Let me start by saying, I am no snob and no stranger to all inclusive, package deals. This is not my first rodeo. We knew what we may be facing at a hotel zone all inclusive. My rating is also not a reflection on all employees, as some servers and staff were friendly and warm, nor is it a reflection on Mexico or Cancun, as we have been many times and will be back. That said, is a smile so hard to come by? The restaurants on premise seem to be the saddest places on earth! I felt compelled to ask if they needed anything instead of them asking if I needed anything. And how many times do I need to remind them I have no allergies. Seems like they could associate my room number to no allergies, but whatever. We booked specifically for adults only too. There were kinder a plenty. What? Hello??? Are these people liars, illiterate or just plain dumb? Get your stroller out of my way a hole. I came to escape the screaming and whining... The cabanas were nice, and first come first serve so go to the towel desk early and get some pillows and towels to mark your spot. Don't be a jerk and mark it at 7 am only to show at noon though. Don't be that person. The food - who is reviewing this food as amazing?! This is Mexico! Certainly the guac should be delish, right? WRONG! YICKY YUCKY GROSS! The breakfast was ok. Can't destroy an omelette. I find is hard to believe that so many European travelers marvel in this food. What gives? Sweaty cheese and questionable meat is a no go for me. I thought maybe the pizza would be a good combo for poolside...guess again. What the heck kind of pepperoni is supplied here? I know they must be frugal but c'mon man. Find something better for the love of pete! Get off the resort and find some good food in Cancun. It exists, be it known! The bed - I needed a spa package to undo the damage that was done on this bed of concrete. I did not know that this firm of a bed existed. It does and it lives at Sandos Luxury resort. The room was nice and the view was great...once we got to the room we booked. It seems they overbook and switch people around as needed. As I said before, we knew what we were signing up for. If you book here, go in with an open mind and low expectations. Tip your servers, tip your bell man, tip your housekeepers. They are hard workers for little reward. read more

The restaurant food is mediocre with the exception of a quite nice breakfast bar, that said the beaches are the best I've experienced and the staff are great and always checking on you to see if you want a fresh drink (alcoholic or otherwise). The room service/concierge is a bit slow and occasionally just leaves the phone ringing forever, but they do deliver when you get through and room service food's not bad. The pool is quite nice, though the hot tub was closed while we were there which was a letdown. One thing that did put a dent in our experience was that when we tried to move a few large bags to our next location we were physically stopped (think high school football) by five guys until a manager had confirmed we were allowed to leave. To be fair, they thought we were basically trying to walk out on a bill and I understand why the confusion happened, it still was a pretty lame way to end our stay and added to the pangs of buyer's remorse at spending $450/night for my wife and I. IMO that price in Mexico should mean everything is 100% and it's not quite there. read more

Room is as fine. Took forever for hot water to come out. Pool gets full shade from 3 pm due to hotel next door. Poolside and beach side Service was very infrequent. Short staffed for luxury experience. Dinner was not so great. Breakfast and lunch buffet was good. read more

DON'T BOOK UNTIL YOU READ THIS! I just returned from 5 nights/6 days at this resort in the hotel zone. 1. Food - 0 stars The food at every restaurant was sub-standard. On top of that, they were serving partially cooked scallops and shrimp at Seasons, Osso Bucco and Chicken Piccata was not cooked at the Italian restaurant, and do not eat the salmon...it is deteriorating and you will get sick. After comparing notes with a dozen other guests, we all concurred that the food was horrible!!! My friend I was traveling with threw up a few times over a course of a few days (as she didn't listen to my advice!) The food appears to look okay, but if it smells fishy or tastes fishy (despite its appearance), DO NOT EAT IT! 2. Hotel Room - 4 stars There is travertine everywhere..bathroom was beautiful..balcony was nice with a partial ocean view. 3. Beach - 1 star It is such a teaser to see the pictures of gorgeous beautiful, Caribbean blue, clear and very clean water. You may think you can swim in it, but the reality is that there are powerful waves every 5 seconds which can pummel you, so you have to watch for them. This reminds me of the waves on O'ahu's North Shore (Hawaii) only the sand is much softer and there are no rocks. There is no way to swim in this water!!! Rather, you'll have to spend $120 to take a tour to Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres to swim and you will have about 2.5 hours of total swimming time across 3 different swimming opportunities. 4. Management - 0 stars The hotel management (Enrique) has zero customer service skills and attempted to blame me and my friend for the bad food we and other guests received. He also attempted to claim that we did not like Hispanic people. He had no idea I am part-Hispanic and have tons of Hispanic friends. While one manager (Edgar) was awesome, he was only on duty in the evening. If you just want a hotel room, this is okay...but if you want gourmet food, you get what you paid for. The following hotels are where I should have booked: Secrets The Vine (next to Sandos), Hard Rock (next to Secrets The Vine), Le Blanc, Aqua, Marriott, etc. are all better choices! read more

My boyfriend and I stayed here 3 days and 2 nights in June and loved it. I actually wanted to extend our stay there but unfortunately I didn't have enough vacation time. The restaurants were good we especially liked the Japanese restaurant which served up very good Sushi. The resort is big but not huge, so you can comfortably walk around it without needing a buggy. We spent most of our time on the beach which is maybe one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen. We always planned to go out on the town in the evening but just ended up staying by the pool and getting drunk. All in all it was a wonderful experience. read more

Food poisoning, terrible service. This hotel is absolutely horrible and I would never recommend staying here

