This is a communication I sent to the hotel (although not holding my breath to get a response): I want to express my extreme disappointment with the deceiving and poor customer service of Sandos Playacar. Based off of the website and discussions with the reservation agent, our family of seven was extremely excited that we were headed into a wonderful resort for the New Years. We were completely wrong. It all started with a two-and-a-half hour check in on December 28. We have travelled extensively around the world and never experienced anything like it. One hour waiting in line and one-and-a-half hours for Pepe at the front desk to painstakingly check our family in. After a long day of travel our kids were starving, we asked him to please process faster. Our request prompted no urgency on his behalf, by the time he was done it was 11 PM. All the hotel restaurants were closed. Pepe offered no apology, no explanation, or any resolution on how to feed our kids. We got to the room to find the sofa bed mattress with multiple mold stains and a terrible smell. I've attached two pictures. In addition, the sheets of our son's bunk bed were stained with red spots. We called three times to the front desk to get the mattress changed to no avail. We were finally able to get the sheets changed by housekeeping. This was done at 1:00 AM. This was just the start of a truly disappointing stay. The following is a summary: · The mattress remained unchanged after two days. We expressed our frustration with your guest services agent regarding the mattress remaining unchanged and the excruciating check-in process. In response your guest services agent offered to show us your membership plan. This was shockingly the only resolution he offered. · We scheduled two excursions with Seek & Go. One was a private transport to Tulum, the second was an activity package also to Tulum. Upon return from the private transport, we decided we preferred the flexibility of the private transport to Tulum and decided to cancel the planned excursion, yet reschedule another private transport to Tulum. Adrian, who set it up for us, told us that as long as we cancelled one day prior we would be fine. However when speaking with Rubi, she made it extremely difficult. Especially when we asked for the same driver (who provided excellent service). Her frustration with us was very evident (understandably she was looking at the lost commission) and frustratingly told us she could not guarantee the same driver. I told her I understood, but simply asked her to put in the request, she said she would. However both my wife and I clearly knew she would not and she proved us right. On the day of our transport we ended up with a different driver. I asked him to connect me with his assignment supervisor, who informed me Rubi never requested the driver we asked for. · The hot water to the shower did not work for two days. · I was treated very rudely by the towel attendant at the pool of the family section. When I asked her to exchange some towels, but provide cards for the others, she rudely told ME to put the towels into the basket, then literally slapped the remaining towel cards on the counter and "Ahi esta!" and walked away. I have no idea why she behaved in such manner. · The door to our second room would not lock on New Year's Eve. · When we sought a taxi, we went to the front. The bellman was on his cell phone. We asked if he could help us get a taxi. He looked up, walked in our direction, looked down the driveway and said "Ahi hay uno." Then he just stood there. So I said, "Do I need to walk down there or can you call him up here to pick us up?" I could not believe his lack of customer service. · The safe in our room stopped working suddenly, the safe in the second room did not work at all. · We had to contact housekeeping three times to address the ants in our room. · Prior to our trip we did extensive research and saw very good reviews, which after our experience was quite surprising. It became evident how this was achieved when an employee approached my two oldest daughters during an evening show, asking them to put in a great review on TripAdvisor to be entered into a raffle for a prize. They said they had to see the review first to get them into the raffle. These employees were going through the crowd asking others to do the same. That's very deceiving and dishonest. Ultimately, when we brought our concerns forward, it was met with indifference or as I mentioned earlier, an attempt to sell us membership for an upgrade. When I shared our disappointment with the front desk agent upon check-out, she was courteous in listening, but again offered the same resolution as the rest: nothing. She simply said "Les aseguro que todo lo que me han dicho lo voy a comunicar para que podamos mejorar nuestro servicio en el futuro." Wonderful, but how does that help us with the experience we had? read more

Sandos Playacar - Sofa Mattress Stains - Hotels Near Me - Playacar, ROO

See all

We stayed here for our vacation this year as Royal Elite members, when we arrived to the hotel lobby it was beautiful at first sight. We were quickly approached by a gentleman by the name of Carlos trying to sell us a membership. He offered us free gifts in exchange for a tour with the hopes of us falling in love with the resort with a $20 deposit. Which we were more than glad to attend until we reached our room. So apparently being a Royal Elite Member doesn't give you much of anything to begin with. Avoid those guys in the lobby trying to waste your time selling you a membership you will just end up wasting a day of your vacation. We were told that we would have a driver waiting for us to take us to the hotel. We landed and had to search everywhere for a representative for Seek and Go. We were just about to give up and start heading back and look for another transportation company to take us to our hotel. Then one of the people who worked there renting out luggage carts stopped us on our way back to the airport and said to us that they had just spotted the representative. So we turned around and went looking for her again, we approached her and asked her if she was part of the Seek and Go company. She seemed startled when we approached her almost as if she had no knowledge that we were to arrive at the airport as we had instructed. So we talked to her she looked us up and found out name and told us that unfortunately the driver had just left and that we needed to wait for the next one. So overall we ended up waiting in the heat for a whole hour (which by that point I was already suffering from dehydration after waiting for so long. Thank god I have so many nurse friends who recognized my symptoms and gave me to tips to prevent it from getting worse). So then after having a lengthy check in process within the Royal Elite VIP lounge we were finally taken to wait for the golf carts within the resort. And had to ask other employees where our room was at once we arrived to the proper building. We entered our room and were immediately smacked in the face by the smell of mildew in the room. The curtains and bedspreads were outdated. The room was an immediate disappointment. We called and spoke to Ivan who is head of guest services at the meeting point, about the mildew smell immediately which they mentioned they would send someone to dehumidify our room. Then I decided to check out or view from the balcony as we waited for that dehumidifier, and that's when I found out the handle to lock our balcony door up was broken as it fell into my hand. So again we called back and mentioned the door handle and were told they were going to call security to fix the door (we had many visits from security there after and each time were told that they don't handle that.) So we stayed in our room the rest of the night and no one ever came. Our shower was rusty which I didn't really give it as much concern as the mildew smell and broken door. We showered called room service which by the way the food was awful. And came to the conclusion that this place does not offer coke products. We ended up having to pay $180 pesos to be taken to a convenient store within the resort so we could buy apple juice for our son and Coca Cola brand drinks. The next day Alfredo who we were supposed to meet with about the tour and possibly buying a membership gave us a call early in the morning and asked us how we were enjoying our stay to which my husband mentioned all of our concerns. He also told us he would have security and housekeeping sent right away to take care of the door handle and mildew smell. (Guess what they never came on our second day. ) So my husband starts mentioning that we were looking for Coca Cola products and where we could get some to which Alfredo answered that they had discontinued carrying Coca Cola products and then went on to mention how we didn't need any Coca Cola products. Which was the icing on the cake. So we finally got out to enjoy the pool located next to our room on the third day of our stay. I get down there and basically all the chairs are taken and have towels draped across them horizontally taking up 2-3 chairs a piece. I finally find a chair that didn't have anything on it so I decide to put my son's and my items on. And then I was immediately approached by a heavyset girl who began to try and fight me over a chair because she said her dad's pink sunglasses were laying next to the chair and they had claimed it by laying his pink glasses next to it. Then her dad comes out of the pool and approaches me as well and trying to fight me as well. Which then lead to 5 more people approaching me trying to fight me while I had my 4 year old. No employees or security ever arrived during this 15 minute fight. These are just a few of the several issues that I can't post because Yelp says my review is too lengthy already. read more

