Sandos Caracol Nature Resort And Water Park

Overall the trip was just okay. We travelled with 3 children, ages 7,8 and 9. They had a great time and I'm sure they will talk about our Mexico vacation for the foreseeable future, but as adults who paid a good chunk of money for an all inclusive resort, there was many boxes left unchecked. Housekeeping was flexible. If you weren't ready they would return later and were always friendly. There is a lot of wildlife at this resort and the Coates population is huge and very brave. They will absolutely come up onto tables and chairs and steal food from people. The monkeys helped themselves to toys left on our porch and got into a backpack and ripped its contents apart once too. Now this is our fault as it was left out (but kids - so fair warning to others). The reservation system for à la carte meals is terrible. You can only book two days out, so when we arrived in Wednesday I could not book an à la carte until Saturday. I had to set an alarm and get up at midnight to do so. After long days with kids, the last thing I want to do on holidays is interrupt my sleep to book a restaurant, so I only booked two. Food was fine at both but if it was meals I had to pay for, I would be a little disappointed. The water here is cold. The pools are cold, the showers are lukewarm at best - sometimes. The nightlife is calm. Once the shows are done people head back to their room. I can't speak to the adult only section as we had kids with us and didn't spend time there. The shows were entertaining for the kids, but I wouldn't have stayed for them as an adult traveling without them. The theatre area is small and the resort is huge so getting seats is impossible unless you come extremely early. [Details]

Top to bottom, this was a fantastic family vacation in Playa del Carmen! If you're looking for an all-inclusive resort with a more back-to-nature feel, Sandos Caracol is the place to be. As you walk through the resort, you're surrounded by the exotic Mexican jungle—complete with friendly wildlife—while still enjoying a clean, well-maintained atmosphere. There is plenty for both adults and kids to do. Our family stayed busy biking, snorkeling, taking Segway rides, playing tennis, enjoying long walks among the Mayan ruins, and swimming/relaxing in the cenotes, ocean, water park, and multiple pools. In the evenings, the resort puts on over-the-top shows in a large theater, including an incredible Michael Jackson tribute that was absolutely spot-on. I can't say much about the nightlife past 10 p.m., as we were usually exhausted from full days of activities. Dining was a great experience overall. The à la carte restaurants were incredible, with excellent food and memorable experiences. I highly recommend reserving them as soon as you check in, as they fill up very quickly. The buffet is decent and can be quite busy, but it's usually open and offers plenty of options. The beach area is well suited for kids, with a breakwater that helps minimize strong currents and large waves. Although the resort is large, it never feels that way. The natural surroundings keep you engaged as you walk, and it never had that overcrowded, theme-park feel—even with plenty of guests on site. We spoke with several guests who return here year after year, and we can easily see ourselves doing the same. Overall, this was a fantastic experience at a wonderful resort, with no real need to venture off the grounds. If you're looking for a pristine, ultra-elegant resort where every leaf is perfectly placed, this may not be your destination. But if you want to be surrounded by beautiful Mexican wildlife, clean and well-kept grounds, super-friendly staff, great food and drinks, and exotic beaches, this is the place for you. Thank you, Sandos! We can't wait to return. [Details]

We usually stay at this kinda price point hotel so we are used to some highs and lows during a vacation. The jungle location was great, monkeys all around saw them everyday in the adults only section, food was like every other resort, nothing to rave or complain about. We went in jan so the weather was a bit to cold for us to swim to much but we enjoyed sitting by the pool on the sunny days Check in took 1.5 hours as there were lots of people waiting. Once we got to the front it took 3 minutes. [Details]

The resort is simply impressive along with the service staff. Each one worked very hard, smiled and said hello everytime. Take time to study the map to save waisted steps. [Details]

I just got back home from spending an epic week at the resort! That resort was flipping amazing though. We didn't even get to explore the full resort there is just too much to see and do there! Food was top notch Pools were great -Water activities were next level. The Aqua exercise classes were a blast everyday at 12. Then there is a waterpark on the resort that is awesome. 100% wedgie certified! Rooms were clean and good! The staff were super helpful and friendly. The night time theater shows were an unbelievable Time [Details]