Angel was our bartender for the majority of our stay and he is the only reason we made it through. His kindness and positivity was greatly appreciated. Sadly my wife and I both fell ill with a stomach issue following the room service food we ate. It was very difficult to enjoy any part when we were badgered by salesman on the beach trying to sell us cigars or shells, we did not care for that and they were incessant to bothering everyone. When we got home to Michigan, my wife sadly had to be hospitalized due to a bacterial infection in her digestive tract and the medical bills are still being paid today. We spent our honeymoon trying to enjoy our time together but sadly that did not happen, we requested any kind of honeymoon celebration such as towels or flowers in our room but we did not get that. Our air conditioner leaked onto the floor which we stacked towels to ensure their property was not damaged. Also our bathtub would only run cold water and when trying to turn it towards the hot water it would not increase in flow, only a small spot of warm water would come out. We were very hopeful that our honeymoon getaway would be one to remember in a positive way but sadly this did not happen. Again I will say that Angel was the shining beacon that made us feel safe and we hope he is doing well. read more

I can not say enough great things about this resort!! From the amazing pools, ocean, cabanas, and the super friendly staff. I loved every minute of this vacation!!! I just loved the daily cooking classes on the beach. Buffet is hit or miss, but you have a nice selection and variety, and something to satisfy everyone in your family. The other restaurants are pretty good as well! Tip- order a ton of entrees and appetizers, as the portions are really small . The concierge does try to lure you into doing a 90 minute time-share sales pitch, but honestly everyone in the staff is so friendly and welcoming, not overly pushy at all. I'm looking forward to saying at Sandos Cancun again and I will definitely be recommending this resort to all of my friends and family! read more

With the slow service, rude staff, no hot water, and loud music at late evening times. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone unless they enjoy burning money. This is my second time here in three years and the quality has dropped significantly. It will be the second and the last. read more

I really liked it and would go back in a heartbeat! Granted the frozen drinks were watered down which was disappointing but for the ambiance and great service and good food I'll consider it a trade off!! read more

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Pros: The lobby is pretty and inviting. The concierge is eager to please, though a tad aggressive in attempts to get guests to book excursions, spa appointments, etc. The room was pristine, spacious, and comfortable. The mini-fridge was consistently stocked with water, sodas, juice, and a couple beers. The view is spectacular, and the pool and the beach are beautiful. The service is decent - not bad, not great. The staff is very hard working - though sometimes they seemed overwhelmed and unable to provide timely service, the workers were always hustling. Cons: The food was just ok. The buffet reminded me of college cafeteria food. Though choices were plentiful, the quality was not great. The beachside restaurant, St Trop, would be much better if it had chips and salsa, and fresh guacamole. Instead, it offered nachos, which were smothered in 7-11 style cheese sauce, a bit of pico, and a sorry excuse for guacamole that resembled refrigerated Wholly Guacamole. St Trop becomes an Italian restaurant at night, and the food was ok. We didn't try the other restaurants on the resort, instead opting to venture out for better dining. The drinks were watered down and there was no top shelf liquor. The bar offered something akin to the Aristocrat of tequila. We actually bought a bottle of Don Julio Reposado at a local store and used that to top off drinks. The gym has decent equipment, but no AC and smelled pretty foul. It was like working out in a sauna. Even adding fans to the gym, especially by cardio equipment, would be a major improvement. The resort needs a better system for cabana reservations. As early as 6 AM, people would put towels on all the beach seating and prime pool seating to save them, yet they would be empty for HOURS. It was frustrating to see all this empty seating that was apparently being "saved" by others for later. There are a few hours in the early evening when the sun is obscured by nearby buildings so the beach and pool are completely shaded. This didn't bother me so much as By that time, I was ready for a break from the sun, but those who like to sunbathe all day long won't like that. The nightlife was pretty tame - dance floor often empty, and I felt bad for the DJ. Overall, we had a nice time. It wasn't a terrible experience. However, in terms of all-inclusive resorts, there are probably better places in a similar price range. However, if you're interested in a clean, family-friendly destination, and don't care so much about good and drink quality, this is a viable option. read more

This is the worst luxury hotel I have ever stayed in. First night there was absolutely no water. I was unable to shower after a long flight. The next two nights there was no hot water. Noise started early in the morning. They are under construction and there is dust and actual construction workers working in the hallway outside my room!really bad food bad service, management really didn't care or acknowledge our concerns. I was there for a wedding and they made a lot of money off our party and they did not care to listen to our concerns read more

Sandos Cancun - This is my view outside my hotel room. - Hotels Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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The food & service is not good. The resort is beautiful & well maintained with a nice beach. However if you want to sleep in this is not the place.. every day loud pounding construction on floors above us all day long starting @6:30am. Tried complaining .. did no good. Lunch takes at least 1 to 1.5 hours to receive so order early. Japanese restaurant was terrible. We ate out the last couple days. Will never stay there again. read more

First time to Cancun and was in love with the resort. The pools and location were beautiful. All staff was VERY attentive and helpful with any concerns i had. Food was good. Seasons is the best for dinner, breakfast bar was amazing, the rest is kinda just okay. Lots of things to do in the resort yoga, games by the pool, gym, tennis, there are always workers at the front with information on excursions and places to visit outside the resort as well. Drinks were mixed well and rooms were very clean. read more

Great place! Had an amazing experience at this resort. The buffet is awesome; the ladies that welcome you and take you to your table are great. There is a waiter there, who gave us great service and he was always happy and energetic; his name is Silveriano. We went to the buffet every morning for breakfast. If you visit this resort, Seasons is a must. Ask to be served by Daniel Zavala. He's the best waiter in the whole resort. I can assure you that he will give you the best service; he's really awesome. Daniel has been the only person that I've asked for recommendations on favorite plates and that I have actually loved the plates he recommended so trust him; if in doubt about what to order, he's the guy to go to. You must also try the coffee and see how he prepares it. He's the best and the food is DELICIOUS! We liked his service so much that we asked him when was his day off so we could try another restaurant on his day off. The spa is nice. I took the aroma therapy with Arely and Manuela. Arely was very sweet and made me feel so relaxed. I went through each step at my own pace, she was so nice that I regretted not being able to say bye to her and Manuela. Manuela great! She took the time to answer all the questions I had and was super helpful. They both treated me so well. I loved Marta, the lady who gave us the welcome. She gave us useful information and was always with a smile on her face. There is a lady at the reception desk; light skin and light color of hair.... Really didn't like her. I went to asked her for something and I spoke Spanish to her, her attitude was a little harsh and her answer was "no", then I waited about two hours and I went back and asked the same question, this time, I spoke English, and I notice that her attitude changed and her answer did, as well. Here I was thinking, I am in Mexico, I am going to speak my first language and then I find out that if you speak English, they treat you better?!?!?? :-/ Really didn't like her. But, I can't give this place a bad review, only because of that one person who's not in tune with all the other employees; that wouldn't be fair for them. read more