See all

A lovely experience for my first time at an all inclusive...the resort is located in a gated area south of playa del Carmen in a area called playacar where there r quite a few resorts and modern homes, very very safe area and even biking to playa del Carmen which was 15mins is very a safe town as well, tons of tourist Very beautiful and well maintained resort with lots of restaurants to try out, beautiful scenery like u r walking into a rain forest, they have a cat cafe where they house cats in open area, donkeys and iguanas...the thing that bugs me about this place is the service in the restaurants, they make you wait forever where clearly you see seats available inside and I wish they had more entertainment at night because after 10pm, there is pretty much nothing to do except drink till midnight or go to the disco which kind of sucks...food was mediocre, I can honestly say cruise food is much better but they got excellent tacos Rooms are big and clean with comfy beds and a fridge stocked with soft drinks and beer...they have some free water sports activity like kayaking, snorkel gear for an hour, paddle board is $10 for the duration of your stay, they also have skidoo, parasail and stuff at a fee I suggest renting a bike because it's free and bike to the town to try some local food All in all this resort is a great place for honeymooners and family, if your looking to party and stuff I say go to Cancun resorts read more

Terrible experience! Booked a Junior suit through booking.com. Got a dirty and outdated room with a mildew smell (see pictures). Totally unacceptable! read more

See all

We have stayed at Sandos Playacar in the past. It's almost like a different resort altogether now. We liked it so much the last time that we brought 2 additional families with us this time hoping to show them the great resort that we had experienced. We ended up being embarrassed by the place and regretful for having caused them to waste their hard earned money there. The customer service is non-existent by anyone other than the hard working cleaning, serving and bartending staff. You let them know about a problem and they promise it will be taken care of "within the day," and you never hear from them again. I am going to be completely fair in my evaluation of our stay there, because that is what I appreciate when reading guest reviews. We checked in during the early morning with Royal Elite and we were the only guests in the office. There were 13 of us staying in 5 rooms. It took over 1 1/2 hours to finally get all of our bracelets despite having filled out the forms that were available online ahead of time and having all of our other paperwork, passports, etc ready to go. That's just ridiculous. During check-in, I informed the agent that our Sandos4U coins had suddenly disappeared that were available just 5 days prior in the accounts of 7 of the guests. He said he had nothing to do with that and couldn't help me. He referred me to customer service. Each day, I met with a different member of Sandos customer service, Royal Elite customer service, sent an email to Sandos4U, called them, etc., but during our 9 day stay, the issue was never resolved. Every different customer service agent said that each other group on the resort was separate and distinct and they could not help us. In regards to Sandos4U, no one would/could help us and they did not bother to respond to us at all. In the end, we got absolutely no benefit from the 500 points per person that we had earned during previous stays. During 3 stays, 2 of which we already had coins that could supposedly have been used, we were unable to redeem our coins for ANYTHING!! The Sandos4U program has no intention of actually giving out any gifts or rewards. They will manipulate the points, say things aren't available, say massages can't be bought with points, they can only extend the massage by 15 minutes, say the points were expired even when the time since they were earned shows by the dates that they WERE NOT EXPIRED, or they will simply delete the points altogether when you try to use them. By whatever method, you will not receive benefit from them. The rooms were much worse than last time. They were never fancy, but they were clean and in relatively good shape during our last stay. Nothing has been done to maintain them during that time. The TVs are very small. They are old and in all 5 rooms, the picture was terribly pixelated and barely able to make out what was happening. They do not have HDMI ports. The remotes are usually not responsive which is weird since each remote was different for each room. It wasn't the batteries because even after they were replaced, the problems continued with the remotes. We contacted them in 3 of the 5 rooms about the problems and they came and looked at the TVs and turned it to one channel that had a good picture and said the TV was fine. One channel with an adequate picture does not make an acceptable TV. The room AC remote is a joke. It does nothing. You can try to lower the temperature, but it never gets any cooler. You can try to turn down the blower because the noise is so loud you can't hear yourself think, but nothing happens even though the remote indicates it is being turned down. 3 of the 5 rooms had dehumidifiers that did nothing to improve the air quality either. Every single room reeked from a terrible smell that was a mixture of wet dog, sewage and staleness. We asked for Lysol or Febreeze or anything to improve the smell, but nothing was ever made available. The sheets were always damp and the pillows smelled so badly that some of us chose to sleep without rather than to put our heads next to that odor. Pillows in humid climates must actually be laundered, just changing the pillow cases IS NOT ENOUGH. The cleaning staff did a good job in the bathrooms, but they cannot get rid of a stench when they are not given adequate tools. The smell was so bad that even clothes that weren't worn, had to be washed after returning home. We stayed as Royal Elite, but none of us had bathrobes, slippers or extra beach towels in our rooms, and we did request them. The outlets have no power. There are very few available outlets. The ones there had so little power that after plugging in an iphone at night, it was only charged to 92% by the next morning. There was not enough power to charge the laptop. The plugs would slip out of the outlet and you never knew if something was still charging or had stopped. The lights in the bathroom were so dull that you could not see to put on make-up or much of anything else. The tub read more