Unfortunately we will not go back to this resort. We booked this one mainly for the water park as we have small children ( ages 8, 6 and 3) the water park was closed for our full stay. This would not have been an issue had there actually been other kid activities, there is not much else for small kids to do at the resort. Our kids aslo had a hard time finding food there. Tge only snack bar open all the time was the taco var, if your kids do not eat traditional mexican tacos tge you are in trouble. No one would give us cereal or fruir for the kids once breakfast hours were over. Overall we had a very rough trip with hungry board kids [Details]

Was very nervous about going to this resort due to negative reviews but this was one of our favourite resorts. We booked the adult select section. We loved the a la Cart breakfast restaurant and we ordered our lunch right to our beach chair. We liked the buffet found it comparable with other resorts we have been to. We only ate at two a la carte restaurants at night but both were good. The rooms were ok..they had just been renovated but you couldn't really tell. I liked the app where you could request towels, soda etc. very quick and efficient. I have some mobility issues and we had no problem getting a drive in the carts. The beach was lovely, no problem getting chairs and we loved the adults only building which had snacks, drinks, bathrooms, and our own bar. It's rocky in front of the adults section but if you walk to the family beach it is sandy and clear. We aren't pool people but it looked easy to get a chair there any time we went by. The resort is very lush with lots of animals. We would definitely go back! [Details]

Pros: This resort is very clean. The cleaning staff were AMAZING! Has many activities and your family will not be bored. Beach is very rocky so bring water shoes, but is great for wave jumping. Cons: check in was long. Not enough staff. When hotel was at max capacity you waited in lines for everything, food, drinks, twice we had to call down for towels because they ran out of towels. Very minor things. A big negative for our kids was the lack of ice cream!!! It was served 1pm-3pm at the waterpark. We've stayed in many resorts world wide and this is the first one that didn't have self serve ice cream available 24/7! You had to order your cone. And they made them small. [Details]

Poor experience. Staff are rude. You have to specify alcohol to be put in every drink. Poolside buffet is closed so if on beach have to change out of swim gear to go sit and eat at the nasty buffet. [Details]

Not enough room for proper review. Reviews online are filtered. Unless you're an elite member you will be treated like a peasant. Family all got food poisoning from the buffets. À la cartes are able to be booked but only after elite members chose earlier times first. Prepare for 9-9:30pm dinner and if you get a restarting booking they'll run out of food limiting options. Little to no fruit. ATM don't work. Kids club doesn't give water or food to kids, no food aloud to be brought outside of buffets. No food near pools. Same food daily at buffets no changes to menu. Everyone stands in lines to get food. Buffet isn't setup like any other resort we been too. We had a bad experience and won't be back [Details]

This hotel is a good option if you're looking for a budget family resort. There was plenty of things to do around the resort to keep everyone entertained. We booked this resort for the pools and slides. Check-in for us was quick and easy, but friends of ours checked in the day before and said it took quite a long time. We stayed in the eco family penthouse suite. Large rooms, perfect for families. There is lots of storage space. Mattresses are fine, however, we found the pillows to be quite lumpy with no support. The building we were in was great to watch monkeys swinging in the trees. We seemed to see them every afternoon when it wasn't too hot or if it was raining. We just sat on our balcony and they appeared. The sand on the beach is beautiful. Nice and soft. Lots of loungers. The water is warm, but the ocean bed can be quite rocky in places. The pools were great but loungers were hard to secure if you didn't show up early. My kids liked the slides but we felt it would have been better if there was a larger pool beside it to go between. The Aqua pool is geared to younger kids. More splash park type. Service at both the pools and beach to order a drink was good. Tip well and the staff will remember you and serve you very well. We found it difficult to book à la carts as it seemed reservations only opened at midnight. They use an “app” type system to reserve, but unless we were on at midnight, there was no time slots to book. The food at the buffet is not good. Usually cold and over processed. There is a lot of selection however, nothing was overly appealing. If you're a foodie, this is not the resort for you. Lots of pushy people with very little manners. We would have liked to have more snack place options around the resort but there's only one, a taco bar. Tacos there were good, but we were tired of them by day 3. By the end of our week, we were completely over trying to find something to eat that was somewhat appealing. All in all the resort is nice, but don't think it would be somewhere we'd go back. [Details]

Mixed bag with the resort. Often long lineups for events like the chocolate party (or difficult to find seating around pools) Check in was unacceptably slow. We all got sick! Having to book restaurants at midnight as a family with young kids who wake up early wasn't ideal (& we only managed to get 2 reservations for the whole week!) [Details]