Somebody save me! I'm having Cancun withdrawals. Okay, so where should I begin? I recently came back from Cancun and I had such a wonderful, spectacular experience! This was my first time in Cancun and the all-inclusive deal off of Expedia was a great deal. I paid about 1k for airfare, hotel for 4 nights/5 days, foods, and drinks. For what I got, it was totally worth it! When checking in we encountered a small mishap that would've gotten this place a 4 stars but I took into consideration the impeccable service we received during our stay that it's bumped up to 5 stars. First off, we requested a certain size bed and paid extra for a deluxe room w/ a balcony. Upon arrival, we were told we only couldn't be given the beds we requested. Other people seems to be experiencing the same problem. Fine, no big deal. But what ticked me off is we paid extra to have a balcony which means we want a nice view! They told us we wouldn't be getting a view of the waters. Uh, I don't think so. After making a complaint to the manager, we were accommodated. To be fair, they did offer to switch us to a room with the beds we wanted the next day but it was too much of a hassle to pack up everything, have them hold our luggage at 11am, and come back to the front desk at 4pm to pick up our key so we kept our room. FOOD: There are 4 restaurants at this resort. Zango is the buffet that's open for lunch and dinner. On the first night there, our dinner was horrible. But for the next few days the selections were better, though there's not many options at the buffet and I quickly ran out of things to eat! The second restaurant is the Japaense teppan grill one (I forgot the name) which is only offered during dinner and you must RSVP. St. Trop is the little snack bar outside by the pool area that's open until 6pm. Season, which happens to be my favorite, is the fine dining restaurant. Great selection of foods, but portions are tiny! FACILITY: Very clean facility with some nice upgrades. It is also central and close to everything including 2 shopping centers, several restaurants, and party area. Keep in mind, Sandos is a smaller(only 8 floors) resort which consists of mostly families and couples. It's made for relaxing and the nightlife is nonexistent though they do have live music every night for you. It's just not a club-like scene. If you want to party it up and get drunk every night, you're going to have to look elsewhere. If you're looking for a peaceful place to unwind, you've come to the right spot. By 3pm everyday, Sandos' 3 pools become overshadow by Secrets Hotel next door. We had no problem grabbing beach chairs throughout the day and didn't had to wake up early to reserve. SERVICE: Trust me when I say that I take customer service quite seriously and this resorts gives you some of the best service I've ever received! Eric at the front desk made our stay memorable and was so accommodating! He was our go-to man in the event that we needed anything. On our last night, Rene from the front desk recommended La Habichula to us for a great dining experience and we were quite thankful! Manuel, the chef from the Japanese teppan grill, put on a great show for us during dinner and Moises was just as entertaining. Jose, from Zango, concocted a delicious ice coffee for us mixed with a hint of alcohol and chocolate. Armando, also from Zango, went out of his way to get my friend freshly squeezed orange juice even when he didn't had to. Limbergh, who works outside by the pool and St. Trop, made me his secret drink that I couldn't get enough of the rest of the weekend and Christian, who also works outside, went above and beyond to make sure we are pleased every time we were on the beach. Thank you guys! Oh, and word of advice, be sure to tip them. It will make a difference and they will be sure to go out of their way for you the rest of the time you're there. Last but not least, I wanted to say how easy and convenient everything was. When we wanted to book our excursions, we talked to the guy right there in our hotel who gave us recommendations on which tour is most popular. When we wanted to go parasailing, we just walk to the guys outside at the towel stands to book. When we wanted to hit Coco Bongo club, front desk arranged a guy to come pick us up and drop us there. Everything is there for you at the tips of your fingers. I had a wonderful experience and would definitely come back. read more

Thieves!!! I had money stolen right out of my wallet. It was hidden in a drawer in my room, and whoever (assuming the cleaners) went to the lengths of rummaging through my drawer and stealing my cash. I know this for a FACT, because I had cash in my wallet.... Came back to absolutely none. Do not trust the staff. I am furious!!!!! My aunt also lost her DIAMOND RING! she knew she left it in her room somewhere (the safe was broken... Of course) and the next day completely gone. Horrible. Do not stay here if you value any of your belongings. read more

I recently stayed at Sandos Cancun for 5 days/4 nights. We booked four rooms and brought our friends. Our experience, despite what we read and heard about the hotel, was awful. I quickly wanted to express my dissatisfaction so that you can be aware of the major issues we had to deal with. We were never accommodated, given any discount or special offers in return for all the miserable experience we had. 1. The Power was out for 12 hours and we were never given any updates by management. Every time we asked for an update we were told (with attitude from Ricardo) that it would be 1 more hour..... He was the beginning of our issues. When we spent more than $6,000 on a trip the least we could expect to get is good customer service from a Manager. 2. Ricardo is a horrible manager and has by far the worst attitude any one in customer service can have. I know that many people would agree that his negative attitude, and inability to communicate or accommodate customers is disappointing and disheartening. 3. The hall and rooms were all hot and humid all night making it an uncomfortable experience, which I can understand is out of your control.... But to make matters so much worse- I cant believe that the following morning our hall was being painted. There is no reason that a already miserable night should be extended throughout the day. We could not sleep all night due to the heat, and then to finally get power and not be able to sleep because of painters is ridiculous. The smell filled the entire floor with a VERY strong, toxic smell of paint.... We woke up to the strong scent of painters in the hallways (rooms 626-630). The whole experience was horrible.... Horrible customer service. If you need to paint the hallways with this very toxic smelling paint you should not schedule customers to sleep in those rooms. We were all exposed to this, and can't imagine that this would happen anywhere else. Also- my recommendation is to fire Ricardo. There were many nights where we did have to get in an argument with him in order to get any sort of assistance.... The only time that he was willing to help was when we paid him directly, $20 to get 2 hamburgers rushed to our room.... Again, funny how a manager could be so willing to work under bribery but not for the joy of having returning customers.... My two positive comments are that Vivero and Uziel were wonderful and very helpful waiters. We were very grateful for their service. read more