I usually don't write reviews but I'm hoping to other potential guests the hassle of investing a lot of money for a sub par resort. I recently came for a week long trip and wedding at the resort. For the amount of money that was spent by the couple and the party of 80 people no one was satisfied with the experience. If you are traveling with kids this place will be a nightmare for you, the families that came to the wedding were placed at the front of the facility making it a pain to meet the rest of the party, since all events and main pools are located near the beach. Secondly for having such a large results and only 2 teams that run every 30 minutes is insane. We witnessed so many families walking with little ones since the tram was just too slow. I will list pros and cons of the resort to make things easy Pros - great landscaping - some nice housekeepers and bartenders - lots of wildlife - beach very clean - hot water in the shower - ac in room - coffee at cupcake bar - massage at spa was great, but many in the party of 80 and other guests I talked to said they therapists just sort of rubbed their backs with no real pressure during sessions Cons - front lobby speed is very very very slow. After a day of traveling you will wait another 1-2 hours. Be prepared to argue false charges at check out - stains on sheets, covers look dirty - no bottled water in the rooms, just a five gallon water dispenser which is fine but it is not cooled and super hard to fill a large water bottle up - need to be a body builder to open sliding doors - many guests dealt with safes that didn't work and leaking fridges - rooms are in serious need of an upgrade all amenities are very old - no variety at the buffets - all good was bland or cold - the chuyita snack bar was never open! Hours for food were terrible it was always a struggle to get food when you wanted - called for room service twice and it never came and for some it came 2 hours later - staff can be very rude and show discriminative practices towards groups of people. We had 80 people in our party and not a single person did not have a negative experience at one point or another - all restaurants never have openings and when you walk by them they are nearly empty. When you ask why that is they hostess gets combative and walks away - drinks at bars are watered down - bars close at 11 and the only place to get a drink is sports bar - sports bar music is on repeat. We could repeat the music by day 3 of what would be played - potential predators were stalking the females in our party and security was slow to act and aggressive when we were trying to get help - false charges on check out bill or additional charges added when packages came included with certain services - lack of overall organization at the hotel, no one on the staff can give you a straight answer and turn hostile very quickly - family set up is horrible. - internet and cell reception is terrible. If you have work to using internet, the speed will frustrate you. This might be a pro for some Again I don't mean to paint this place in such a bad light and I usually don't write reviews but I don't think people should be charged so much for sub par service all the way around. read more

TERRIBLE. TERRIBLE. TERRIBLE. So many things observed and noted for my next visit to Cancun. Check in was over a 3-hour process when I arrived AHEAD of time, consistently "reassured" by Gibran at the lobby and Angel at the meeting point that me and my family's stay would be one to note. It was definitely one to note for all the wrong reasons. One: the towels and bedsheets were all short of what we needed. Once we tried to fix this problem by calling the proper extension, no one answered. Two: we received the wrong type of room and when we asked that this mistake be rectified, the staff was uncompliant and rude. We regret spending our money at this useless resort. It would have gone to better use literally anywhere else. Three: staff would often stare and turn on a rude tone of voice depending on which guests they were speaking to--which is appalling (discrimination). Four: The room we got had dead bugs in it and a broken door handle. No one was Covid safe here and I am certain a lot of people here have not been vaccinated or careful, as I am affiliated with the Dept. of Public Health. Horrible, terrible experience that I have never had in Mexico. Will definitely tell everyone I know to avoid this resort at all costs-- family, friends, and followers alike. read more

We've been to this resort the last few years as Royal Elite members. A few of the amenities have declined over the years, but the resort remains a good value for your money and provides great entertainment. The location is amazing and the beach is clean. We enjoyed the variation of food options and recommend the French Restaurant, the Mexican Restaurant and the Italian Restaurant. I would avoid the Steakhouse and the Brazilian restaurant, as they were extremely hot inside the restaurant, the meat was over cooked, or dry and the service was mediocre. A highlight at the resort is the excellent service provided by a few of the bartenders and waiters. A huge shout out to Vicente at the buffet restaurant. He provided five star service, was very attentive to our needs and was very personable! Vicente provided the best service we had at any restaurant at the resort. When eating breakfast or lunch at the buffet, ask for Vicente's section, you won't be disappointed. Rodrigo at the Meeting Point bar, Jose at the Avenue Bar and Fabian at the beach side bar all provided excellent service and deserve recognition. A word of advice, the Spa is nice and clean, but high priced. If you're looking for a massage, do yourself a favor and hit 5th Avenue and get a two-hour massage for $55. Don't pay for the high priced Spa massage at the resort. In all, we love Sandos Playacar and will continue to return annually. No read more

Sandos Playacar - Beautiful water - Hotels Near Me - Playacar, ROO

See all

How people give this place a 5 star is beyond me. If you like cockroaches in your hotel room, orange color water running down your bath and shower, clogged sinks, if you like rusted molded looking showers, If you like the sounds of constant construction by the pool while your trying to relax, or construction at 6:00 a.m. while you and your kids are sleeping, if you like regular power outages, if you like to walk 20 minuets from your room to the beach, (They will tell you 7 minuets when you get here and online they won't mention the distance) if you like to drink your beverages (water, soda, beer, alcoholic beverages) out of recycled cups that only the lip is washed by soap water minuets before it's given to you, and if Jose Cuervo and Smirnoff vodka are your preferred drinks, and if you love average quality food and beverages, if you don't want bottled waters, if you like your shampoo and body wash in your room to come out of canisters like a prison shower, if you like clueless staff and management, and if you like to be over promised and under delivered in all respects this hotel is for you. If you have any standards you will feel like you have wasted your once in a life time vacation on this place. The only reason we booked this place was because of the star rating and the number of people who recommended this place on trip advisor and the misleading photographs of the resort. I can tell you that after this experience we will never trust trip advisor. I tried posting the videos so you can hear the sounds of constant construction but could not on trip advisor. I will have to use YouTube for that. The photos here are from our pool, and bathroom, room, and the pool bar. Also when you get here they will give you a certificate to take to the onsite jewelry shop to get a free pendant. This is a gimmick as they will not give you anything for free unless you buy something. They will pretend that they ran out. But will tell you to your face if you buy something they will go get it. Last the hotel will also give you a coupon book promising 10% off your massage as well as other discounts. When it's time to pay they will say the 10% discount (off massage packages) won't work because it has to be presented before your massage (which we did, and they informed us to show it at time of pay), and when you tell them you did that, they will say sorry can't help you. read more