(2/5) Unfortunately, our stay did not meet expectations. The buffet had very limited options, with the majority of dishes being pork, which made it difficult for our family. We also experienced food poisoning after returning home, which was very concerning Even the snack bar at the waterpark only had pork options. We were traveling with a 10-month-old and, despite noting this at booking, we were placed on the third floor. With no elevator available, going up and down the stairs multiple times a day was exhausting and challenging. We asked to be moved to a more accommodating room but were told the resort was too busy to help. The tiles throughout the resort are extremely unsafe when wet. After it rained, the floors and stairs became very slippery, and I slipped on a step and fell on my back, which was frightening given my pregnancy. Late checkout was not available beyond 12:00 pm, which made departure stressful with an infant. Additionally, the reception area consistently had very long lineups, regardless of the time of day. Overall, the resort lacks basic safety considerations and family-friendly accommodations. Unfortunately, we would not choose to stay here again. [Details]

We just came back from our trip from Sandos caracol eco resort playa del Carmen and we had terrible experiences with them. I have mobility conditions and first aircanada broke my walker and I couldn't use it at resort and when we got to resort at 8 am they told us we will get our room at 3 pm. We were travelling more than 48 hr to get to the resort and this was the first extremely frustrating experience we got started with. Tge staff was very rude at check in. I was not feeling well . We beg to them to get our room ready asap but they keep saying it will be ready at 3 pm and we had to sit somewhere for 7 hrs. This experience ruined our trip to begin with. Then their golf cart service people were rude too and not accommodate and keep making comments that I should rent electronic scooter. It was extremely hard for me to go anywhere with mobility issue. My walker was broken and i contacted Scotaland number which was provided by aircanada to arrange for walker but they took 2 days to get back to me and by tyen my legs got extremely sore for walking without walker and I was in excruciating pain so I had no other option then renting electric scooter for 3 days and paid 160 usd for rent. Then their golf cart food and drink were not good at all. Tgere were always lines to get to the food area. They were no reservations available to any of the restaurants at resort . The food tasted bad and chemical. We just eat only salad and fries for entire trip Bcz we couldn't eat meat because of dietry restrictions so there was not really any other option. Our Overall experience with this vacation was very disappointing and frustrating. [Details]

Hard bed, no soft mattress available, had to sleep on foam matress roll-away ben next to my King bed and spouse. A/C leaked on daughter's new book. Daughter got trapped on balcony as the door was stuck. Blowdryer broke off wall exposing electrical wires. Bathroom fan sounds like a Sherman Tank, wakes everyone up every time. Common complaint NO HOT WATER FOR SHOWERS FOR 3 DAYS. Mini bar not filled twice during our 8 days. Restaurant (Italian Buffet) close on a day it was supposed to be open no one knew why. Water slide park closed all day for a "Private Function". No food anyuwher from 10pm to 11pm, then only tacos are available the rest of the night. No bar service around the pool. Sirena Swim up bar without a bartender on almost every occasion I wanted a drink, was forced to exit the pool and line up at the other bar for 10-20 minutes before going back in the pool. Threatened with violence by another guest while waiting for the CENOTE show to start, when I got hotel security, they gave me and the offending party the same treatment and threatened to kick ME out. The hotel app is not an app but a webpage and not easily navigable, reservation system for restaurants is not reliable and very confusing. Only two places I would recommend to eat in the whole resort, Los Lirios and La Riviera, both need reservations. Las Mascaras was ok for breakfast. The Salvia was never open and the rest were awful. Website says Kids Club will allow kids under 4 with a parent - what they don't say is ONLY BETWEEN 10 and 11 AM daily. The absolute worst part was HAVING to write this review. The use of gasoline powered leaf-blowers at all hours of the day and evening was no only annoying but hardly showing any concern for ECOlogy. I will never stay at a SANDOS property again. [Details]

Drinks are off - a taste of chemical. Not enough bars, with consistently 4 to 8 people wait. Booking a la carte is a major struggle. We failed every night. Food is generally 3 to 4 star hotel food. Full construction while we where there. Small disapointing beach... waves only over the breakers. They have someone asking you for a massage every 15 minutes. No kidding Water slides are a bit crazy. [Details]