My fiancee and I wound up booking a week stay at Sandos after doing some extensive research beforehand. We were looking for something that was a little bit smaller and intimate. Sandos seemed to meet what we were looking for and we were able to get a great price through Expedia. Check in: We were greeted with glasses of champagne and a rose for my fiancee. The front desk agent was very friendly. He did have a hard time finding our reservation. He checked under my name and my fiancee's but finally found it. He gave us our room number, 818, we got on the elevator and saw that the elevator didn't have a button for an 8th floor. We went up to the 7th to see if maybe he made a mistake. We tried a few doors with our key just to make sure. Nothing worked so we went back to the front and he told us that we needed to hit the PH button since we were actually on the penthouse floor. We went to the floor and searched and searched for room 818. There wasn't any room labeled as 818. I tried 808 and the key didn't work. I found a staff member who showed us where to go. We were at the end of the hall through a door. The room didn't have a room number on it. That was a little bit weird. Room: Wow! What a great room. We had no idea that we would be getting such a great room. The room was very spacious and modern looking. The balcony was very large and provided us an amazing view of the water and beach. Throughout the stay we didn't really have many complaints about the room. At one point there was no water but that lasted for only 5 minutes and it was OK after that. The housekeeping was almost perfect. One of the days that we came back to the room we found that the room hadn't been touched by housekeeping. We even had the tag on the door handle to let them know that we needed it cleaned. Other than that little hiccup there weren't any issues. Like I mentioned earlier, our room didn't have an actual number outside of it. We noticed that the one directly across from us didn't have one either. How does that happen? It proved to be slightly annoying since when we went to any of the restaurants they asked us for our room number and couldn't find it on the guest log sheets since there isn't a room 818 listed. Pools: The reviews were accurate about the pools. One out of three are heated and the top two lose sun light early in the afternoon because of the obnoxious size of the Secrets hotel next door. I only went into either of the cold pools once during the trip. I don't think many people could stay in those waters for very long when the sun started to disappear behind the Secrets hotel. There is a major problem with the main pool. There is a cover over the drain and it proved to have some very sharp edges on it. The organized water volleyball games are played in the area of the drain cover and it was a killer. A friend of mine sliced open one of his toes during one of the games and he required medical attention poolside. A few days later the exact same thing happened to me. I couldn't believe that it happened since I tried my hardest to stay away from this drain cover. When it happened I had no idea. I went all of the way up to my room dripping blood everywhere. I looked down at my feet when I was in the room and found pools of blood all over the place. I went back down to the pool area and found that people were looking for the person who was bleeding. The medical staff sat me down and wrapped up my toe. I found it unconscionable that a resort would allow something like this to exist in their pool. I appreciated the help from the lifeguard but it just shouldn't have happened. Two people in three days? I'm sure that we weren't the only people to have this happen to them. I was told that the next day that someone saw a worker in scuba gear down in that area working. I felt around there after I heard that and found that the sharp corners still existed. There is no swim up bar at this resort. This was a disappointment but I was aware of it before we came. I like to socialize with other guests on trips like these and generally a swim up bar would be a great place to get to know people. They have a really out of place large chess set taking up room in the middle pool. They should think about converting that area to a swim up bar. The poolside cabanas were great. I woke up every day around 7AM to go down and reserve our spot. Anything after 7:45AM means that you won't be able to secure a prized poolside cabana. Pool service: Wendy was by far the best server at the pool area. She blew everyone else out of the water. I wish we would've had her everyday that we were there. She was constantly coming around to see how we were doing and to get us more drinks. A+ service from her. Other than her the service was good enough. Gabrielle at the St. Trop bar was very friendly every day that she worked. I would recommend not to order drinks from Daniel if he comes to you read more