See all

They have zero customer services at reception. Once you pay they are ready for the next person who is going to pay. If want a good time in playacar make sure you do not book this place the food is also terrible. Been here 7 days and it's been the same food everyday. After 11pm there is no security and people can make noise all night and they do nothing about it. I'm sure there are plenty of better places then sandos playacar. Almost forgot to mention all the mosquitos in the rooms. Had to have the come fumigate. Then I had to have them come take a lizard out. Take your hard earned money else where. read more

Our vacation at Sandos Playa Car was nothing like it was supposed to be. We came to this resort countless times before for years and we always loved it and always came back. We booked 4 ocean front rooms with king size beds and we got 1! The other 3 rooms were definitely not ocean front, low grade rooms, with 2 double beds. My husband and I slept separate our whole vacation! Most mornings we didn't even have hot water in our shower, and the cold water that we did have was barely a trickle of water. The service at the restaurants and bars were very poor, and the quailty of the food and drinks totally went down hill. This place totally lost its sparkle. We weren't even greeted at the front reception on our inital arrival with assistant with our luggage. We had to carry our luggage all the way to our room, which was about a 20 minute walk and up 4 flights of stairs. We went back and forth with the receptionist staff and the manager for 4 days straight and they did NOTHING for us. They didn't change our rooms back to what we had book, even though we showed them proof through past e-mails of our confirmed ocean front rooms. We requested that we at least get some money taken off our stay, which they also refused. We are never coming back here. It is not worth it and it is not what it used to be. We flew 9 hours and spent thousands of dollars to get to Sandos Playa Car, and we were VERY disappointed. We would have never booked our stay here if we knew this was what our experience was going to be. We spent way too much of our vacation time trying to make this right, and ultimately just ended up spinning our wheels and getting more frustrated. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE. read more

The employees there were very nice and hard working. The food was not very good and making a reservation for dinner was almost impossible. We checked in and I had requested a room in the Adult section with a king bed. We checked in and had a room with 2 full beds (they are not queen no matter what they say) so I called the front desk and was put on hold for 38 minutes so I hung up and called back and requested to speak to a manager and was told one would call me back ASAP. I never received a call back and will never go back. No service on the beach and in order to enjoy much of the beach you had to be a "Member" TOTAL BS!! NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!!!! read more

The resort is designed pretty nice. However they have a lot of bigger issues to resolve. My friends and I were staying here for a friend's wedding. We were all hanging at the pool playing volleyball with other guests of the resort when we were approached by security about two of our friends leaving the pool because of "unruly conduct" at the bar which was confusing because they were NEVER at the bar. They left and 20-30 minutes later two managers and another security guard cane to tell us all to leave. I'm sure at this point you know we are AFRICAN AMERICAN! They claimed they were going around the pool asking everyone who had blue bracelets to get out but they NEVER spoke with anyone else because we watched them. Then they told the pool server to stop serving us. All in all our money is green like EVERYONE ELSE! Lesson learned though Sandos Playcar will NEVER see me again! read more

Horrible place to stay. Let me start with the food is not good at all it does have many restaurants but the food quality is very poor. My husband and I weren't the only ones who got sick from the food at the resort ! Many other guest were talking about how the food got them sick.. Also theirs no activities going on thru out the day no music in the pool apparently one of the workers "jimmy" stated the resort doesn't allowed loud music and will not put the volume up.. also rooms that are closer to the beach aren't clean you do notice that employees ignore you and don't acknowledge their guest.. they aren't many bars open. NO CLUBS. No night life.. avoid staying here honestly.. everything is over at 11:00 pm .. read more

All I can say is "Bait & Switch". You are told one thing and you get something else and when questioned. The excuse is "somebody else's fault". I will say that this is my first all-inclusive resort and yes you can eat and drink all you want. With drinking expect loud and obnoxious drunk adults at the restaurants. Day 1: 1. Checked in into our room and the first thing is where is the beach front view that we paid for? Excuse "somebody else's fault" 2. I walked in the bathroom and there was 1inch of water "pipe busted", which happens, no biggie, but when I went back to the front to informs the front desk manager, I was brushed off like if I busted the pipe and it was a pain in the ass to move me to another location. They told me "hang in the lobby while we clean it up". I told them "no, I want a new room" No apology for the inconvenience. Two hours later we walked by the room with the flooded bathroom and there was a team of two still cleaning up. Excuse "somebody else's fault" Day 2: The romantic dinner ($150 additional cost) is advertised with a walkway with candles onto the beach. Not so much! I will say that it was nice until I had to tell the waiter that he needs to stop playing the elevator Christmas music. Yes "jingle bells" and "let it snow". After the music was changed I asked for medium steak and I got well done steak. The atmosphere was nice after all it was on the beach. Excuse "somebody else's fault" Day 3: Blah blah blah......... Excuse "somebody else's fault" Day 4: Blah blah blah.......... Excuse "somebody else's fault" And so so and so forth. Even though if it's someone's else's fault there is no sense of fixing the problem. There was a kid eating the ice cream from the buffet station in front of the staff member manning the dessert station; she did not do anything to stop him until I finally told management. Then the staff member took the ice cream out of the buffet station. There was a panini station and I ordered a ham and cheese panini but when the staff was using her bare hands to make my sandwich and the next sandwich. I lost my appetite. What's the point of having "all you can eat" when its mediocre food. Service is mediocre. Good points: If it's your birthday they will decorate your room and give you a moist chocolate cake. Which was nice. Brazilian restaurant was decent. The unlimited alcohol is a plus. Based on this all inclusive information that I've obtained, I will next time pay for my own drinks and pay for the food I want and pay for the service I want. My significant other posted similar on tripadvisor and was harassed by a so called reviewer. Then we spotted the reviewer it was a staff member in the front. read more

