Jim Bean, Patron along with several other tequillas, absolute,schmirnoff, and a number of other liqours available. Bartenders were always very friendly! Especially at the select club swim up bar. Unfortunately I cant remember any names. They went above and beyond. There was always staff cleaning up somewhere at all times. This resort is great for anyone at any age. Always something to do! Only complaints I have are seaweed on the beach, which they have no control over, and we didnt receive any bottles of tequilla,vodka and rum in our room like others seem to have. They did however, daily, refill our fridge with beer and pop. Also we couldnt find the big pot of seafood "stew" that was in many of the pictures. These complaints are all minor. We would go back for sure.

Great t resort!

Great resort overall! Entertainement amazing, something for everybody, staff amazing, grounds kept clean. Adult beach area great, always found a chair to relax.Beach area amazing but lofs of seaweed, maybe due to last hurricane. Food is o.k. the usual resort food. This resort is big, but is a lot of fun a and not a boring minute. We stayed in a beachfront room. The view was beautiful, the rooms are very old and need to be renovated like right away, as they are a big dissapointment when you first [... read more] walk in. For all of you that are wondering, yes, the TV has an UBS port and that was great. We just used a memory stick to watch movies from home. We stayed from April 6-16 and had a great time!

Excellent

The resort is ideal. Most of the à la carte restaurants are very good. We had excellent service at the beach from our waitress Lucia. The drawback is that it does have enough shuttles from one of the resort to the beach. There should at least two at all times.

Beautiful spot!

The hotel property was beautiful! We stayed in the adult only section (which I recommend) as you still have access to the entire resort but access to a different breakfast buffet (better). My main complaint would be that the staff did not enforce the no-smoking rule except for designated areas. There were signs posted everywhere but of course some people still decided to smoke right in the pool which is disgusting. Food was great, especially the French and Brazilian.