My wife and I, along with another couple stayed here March 3-7, 2016. I have a little bit of mixed emotions about this resort. I'll write review and you can weigh the Pro's and the Con's. Room We stayed in a Sandos Suite. There is a bedroom (King size bed, with closet space and lots of drawers for clothes), living room (two full couches, they say you can sleep 3 adults and a child but neither couch is a foldaway and the couches are the same size so you could probably get 4 adults in this room), 1 half bath, and 1 full bath (includes a shower and a tub). There is also a bar area with a small dorm size fridge and a microwave, cabinets, and sink. There was also a balcony that had a partial view of the ocean and the lagoon) The Bed was comfortable, but a little hard for my liking. The air conditioning was cold. There were thermostats for the bedroom and the living room. Everything was clean and the maid service was excellent. They even came around at night and asked if you needed towels, gave you the activity sheet for the next day which included the forecast. I do wish there were some bar stools at the bar area, it would have made drinking in the room a little more pleasurable. Lobby Spacious and clean, check in was very easy and the staff friendly. Other reviews have talked about a high pressure attempt to get guests to attend a sales pitch for their time share deal. We did not experience that at all, when asked and we said we weren't interested, they did not ask again. Bars Bar One is the bar right off the lobby and at night they had some house music or a band playing. The band we heard was actually very good, the guitar player was awesome and the girl who sang in the band did a very nice Norah Jones song. They covered a wide range of music and I was actually disappointed when they packed up to leave and the DJ started up. It took a little while for the bartender to figure out how to make my Captain Morgan and Pineapple Juice. Not sure what the problem was, but it definitely wasn't Captain Morgan in the glass the first 2 times. 3rd time was the charm and I got what I wanted. Restaurants The food was good at the Gaijin, the Japanese Restaurant. The chef put on a nice show for us, made us laugh and the food he prepared was quite good. The Italian Restaurant is Seasons and it was good, although the menu is small. It does take a while to get your food, I know that is probably part of the atmosphere, but I like to do less dining and more playing. But, if that's your thing, you'll like it here. Zango served a breakfast buffet every morning which is quite nice, if you can't find something to eat here, then you aren't trying very hard. They will make you fresh waffles and crepes to order. St. Trop is the place we ate first. They serve bar food and a few extras. I think three of us had pizza and the fourth had spaghetti. My pizza was half Mexican and half Hawaiian. It was awesome. My wife said her pizza was just ok. The food was good, not great though. I think the variety is what it is, not enough selection. Beach The beach is really nice. There is plenty of room, and you don't feel like you are on top of each other. Plenty of lounge chairs to lay out on, and some beds under shade, along with hammocks. The hammocks were not made for a full size adult, as I couldn't comfortably stretch out in one. There were some really nice waves coming in for the most part since it was a little windy. The water is cool, but you get used to it quickly. Beach Bar and Beach service Pablo worked at one of the bars and made everything we ordered to perfection. He was truly a professional. There is a bathroom near him, so stopping and ordering a drink while you used the facilities was actually nice. The beach service was ok, sometimes we were asked if we needed anything, sometimes we had to flag someone down. You can get food brought out to you which is nice. After being told there wasn't a fruit plate on the menu, one of our servers Jose went into the restaurant inside and got it for me. Nice touch really. The beach loses sunlight due to Secrets Resort next door at about 5 - 5:15 in the evening during March. There are two very small spot where the sun gets through and you see people start to gravitate to those areas. Pools The top 2 pools are cold! Really cold! The pool closest to the beach feels heated. Somewhere in between would have been nice. Apparently Secrets Resort next door was able to build their resort more than 7 stories high, which used to be the limit and it shades the top 2 pools for a good part of the day. One reason I will never stay at Secrets! We enjoyed our stay at Sandos. Everyone was super friendly, and would go out of there way t try and accommodate you. There are even times the spa sends out people with special prices on their services. I was offered a massage for $70, even though the price list said $100+. If I could get a good deal, I would stay here again read more

There are so many options when you are looking to book a resort in Cancun. We went for my boyfriends 30th and wanted something really nice- entertained some of the bigger ones like Secrets and Melody Maker which ran into the low 300's-high 300's but decided to go with Sandos thanks to the positive reviews and pictures. I can not tell you how glad I was that we decided to go with this hotel. We paid around $240 a night but the service that we received made us feel like we had paid $500. The resort was well maintained and there were updates occurring every day- updating beach cabana's, painting new fresh white coat on railings etc. There was more than enough staff to make sure that everyone was attended to- especially in the Buffett room. There was one or two waiters providing service pool side, they made their rounds but if you were impatient and needed something right away you could go and order it yourself at the bar by the pool which was nice. The decorations and set up of the pool/cabana's was so beautiful. Really felt like a 5 star resort. When you check into the resort someone immediately greets you and offers you a drink. We got in quite early so we had to wait until 3:00pm to check into our room but we didn't even mind- there were many things to do! We ended up laying on one of the pool side cabana's (there were more than enough for everyone the entire time), we ended up getting lunch at the Buffett. Honestly the best buffet I have ever had in my life. I was shocked. There was always abundant options- bread station, salad station, hot mains- pasta, seafood, beef, chicken, etc. and a nice spread of desserts. Every night they had some event going on, we attended the masquerade ball which provided one of the best four course dinners i've ever had. There was live entertainment and afterwards a party next door with open bar and a light show. There was live music in the bar near the reception. The room service was prompt and our made even put rose petals on our bed one night. We got a couple massage- It was really wonderful. 80 minutes for two people WITH hot stone massage therapy and hydrotherapy for $212. You couldn't beat it. All in all absolutely everyone was so kind at the resort. The activity rep, Alex, engaged us one day while we were lounging by the pool- I joined in on water aerobics due to his encouragement (and had a great time by the way), and he chatted with us/checked in every single time he saw us in the resort just after that! The resort staff felt like a family, and we honestly felt like celebrities the entire time. Other big resort reviews complained that they had to wait in lines for things- you will never run into this issue with Sandos. I can't recommend staying at this resort enough. We will definitely be coming back. read more

Got the ocean front 2 bedroom condo. It was nice until the air conditioner started to leak. The complex is quite small compared to neighboring hotels. No wifi in a lot of public area. No/weak air conditioning bin most public areas Food is decent read more

My Fiancée and I had the best time at Sandos! The team was incredibly kind and helpful. Especially Kitzia and Silvia they both made our stay comfortable and a special one to remember. They even remembered my fiancée birthday and sent up a bottle of champagne and flowers soo sweet!!! Food was good the pools were just what we needed to cool off an relax. We are totally going back!!!! Beach was paradise I miss Sandos and I want to go back!!! read more

We stayed at Sandos for a wedding! The staff was very nice and the resort was extremely clean! They would clean our rooms and restock all the booze, drinks and snacks on a daily basis. The food was just okay. The best food was probably at Gaijjin (the Japanese hibachi grill). They don't do all the normal tricks (onion volcano, shrimp toss, etc) you see so don't go expecting a full fledged hibachi experience. The worst restaurant is probably seasons. Don't waste your time there. The service is insanely slow and the food is not good at all. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT. Stay here if you plan on staying SOBER. The drinks are all watered down. I literally watched them make my frozen drinks and seriously they put one drop of liquor in it. I had probably at least 8-10 drinks a day and I haven't been buzzed in 5 days. Don't come here if you wanna party and get drunk. I finally had to resort to getting a drink then specifically forcing them to give me a shot of straight absolut and watching them pour it in order to get a "normal" drink. Overall, the staff was super nice! The resort was super clean which I loved! The food was decent but you can't expect great food at an all inclusive really. And the alcohol was terrible. Would not return just because of the alcohol stinginess I experience because I would only ever come to Cancun to drink and party so this place is not the atmosphere for here whatsoever. read more