If you're a couple and looking for an affordable resort, stay at Sandos Cancun instead. The two are extremely different from each other and playacar sandos is more for a large family. A few differences : room service was average at sandos playacar. Room service at sandos Cancun was prompt and never a let down. The food at playacar wasn't good. Most of the food was soggy with the exception of breakfast (except the eggs....they were like soup). ALL of the food at Sandos Cancun was delicious. I don't recall ever having negative thoughts about anything I ate. One of the cool things about sandos playacar is they have a lot of restaurants and a ton of space, so expect to walk 7 to 10 mins to a restaurant or the beach. There are golf carts that will take you to your destination , but the walk is actually very peaceful and the animals are fun to watch. It's a nice set up, but if you want a room overlooking the beach, go to Sandos Cancun: everything is closer together, smaller and there is a ton to do off the resort as well. The best part about it is its a safe area outside and monitored by the police constantly. I felt safe walking home at night. At Sandos Cancun, you can order normal breakfast lunch and dinner to your room . At sandos playacar, you can't even get eggs.... It's fruit, granola and yogurt or nothing . That's it. Lunch and dinner at playacar are like foods you get served on an airplane. . . It's nothing special at all and really not that good. On a side note, breakfast ends at 1030 am at playacar. If you're not there before 1030, everything shuts down until 1230 and you can only have cupcakes, hamburgers and hotdogs until then, so beware. Service around the resort area at Sandos Cancun is very good. If you tipped well just once, they'd remember you for the rest of your stay . At Sandos playacar, they hardly come around. This is partially due to the fact that there are so many people staying at the resort. Sandos Cancun is smaller and less crowded (if you go before spring break). The beaches at Sandos Cancun are beautiful. Playacar was nice, but if you walk down past the resort, there is a ton of trash on the beach. There was none of this walking the coast of Cancun during my stay . The rooms at Sandos Cancun are very luxurious . The Playacar rooms are fine too if you get a master suite, but some of the older rooms (including the master suite) may smell musty inside . Again, if you're going for a honey moon or a group of friends, do Cancun. Great food, exceptional service, beautiful area and attractions, luxury feel. It's really not as wild as everyone says. If you want a ton of families, overcrowded beaches and ok food, go to playacar. Hopefully this is a helpful review. read more

My husband and I stayed at this resort for the week of our friends' wedding. There was so much to do, both on the resort and close by! The restaurants located on site were incredible, and the night club was pretty fun, but the last night that we were there, a large spotlight fell from the ceiling and crashed in the middle of the club dance floor. Luckily, it didn't hurt anyone, but it was a pretty close call! It was our first experience at an all-inclusive resort, but it was fantastic. I will definitely go that route again in the future. I highly recommend visiting the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza while you're here! read more

See all

I really enjoyed our stay here. We stayed in the adult section, which was far from the beach. The shuttle sometimes took forever so we would just walk. Other than that, the food was amazing. The beach was bomb, and the adult pool and its bartenders were awesome. read more

See all

Just got back from a weeks vacation. The staff is very accomadating, friendly. The service was great. July the activities director at the Adults Pool was very enthusiastic with a great personality. The restaraunts were on point and the food was good. Our favorite was the French Restaraunt Gourmet. If you are looking for a great hotel to relax fir the week this is it. read more

The members only breakfast team was excellent. They learned our preferences two days in. YAMILET stood out always antipcating our needs and warmly hosting our group of 7 read more

One of the greatest hotels in Playa Del Carmen! Activities every hour of every day, rooms are excellent and clean, beautiful beach filled with white sand, and the most amazing customer service! You definitely get what you pay for booking this hotel. We stayed for 7 days and it wasn't enough. The food is great, 24 hour room service, and free wifi. Plenty of restaurants and my favorite was the French! Definitely recommend this beautiful resort. read more

See all

Let me start by saying the reviews for this resort are amazing which is why we picked it. BUTTTTTTT, as a couple who has been to many different resorts all over Mexico this resort is not a FOUR STAR resort. If you are looking to do a lot of walking this is the place for you, if you like to get your own drinks while you're relaxing on the beach or at the pool this is the place for you. We came to this resort without our kids as a little getaway. I'm just got to list and rate, 5 being the best.... -Over all- 2- Would NOT recommend. -Night (main lobby) desk people- 1 (not helpful at all, super rude when I was asking for change to pay a cab which they had said they were able to do when we checked in) -the "good" restaurants- 2 (table side guac was the bomb at the Mexican restaurant. We ended up eating off the resort for the last few days.) -Breakfast buffet-2(unless you get the omelet then most of it was soggy.) -buffet/snack bar-2 ( I would not feed my dog half the food in there. One day they did have good fresh fried fish and pretty fresh tasting mussels. We got two burgers asking to have them cooked medium well, they were raw. Tried again the next day because it's basically the only choice, raw again.) -Pools- 2- ( the resort has flipped from what we were told, now the only pools with swim up bars on family side. Service by the pool was non existent for the most part.) -Beach-4 the beach was nice, lots of seaweed but not a big deal. -Beach service- 1 non existent -Location-4 (only a $7 cab ride to 5th street) -Rooms- 2 (we had a Select Superior, that name means nothing lol! It was ghetto. The lights only worked if this little coaster was folded up and stuck in this little spot that stuck out of wall.) -Covid testing-4 ( the ladies in there were great it was super quick and got our results back that afternoon) -Spa-3 ( the service was nice but the therapist spent a while braiding my hair. My service was supposed to start at 3:30 but didn't start until 3:50 and still ended at 4:30..... get a massage on the beach.) -Drinks- 3 (they did what they were supposed to, have to ask for it extra blended... if you choose to go here) read more

The rooms will run down the food was terrible best restaurant is the buffet we met some great people the drinks were very inconsistent the pool bar was the family pool read more

I would have gave this resort zero stars but that was not an option. We went with 4 couples and 3 of the couples the resort couldn't find the reservation and had them wait more than 4 hours to check in. One of the couples did not get the suite they had reserved. What a mess! One couple had reserved a car from the resort to pick them up at the airport and it never showed. They had to take a $100 USD taxi ride to get there after waiting for 2 hours expecting the car to show. The food was terrible and the drinks were very watered-down. The one popular restaurant we all wanted to get into one night couldn't get us in for the few night we had available. When they finally got us in the food was just ok nothing spectacular. What was crazy about this is there were empty tables all around us so how come they make us get a reservation? When our trip came to end and we tried to check out, all the couples who had massages were charged almost $70 USD more than were quoted and they would not let them get a taxi or shuttle to the airport until the bill was paid. It was like being held hostage until you paid what they say was due. There was no room for negotiating and no management in sight to voice a complaint or get a resolution to the problems. I would not recommend this resort! Don't waste your time. I'm pretty sure there are many other places that will appreciate your business more! read more

My husband and I just finished a weeklong stay here. We had a good time, but because we've only stayed at nicer resorts than this, we had some disappointments but I'll also mention the positives. Positives: All of the staff were wonderful and friendly (even in the pouring rain! ) Nice beach overall (although cloudy right now, not clear water). One day while I was there I saw tractor tires (we were usually one of the first on the beach), but other days I saw them working to rake it and bury it with shovels. They play music a few hours a day on the beach, and yoga on the beach is fun. The activity staff on the beach and near the pool are good and are always trying to get people involved in something. Food: Overall the place has good food at the restaurants. Guacomole was delicious every day. French restaurant was our favorite, by far they season meats the best, have the best service, and cook their food the best. Lunches weren't always great but we had nachos and pizza every day and that was fine. Coffee and Cupcake shop is good, however the cupcakes are not "sweet" as expected in USA they are more sour. The alcoholic drinks were strong. The workout room is nice Negatives: At check-in we weren't informed about how to get towels (we didn't get towel cards) and because of the miscommunication and language barriers at the towel stands it took us an extra half hour to figure out how to get beach towels our first morning. The rooms contain portable dehumidifiers that are extremely loud and beep loudly when they need changed. We had the dehumidifier alarm go off 1-2 times in the middle of the night when sleeping and we had to wake up and dump water. As everyone has mentioned, the walk is long to the beach from the Adult section. They say "5 minutes" but the front desk should be a little more honest and say 10-15min because we are in our 20s and it took us at least that long. (Yes, the golf carts are nice but you had to wait a while for them, and we felt we should allow the older couples to ride) We didn't mind the walk, but I think the staff should be a bit more honest so we have correct expectations. On Friday at the beach BBQ the kabobs were way undercooked (chicken and steak were fleshy still), so maybe a timer out there for the chefs could be a good idea while they cook. The new burrito place had three large dark chicken bone shards in my burrito! That needs addressed with their meat supplier or meat preparer, I couldn't eat there again!! As others have mentioned, the mattress is pretty hard and even with a topper I can feel each lump and bump in the mattress. There are only sheets as blankets, no light duvet or comforter but there are extra brown fuzzy blankets in the closet, however ours had some white stains on it so I didn't want to use it. Another person has discussed the lack of enforcement of the smoking regulations and I agree that it's more uncomfortable for those who do not smoke to have smoke blown in their faces throughout the day (this happened at least once a day on beach or pool areas) then it would be to kindly ask smokers if they could please use the smoking areas. Tips: 1. Get to beach at 8:30ish if you want a shaded Tiki hut on the beach otherwise if you don't care then anytime you will be able to find a chair 2. The Crepes don't open until late afternoon and evening but check those out because they are pretty good! 3. We didn't get to try the fresh juice bar but people said it was great but it's hard to find: it's on the family area of the beach and open in the mornings! read more

Very nice resort with exceptional service and spacious rooms. The valet button was great and they would attend to all you needed. The beds and pillows were amazingly comfortable, I did not have trouble sleeping at all. Loved the phone and tv in the bathroom. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. Room service, lots of restaurants, swimming pools etc.....! We'll be here next year! read more

See all

Ok let's see where to start.. We are royal elite members here at sandos playacar. Last year was great and we bought into the royal elite club. This year the service hasn't been great with them At all. Not happy. We arrived Friday stayed in sandos cancun which is really nice but our room has a water leak on the ceiling. They moved us on Saturday to much nicer room and there the royal elite people were nice. I told them we had friends coming in on Sunday and if they could make sure we could check into our hotel at sandos playacar early. They told us no problem. Wasn't the case when we got here. The lady in charge of royal elite was very rude and said they couldn't get us in till 10am then it was 12 then they said 2:30. Really I was there at 8:30 am and couldn't get our room till 3 after they said we would be able to check In as soon as we got there. Also we brought friends to ck it out to see if they wanted to buy into the club as well. They did the same to them. They were tried from flying all night and wouldn't let them to there room till 3:30 also. Then there room had 2 double beds. Very small room and water coming up in the shower. They were also celebrating there 15 yrs anniversary. So we talked with them said they would move them to another room first thing in the morning. They had to check out then wait till 3 to get another room. Ridiculous!!!!! I was so mad.. Being members and all we brought someone's here to see if they wanted to buy in like we did. You think they would do everything to make them an us happy. I asked to talk to the mangers at royal elite and the girl said he was gone on vacation and she (Lorena Menchaca)was in charge. Wow... She was sooooooo rude. She said there basically nothing she could do. Really???? Not happy at all with the service here. Then our room toilet runs every 3 mins. Told them since we got here and still hasn't been fixed. They say they did and they don't. Again not happy. Now on the better side the beach and pool are great. The buffet was just ok. But the restaurant are good. I grounds are beautiful. If they can get there customer service better it would be a better place. Going back today to talk to someone else and show them the review I wrote and see what they do. Good luck I hope they an fix there custom service then they will get better ratings. read more

See all

DONT STAY HERE!!! While the service is terrific, I haven't had anyone be less than excellent, everything else is THE WOrst. Ok exaggeration, the pool is giant and cute, there is a nice place for kids and there's no complaining about the ocean. But still, you could stay in a cute place in town and eat delicious tacos for $1. Or $7 of your being precious, $25 if you're being special. They only have dos xx on tap, it's warm. The drinks are all made with cheap mix, the ice machine doesn't work and the food is disgusting. I'm not sure I could eat it if I were 8, but it's not for adults. It makes the nachos you get at a high school baseball game look gourmet. The best of the food is freezer style hamburgers, oh but wait! There's hot dogs too. So gross. Such a waste of money. You can't possibly drink enough to make up for how bad the food is. Still. The service is great. read more