I was at Sandos for a destination wedding and showed up to check in at about 3:15 the night of the rehearsal dinner. The check-in process was somewhat long but we were a party of 8 with three separate reservations so I wasn't put off by it. As we were checking in, I was told the room I would be sharing with my boyfriend was still being cleaned but would be ready for us shortly. At 4:00 we were able to head up to our room only to find that our bathroom ceiling was leaking directly in front of the door and had left a pretty good-sized puddle for us to slip on. I would have assumed if someone was just in there cleaning they would have noticed the leak and the puddle but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went back downstairs to let the front desk know of the issue. A repair crew was sent up and we were told that the issue would be fixed within 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the fix took almost an hour and to our dismay we found that there was still debris on the floor, a puddle in hallway where they had to remove the trapdoor to access the pipes and the floors in the living area of the space were still dirty with hair balls and some sort of spill that left a stained mess on the floor. There was no time to call someone up to handle these issues so we threw a towel down on the puddle and rushed to get ready for the rehearsal dinner at 6:00. The majority of the next day (the day of the wedding) was spent relaxing on the beach. I have to say the beach was absolutely stunning and the service to us down on the beach was flawless. One of the servers came by to check on us frequently to freshen up our drinks and to make sure we had everything we needed. The pizza from the outdoor bar was also delicious. Honestly no complaints about the amenities as far as the beach and lagoon areas go (except for the shadow cast by the resort next door in the early afternoon but that's not Sandos' fault). When it was time to head up to get ready for the wedding, I noticed my jewelry was not on the desk where I left it. Security had actually come to my room and locked up my things as a safety precaution which I appreciated! They had left a sign in my door asking me to contact concierge about something in my room but because of the language barrier when I had called downstairs originally, I didn't realize it had anything to do with my jewelry until a good 5 minute panic session followed by a visit by security to unlock the safe. The wedding was beautiful but a little disjointed. We were all waiting downstairs in Bar One for the wedding planner provided by the hotel to send us up to get seated for the ceremony, but no one came until the bride sent a family member down to tell us that we were all supposed to be upstairs already! The ceremony was very nice and so was cocktail hour. The food at the reception was slow to come out so the guests were up dancing between courses, but the DJ played an awesome selection that kept us all entertained until the wedding officially ended at 10pm. Unfortunately that's where the good times ended for me and several other guests who attended the wedding. Many of us woke up the next day to what I will describe as digestive issues to be polite. I had to rush back to my room in the middle of the day and was trapped there until dinner time. We believe it was something we ate at the wedding. We only had bottled water and alcohol so I don't believe it was the water, and I only ate at the resort so it had to have been something from there. Later that night, we went down to dinner at 7:45 and were told we had to wait a half hour to be seated but we weren't seated until almost 9:00. When we walked in, we saw the bride and groom and some of their friends seated at a different table. We asked them how the meal was and they said they had been there since 6:30 and that the service was incredibly slow and they were only just now finishing up and getting ready to leave. Not wanting to wait until 10:30 for dinner, we left and went to buffet. We had to leave the next morning to fly home and as I got up to brush my teeth I noticed the bathroom ceiling had started to leak again. We went down to check out at 7:30am to catch our taxi and inform them of the new leak. Unfortunately, there was a mixup with the reservation and the taxi didn't show up until almost 8:00am. Other things to note: There were consistent issues with the water during our three night stay. The bride had no hot water the day of the wedding, and there was no water Sunday night. Also there was a huge leak in ceiling right outside Bar One that was an issue the whole time we were there. Lastly, the photographers ate with the guests at the wedding and instead of making sure the guests had food first, they took a plate and one guest was without food for the majority of the meal. Overall I really wanted to enjoy my stay, but there were just too many hiccups and for the cost of the stay, I expected something better than lackluster. read more

Horrible horrible horrible. This is NOT luxury! They should be used for even having that in the name of the resort. Such a misrepresentation. HOnestly there were so many things that went wrong. Poor customer service. When you complain about something. They give you an excuse! I would never never recommend this place to anyone. And if u read the reviews that gave high stars, they too complain about the room mistakes, disorganization, food choices bad. Yes, Overall cancun is a fun place to stay BUT NOT at Sandos. read more

First of all, this is not a "luxury" resort by any means! Our stay here was overall OK, but we are completely baffled by the number of high-praise reviews on Trip Advisor! The rooms are in dire need of updating. Pros: heated pools, poolside bar & restaurant with tasty drinks and nice staff, beach access, nice cocktail lounge, good spa experience Cons: rooms are old and need updating, inconsistent service, spa is pricey ($150 for a mani/pedi?), food is average at best Front desk: When we arrived, someone was supposed to inform us about the amenities. Instead, we learned nothing about amenities, and were asked to join some kind of timeshare-like tour of the property to receive coupons for the spa. After a long flight, this is not how we wanted to be greeted. Room: We were not pleased with our first room, which was a queen with balcony - the couch had stains (gross) and the shower door looked dirty (the housekeeper pointed out that it was not dirty, but instead scratched up - not much better). After some confusing back and forth, we were given a double room on the top floor with a terrace view of the pools, tennis courts, and beach. It was indeed a better room with a nice large closet and we were thankful that the staff accommodated this change. We would not have been happy in room #1. However, we only received turn down service the first night, and one of the sinks in the bathroom had a slow drain (we had a double vanity and so didn't complain about it), and the lights in the bathroom randomly didn't work one morning (although this was fixed right away). The room was quiet, we did not hear other guests at all and the bed was fairly comfortable. Food and Service: None of the restaurants were really that great or that terrible. We waited for 45 minutes for dinner at one of the restaurants and had VERY slow service even though there were only about 5 tables. I had the duck breast which was about 4 minutes too well done. There is a typically line for breakfast buffet. Our favorite place to eat was outside next to the pool. Very nice and accommodating service. Second favorite is the teppanyaki restaurant, but you have to make reservations days in advance due to limited seating. Spa: They recommend arriving at the spa 40 minutes prior to treatment for the full experience. My husband I signed up for 25-minute massages and 25-minute facials. Pre-massage you receive a relaxing spa experience, complete with sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, etc. The spa attendant places cucumber over your eyes and a cold cloth on the forehead. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Massage and facial were fine, but there were no extractions which I definitely was in need of! Overall, we enjoyed the beach, pools, and spa, but would not stay here again. read more

Great for a quick and cheap getaway. Room was always cleaned and staff friendly and helpful. The food was from the 3 resturants nothing to brag about. The only drink that's good is the mango tango. They seriously need bartending lessons on how to make drinks. The drunks were disgusting, don't believe me ask for a sangria, go ahead ask.. it's something you'll want to spit across the room at somebody. Bar one best drink is mosquito, yes mosquito not moscato lol. The pool is filthy and wasn't cleaned since we got there, all kinds of nastiness floating in this thing. The food bar outside was like having microwaved fast food. The oven baked pizza was ok. Lol, the minibar in the room was like water, m &m's, v8 juice, tea, coffee. Martha at the concierge acts like she wants to help but pushes you off to someone else. Eriicka at the concierge is very helpful. I luv Cancun, but will never come to Sandos unluxury resort again. read more

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Had a great vacation. Perfect sized hotel. Great food. Wonderful wonderful staff. Great service. Rooms were clean and had great views. Pool was 24 hours which was a huge plus. Looking forward to my next vacation there read more

Just got back from a vacation here with my mom. After staying there for 5 days, I would rate it as just "okay." It is not a "luxury" experience that they say it is. This is the second time we have been to cancun in 8 months and the time before we stayed at Dream Sands (which was fantastic and highly recommended). Upon arrival, we were greeted with champagne and told to go to a timeshare presentation. We both stated that we were single (the only way to get out of a time share presentation by the way) and we got up to the hotel. We upgraded to have a balcony room and had an amazing view however the room had rotten fruit on the table and half open bottles of juice in the fridge. Also, our balcony door would not close without using some serious muscle. There are three pools but I only saw people using one pool most of the time. You can rent cabanas (30 dollars if you are not an "elite" member) but it is totally not worth it since there are several chairs throughout the pool area. Also, the beach had waves that were insane/rough that we did not want to risk getting into. The food was okay, most of the time it was raw or cold (which is really disappointing). The best food, hands down, was the Hibachi place. Efrain was AMAZING. He remembered us from a previous night and even remembered what we ordered the night before. He def made out stay better Lastly, there was little to no entertainment at night. We were disappointed because Dream Sands had nightly shows and Sandos was quiet by 9pm. Drinks were okay, you have to specifically ask for top shelf liquor and even that was watered down because i had to ask for a triple with my jack and diet coke to even taste the jack. PS. Take the bus! You tell the bus driver where you want to go, pay him a dollar, and he will make sure you get off at the right stop! So much easier than a cab! Overall, this place is not worth the extra money. Stay somewhere cheaper and you'll get the same experience. read more

I bought a vacation package to this hotel for 4 nights at a discount in exchange for attending a sales presentation. I have purchased vacation packages at these presentations before so i get these calls a lot but usually say no thanks because I have no interest in the location. However this resort looked nice online and they promised to guarantee availability with 60 days notice and give me 24 months to use it. They verified my income (which is several times the household minimum requirement), my age, etc. I purchased the trip and they said they would call back later so I could upgrade my trip to 7 nights out of my pocket. When they called back they said they made a mistake because this resort won't allow non married/single woman to come w a guest that aren't married or cohabiting together and would be making mutual decisions together. Really? This is 2018! I make enough money to qualify alone and I don't see why I need a partner to be with me to help me make up my mind on this purchase either. I do live with someone but I didn't disclose that and that's not the point, and I am not 100% sure he could go with, and would want the option to travel with anyone I want in case. You never know! The sales rep is trying to make it right by switching me to a totally different resort company and location not affiliated with this chain. So all you unmarried, successful women out there, in a committed relationship or not, your money is not wanted there! read more

3.5 STARS PROS -Excellent Staff -Clean rooms and Hotel -Close to Airport -Beach very clean -Spa very nice and massage was great. -Plenty of pool space. -Japanese restaurant was very good. -La Isla Shopping Center. CONS -Pool area completely shaded by the obnoxious hotel next door. -No pool bar -If you do not get to the Zango breakfast buffett before 9am your food is limited and cold. -Getting change for tipping was impossible. -Guests reserving beach chairs early moring by throwing a towel and a book on chairs. Staff was very helpful though in finding lounge chairs. -The exchange rate was different with every person we asked. All in all it was a very nice place with great amnetities. We enjoyed our stay and would recomend staying. Tipping definitely got us better service, and going with a couple who have been before helped. The food in the Japanese restaurant was very good, and we were warned that the Seasons restaurant had very small portions leaving you hungry. There was some famiies there which can become annoying when parents let there children run rampant. read more

Do NOT sign up for the Royal Elite program. It is a total waste of money. What you receive in return for your $$$$ is not good. We were to get a special room/suite, but we got a standard room. I hate to say, because of embarrassment, what we paid to be a Royal Elite member, but it was substantial. The benefits are actually insignificant compared to a normal hotel guest. Its just a glorified time share program. We had to pay $120 per day per person for all-inclusive. There are many hotels you can stay all-inclusive for two people for less than $1000 per week (Omni Hotel...$449 (per room, not per person) five nights and six days). Royal Elite is a total Rip Off. Once you join, you can not cancel or receive any refund. read more

If you are looking to spend a lot of money for bad service, this is the place for you. I was super disappointed with the service and overall resort. I have never felt unhappy with a resort as I did here. Spent 6 nights here ran into issues on daily basis read more