HORRIFIC!! Do NOT give this place your money. I planned a trip with 16 people for my boyfriends 30th. We managed to have the worst experience. I stood at the check in desk for 2 hours when we arrived because they told me I didn't pay for my reservation. When I showed them my reservation confirmation email of me paying over $2,000 they said it was to "hold" the reservation. Finally, they got someone who knew what they were doing and said we were paid in FULL. Second issue, my room key. I was locked out of my room for 3 days. They refused to cut my wrist band off and give me a new one. My boyfriends was working fine. After visiting the front desk 7 times in 3 days, and locksmith coming to our room... they finally listened to me and gave me a new wrist band. Third issue, our toilet wasn't flushing. We had to manually flush it ourselves. Which led to a human feces smell the entire week outside of our room. The sewage tank outside of our rom was also overflowing. Fourth issue, our shower flooded our ENTIRE bathroom, hallway and closet 3 TIMES!! Fifth issue, the management is not only unprofessional, but they should be ashamed of themselves. The owner of Sandos should be told to get rid of them. Not only did I bring 16 people with us that paid very good money including tipping the staff VERY well, we also got a private boat worth over $2,000, rented jet skis, went snorkeling, got a couples massage, and last but not least my boyfriend and I also got engaged on this vacation and we will remember this for the rest of our lives. As far as compensation goes, Beatriz (Bety) thought this was a joke and offered us late check out, or nice dinner for the two of us (on them). I also had an apt with her one morning, that she NO SHOWED for. As if we would like to sit around our room waiting for her. We respectfully declined those offers as late check would mean we would have to pay the airlines to change our flight, and also a "nice" dinner is already paid for being that it was an all-inclusive resort. They did in fact offer our room to be changed...on the LAST night of our stay. After fighting with them all week, and then not changing our room we didn't think it was even worth the hassle. If you are thinking about staying here, think again. Take a look at our photos. Do NOT spend a dime here. We are still looking for compensation... as we have yet to receive any. read more

I'm glad for those souls that had a great experience at this negligent place, specially if they had any of the lesser vacation packages. We had Royal Elite black wristbands and our experience was awful. No, this is not an emotional review, in spite of the fact I hate that we spent our summer vacation here, but the failures Sandos Playacar had with us were of their own negligence, lack of urgency and definitely not following a check list protocol, which all serious hotels and resorts follow to be sure their rooms and structures are maintained properly, since things do age over time, that's not the sin, neglecting them in the guest services IS. From the "I hope you guys find the shuttle company we scheduled with you through your Royal Elite membership" (gifted to us by a friend so we could try out the place and buy a membership of our own) to the rude sit down with Carlos of Royal Elite pinning us down to have breakfast the next day with his tactless coworker Alfredo, we started holding our breath the first day. I wish we had held our breath because after trekking 2 football fields lengths from the lobby to our room, we were greeted with the kick of the smell of mildew and a broken door handle to the door that leads to the balcony. Both issues were reported immediately at 3pm, zero action was taken from anyone at Sandos and we were too tired to do anything else about it, or the extremely limited room service menu with only 4 Pepsi product soft drinks to choose from. 7:30am, I was woken by the considerate Alfredo of Royal Elite to make sure we were still on for breakfast. He asked how we were loving the place and I proceeded to calmly telling him the issues we were having with the room and he proceeded to talk them down and said he would "personally look into it" ... then tried to lecture me that my family and I should NOT drink coke products anyway because it's not healthy when I asked where we could buy Coca Cola products, since we prefer them over the Pepsi product Sandos offers. At that point I told him not to call me again and that I wasn't going to no presentation. He must have told his buddy Carlos at Royal Elite because after that, we got ZERO and I mean ZERO response from Royal Elite. The issues I reported were reported at least 5 other times over the first 3 days, and after that we gave up decided to just hope time went by fast to get out of Sandos. Another routine checklist failure, we had to spend 35 mins out in the heat and rain for a security person to get to our room to change the battery on the door lock. I wonder how many other customers that happened to. Last but not least, safety concerns, a severely intoxicated lady was crying disoriented and barely walking on her own trying to get to her room on my last night at the resort. She was crying for help as guests and employees alike passed her by ignoring her or laughing at her at 11:30pm. Now, adults have to own their own actions, yes, but who served her that much alcohol at the bar? Where was the security personnel? I, riding a motorized scooter because I had a twisted ankle, decided to stop and help her get to the lobby to ask for someone from security to help her. She was asking random strangers to help her and take her to her room. It could have ended in her falling and splitting her head open, or being taken to a room and assaulted. After a 30 min wait and me listening to her drunk blabber, Ivan from security came to help, looked up her room number via her bracelet and took her to her room. Again, failures all over the place. I would never stay here again, even if invited for free, I wish there was less than 1 Star to give. read more

If I was in my 20's or still in college or on a really tight budget this place would've been fine. But if you're older, have the means and expect a little more from your vacation resort, don't waste your time. Apparently "all inclusive" means you're stuck here, you get what we give you and nothing more. The food was just not good at all. High end vodka was Smirnoff. The resort itself was really dated and shabby. Clearly, the mentality of the resort owner was "keep overhead as low as possible by serving the cheapest quality stuff we can find." To be fair, I blame myself. I should've known $500 to stay, eat and drink all weekend was too good to be true. Lesson learned. read more

We were here for 5 days, 4 nights and were extremely disappointed with the front desk and their customer service. Our air conditioning was out for 2 nights and after hours of trying to fix it - were unsuccessful. We asked to be moved to another room and when we packed all of our stuff and followed the bell boy... they assigned us to a room that wasn't even vacant! We went to the lobby and finally got another room.. this is now 4 hours wasted. The front desk manager was very rude and inconsiderate. We did not feel appreciated at all. Will not be returning. read more

The service is very slow and not persistent thats not all it takes way to long to check in and check out. Never recommend to anyone at all.