Arrived at the hotel @1:30pm and there are a bunch of issues. At first they asked us to wait for the room to be cleaned and come back at 3pm. We did as asked and the room was not ready. Front desk said it's not going to be ready around 5pm. hey gave us another room that has 2 twin size beds, which could accommodate a teenager and not a grown adult, definitely not two people at once. It was tiny, had no balcony and overlooks the pool therefore making it very noisy. After arguing with a front desk manager we were offered another room @6pm (effectively "killing" the entire day), which happened to be for handicapped only. It was advertised to us as a room for "special people". That was extremely offensive and definitely not worth their statement of being a "luxury experience"!!! The hotel was advertised as Adults only and next morning we realized that they do not adhere to the policy as the pool was filled with children of many ages from toddlers to teenagers. Food was absolutely horrific and I had a stomach bug for a few days after eating in the hotel. One of three elevators did not work for the duration of our stay making the lobby crowded at all times and having everyone wait excessively to get to and from their room. Service is HORRIBLE!! read more

This was my first trip to Cancun, but not to Mexico, and I found the services and food lacking hospitality supervision. The resort had two outstanding restaurants one Japanese and the other Italian, which seemed very independent from the rest of the resort establishment. More so, the pool area dining offered modest quality lunch with varied menu choices. However, the main dining area that serves breakfast and dinner was all around awful and unpleasant because of the food offered. The cuisine offered was not Mexican or Caribbean but somewhere in between with less than hospital food quality and taste. Even Breakfast was unrecognizable with no eggs or bacon or even Mexican style breakfast. We requested coffee from room service on the early mornings before our tours and received sweetener and cream only one of the times even after we requested it. As far as housekeeping services, there was one day they just threw the covers over the bed like I use to do when I was a kid and another day where they left the toilet paper for us to put on the roll. I was able to enjoy myself and see all the beauties the area had to offer, but if I were to return to the area, this hotel would be far from my list. read more

MY POST IS SO LONG I HAD TO DO IT IN SECTIONS!! It's been a week since I've left this place and it's been about 2 weeks since my first review of my experience with customer service. This review is bad because of my horrible experience. I also spoke with my friend (the bride, who had her wedding here) first to give her a heads up about my review. My best friend had her destination wedding here and I was one of the bridesmaids, she had family and friends fly in from all over to be a part of her special day. I was excited because I've been to Cancun many times before and it's a beautiful place. However, prior to arrival, as stated previously, communication with this place sucked. At check in, the guy at the front desk seemed to be confused as to why my guest and I had two separate reservations. Annoyed, I said, "you're telling me you don't see anything in the notes of my reservations about this issue?" At first, he responded, No. Then "looked further" and saw something about added guest and their rate. I told him because of your lack of communication and last minute response, my guest booked his own room prior to arrival. We checked into our rooms and went about our day. When I saw the bride, she asked what floor was I on and I told her 3...she said I was supposed to be on 6 and my room was supposed to be upgraded. I told her I'm not expecting much from this place. I'm not interested in going back to the front desk to discuss anything. Moving on, the Sandos, in my opinion is not a 5 star hotel, let alone a 4 star hotel. It looks like a old hotel that they tried to upgrade. The elevators are so small, I would say about 2 people and your suitcases could fit in comfortably and that's it. The elevators were like saunas. No AC at all. The wedding party had a reservation at the Hibachi restaurant, the room was small, held two tables that sat about 20 people each and that too felt like a sauna. We asked multiple times to turn on the AC or leave the door open. It was unbearable, we just wanted to hurry up and eat so we could get out of there. The lobby was always hot. I remember someone saying, the only place in this hotel with AC are our rooms. Moving on to the rooms, I will admit, I did like my room and bathroom but I had to inspect all the towels and ask them for more because my towels were dirty. I was so upset I forgot my towel home and this was a reminder of why I carry my own. I found one wash cloth that was stainless, I used that and then air dried. For a 4/5 star hotel you should be using brand new towels. Someone should inspect them and say hey there are too many stains of theses towels, time for a new order. Also, as for the pool towels, time for a new order on those too because ours were shredded and stained read more

Worst hotel management I have experienced in several years. The hotel manager refused several reasonable requests. I experienced food poisoning from undercooked seafood and was harassed by hotel service to attend night clubs. Not cleanly or hygienic at all, 1/10 would not recommend. read more

Unfortunately I needed to switch the dates on my reservation due to medical emergency reasons. I called yesterday to change. The guy who answered was very friendly. He contacted the hotel and informed me that, that was a possibility, they would waive the fee for me, but I would need to pay the difference in rates for the weekends. I fully understood that and asked for a quote of the difference. He quoted me the price, which was only an additional $100, so I said lets Book-It! When he tried he said the reservation department was closed and I'd have to call back in the morning to complete my booking. (This was before 5pm) Before I hung up I ensured my price would not change and they would complete my booking in the morning. THIS morning when I called that WAS NOT the case!!!! A lady answered and told me I would need to pay $500 more because the price had changed. They would not honor my quote from 10 hours earlier. Why would you quote me or tell me a price if it was never actually available to me?? Not to mention during this 60-90 min phone call I got hung up on TWICE. Unfortunately for me I did not get the guy I was talking to information and he did not put my quote amount in his phone call notes so "they had no record of it". PLEASE DO NOT book with this cheating deceiving company. If you tell a person one price and then tell them they need to book it (or call back) later because something is wrong on YOUR end, I would hope you would honor your original price. Now I was forced to cancel and forfeit one night's rate. Once again WARNING!!!!!! PLEASE DO NOT book with this cheating deceiving company. read more

Very disappointing on multiple areas but most of all is the fact that I asked the resort repeatedly to cancel my transportation (replying to same email I booked with) and they never responded and then insisted I pay for transportation I never used. This is shameful. Just be careful NOT to email them with any request. read more