For the price I'd probably like to give it 4 stars, Customer service was not great they stop transportation within the resort at 11, really inconvenient because people are on vacation getting drunk or staying up past 11, in other resorts when I arrived I was immediately greeted with drinks, not here. Customer service was often short and rude, I didn't see much security I think somewhere that serves that much liquor should have security 24/7 for everyone's safety, also the transportation says every 10 minutes a car will come around as a taxi through the resort, if often took 20-30 minutes for a ride to come, not saying it's the workers fault they seem to be under staffed. The food was just ok, nothing special they didn't even have carne asada tacos ? Isn't this a Mexican resort? Went to the club and it was very outdated, small space as well didn't see any promotion efforts on behalf of the resort to encourage people to attend the one club they had, all the restaurants you had to make a reservation IN PERSON, you couldn't do it over the phone? Room service had crappy food simple sandwiches and that's it no big menu overall the location is amazing but that's about all they have going there's nice events and concert going on but nothing special, overall the customer service needs to improve greatly and the food as well. read more

The resort wasn't to bad. The food was decent and the activities were fun, but the room was a nightmare. I washed out the coffee maker in the room and there was a little worm inside of it. Absolutely disgusting and then I found bugs on the sheets. The beds were stiff as a rock. Every time you tried to call the operator they would tell you they were forwarding your call and just hang up. I really enjoyed to place outside of the room. It really made the place get a 1 star read more

Came for a friends wedding, although we had a great time at wedding, we won't be coming back! I have so much to say but main issue was mold smell in room and issue was never resolved unfortunately We came home with a suitcase full of moldy smelly clothes. read more

See all

The resort is amazing. The grounds are beautiful and the food is wonderful. The service is great....for the most part. You know how one little thing can ruin your whole vacation? Well this is what happened to us. We are actually currently here and we decided to go to El Gaucho for dinner. We had a little bit of a wait so we were just chit chatting outside. All of a sudden the hosted tells my husband that he has to go change his shoes because slides and flip flops for men are not allowed inside.... my husband complied but I was livid. She was really nasty to him pointing to the 'dress code'. As she was telling him that I looked inside the restaurant and guess what?! Soooo many men walking in slides and flip flops. When I pointed it out to her she just gave me a blank stare and completely ignored my question as to why all those men were allowed to be in the restaurants in slides and flip flops.... I now have a really bad taste in my mouth after this experience.... read more

This was my first time at an all-inclusive resort and for the most part everything was excellent. Check-in was weirdly slow but then we were met with a super nice guy named Jimmy who represented our travel agency at the resort. The food was pretty stellar throughout - especially the Mexican restaurant (no surprise there) - and the bars were plentiful and well-stocked. The premium bars in particular had excellent bartenders and I never got the feeling they were skimping on the liquor. They have themed shows every night of the week, and even when the theme was questionable (a superhero show complete with stormtroopers and Vader), they were always impressive and fun to watch. I'd say the worst part were the rooms, which is not to say they're bad at all, just not as impressive as the hammocks under palm trees on the beach or the swim-up pool bar. Our A/C was questionable and our safe broke on two separate occasions, and a few of our wedding guests had issues with their fridge and water cooler. Each incident was fixed pretty quickly. We were there for our wedding, and in planning it we worked with Maria and Marisol. Both were excellent, and if I were rating their services alone I'd give them 5 stars. They were thorough and helped out in every way they could. The photo shop at Sandos was very impressive and fast in delivering our wedding photos. In general, I very much enjoyed my time at Sandos! read more

SAVE YOURSELVES HEADACHES, AGGRAVATIONS AND MONEY With all Honesty this Sandos Playacar was a complete FIASCO. I purchased a membership a few years ago and the caracol location WAS good for one year only then the quality dropped. I decided to try Finisterra in Los Cabos and it was good then I tried Sandos Cancun (hotel area) and it sucked. The food was terrible and the rooms had a moldy smell (I started having allergy reactions) in addition to old furniture that one wouldn't even find at the Goodwill store (really!). We decided to try Sandos Playacar for Spring break 2021 and was a disaster. I stayed 3 days and left. All I drink is pina coladas and the third day at 1 pm not a single bar had Rum "they were out of stock" how can an all-inclusive resort at 1pm be out of stock. There was an Argentinian woman complaining at the administration about her drink tasting like water and furthermore I was told before leaving Chicago not to make any restaurant reservations that it was ok to arrive and make the reservations right there and then. Well, surprise surprise surprise there was nothing available and I was almost begging for them to let me in the restaurants when I was supposed to be a member ELITE. I had to eat at the buffets all the time and I paid top dollar for the "vacations" I wouldn't recommend this place. I left 5 days before and they wouldn't even give me credit for that. They lie to get away with things and some employees will tell you one thing and others will tell you the complete opposite. The place is not the nicest and the administration lies for you to empty your wallet there. They just want your money and when you try emailing them for something they don't response but after 3,5,7 or even a week and a half after. For the money you would pay here I would recommend better the Palace Elite Group which I ended up moving to after leaving Sandos Playacar. Best decision ever made right then my vacations started (way too many restaurants at least 8 no reservations drinks up to my neck party and shows all over without restrictions (not meaning COVID/must wear mask) meaning Sandos opens some restaurants certain days and closes others. With the palace elite group you don't have such restrictions. Two weeks ago, I emailed Sandos Playacar asking for my credit for the days I didn't stay with them and it has been 2 weeks and no response and I AM A MEMBER now what can you expect if not a member? Well, I will tell you (lies from the administration and a million apologies that are not meant and their WORD THAT IS WORTHLESS and a bunch of promises from someone before arriving and once you get there will be a total different ball game because they will do and give you whatever they want because they will have your money by then. I recommend the hard rock, iberostar, panama jack but definitely not Sandos Playacar (liers with lack of integrity), Sandos Caracol (they warm up your food in the microwave in the buffet -the Brazilian restaurant--cold food) don't recommend Sandos Cancun (hotel zone rather small, terrible food, old furniture and rooms smelling like mold, humidity). I do recommend Sandos Finisterra in los cabos but the rest were a total cr..py experience. I seriously don't even want to travel to Sandos in Spain. I am afraid to have another cr..py experience like Sandos Playacar (same owners, same ideas same cr..py service and don't even think about purchasing a membership you will get ripped off big time same Sandos owners, managers and personnel, I can assure you lost more than one unhappy customer. I teach at a college where my 85 students have seen the sh..ty service you guys offer. read more

My husband and I just enjoyed five days at this resort. I'm surprised there's as many negative reviews as there is as we did not have a problem. The staff was incredibly friendly, the pools were clean as was our room everyday and the restaurants were great. The international buffet was hit or miss, but I found plenty of options as a vegetarian. We went with two other couples and had a great time on the beach, which was clean and fine to swim in. We watched a Mayan fire show that was incredible and walked around as there's so much to see. The resort is definitely kids friendly, but there are places to avoid that if you are looking for a more adult atmosphere. There is an adults only pool and beach and both are pretty chill. I recommend the jungle atv/zip line/snorkeling excursion through Mystic. It was a lifetime experience, so much fun and so beautiful, and a great price. read more