This was our 3rd visit to Sandos Caracol. So we must have enjoyed it the first 2 times. And we did. My family and I (wife, daughter, son-in-law and 2 grand daughters - 10 and 13) found the resort perfect for our needs. Decent accomodation, great assortment of pools, good array of dining options and a nice overall layout centered on a main Street and town square. For our group, there was plenty to do in a relaxed, pressure free environment. [Details]

The waiter, Santiago and his assistants, at the Italian restaurant were wonderful giving excellent services. Thank you. [Details]

Absolutely fantastic. Select club is a little dated but you only sleep and shower in your room. Food was never disappointing and the pools and beach are fantastic. Highly recommend [Details]

Four adults stayed in the adults only portion of this resort, and although it's very much a family resort we had minimal interactions with children (which was ideal). Lots of wildlife (monkeys, coatis, iguanas), so many activities, lots to see and eat/drink. [Details]

Many items were closed and the app was buggy. Rooms were great, resort was beautiful, but the food was horrible. [Details]

Stay was alright. First few days went off on a rocky start due to water and power outages. First night loss water when was in the middle of a shower after lathering up. Due to flight delays and shuttle delays didn't even arrive at the hotel until the very early hours of the morning on the 24th losing effectively losing a full day on the vacation. Also didn't appreciate losing access to my hotel room at noon on the 30th when I was trying to get back in to pack up to leave. Checkout time wasn't mentioned when I checked in on the 24th, so I was thinking I still had a few more hours until my shuttle back to the air port. Water slide was out of service which sucked as that was the main reason we booked this particular hotel so that my kid could enjoy it. [Details]

The most impressive thing about Sandos Caracol is the grounds. Surrounded by lush jungle and tons of paths to explore, the property is incredible. The onsite cenote is great as well. Where it falls short is the accommodations. The rooms are mediocre, not dirty, but not clean. We had no hot water the first few days and very little water pressure the entire time. We reached out three times to the front desk maintenance with no fix. The food leaves a tonne to be desired and we only managed two a la carte restaurant meals - both of which were simply okay. The Mexican buffet was good, but otherwise the food was cafeteria at best. We went off grounds to Xel-Ha for a day, which was gorgeous and the food there was 10x better! The pools always looked a little murky - not appealing to jump in. [Details]

Overall we enjoyed our stay, but if I didn't have kids this wouldn't be my preferred destination. The main pool was cloudy (given all the kids I can only speculate why…) and the only way to get access to a specialty restaurant was to be on the app at midnight (Who likes to be up at midnight when on vacation?). Service was okay. [Details]

This was our first time at this resort. We enjoyed it very much. We stayed in the adults only section and loved the personalized service. Meals were average, but good.
Room was large and clean. We were happy with how our room was kept throughout the week. Check in was a little confusing, but everything was straightened out quickly. Check out took a matter of minutes. [Details]

We had an incredible time at Sandos Caracol. It vastly exceeded our expectations. A perfect resort for nature and wildlife lovers, and for anyone not with small children not wanting to leave the resort. Amazing staff, amazing water activities and scenery. [Details]

would give this resort a 5/10. Here are the reasons I would give this resort a 5/10

The food was not good. Each restaurant served the exact food. The restaurants that you had to reserve served the exact food. Awful. There were only two restaurants that you could reserve. We noticed the Asian restaurant was NEVER open. Very disappointed with the food.

This resort is advertised as a “eco” resort. I don't think you know what that means. We saw numerous people dumping their food on the grounds to feed the wild animals. Each time I saw this staff saw and did nothing. We saw people dumping nachos to the turtles and fish. This is so disgusting and wrong. Amphibians and fish can't digest “nachos”. It could kill them. Again if you were a true “eco” resort you would fine people or something like that. Stop saying you're a eco resort. Your not. False.

Our room on day two had a sewer smell that got worse each day. We couldn't get staff to deal with it. We called no answer spoke to a staff member and I don't think he understood us. Very disappointed.

The “app” didn't work. We could never get information. We would ask at the front desk and the staff would say get the app. And refuse to assist.

I love visiting Mexico. I would not recommend this place.

The entertainment was great. Majority of the staff were very kind. Keep smiling. [Details]

The staff at the hotel was very nice and tried to accommodate last-minute requests.
The food, though, was not great, especially the Santos Caracol reservation system for booking restaurants. Waiting until midnight to make a reservation doesn't go well with going on holiday to rest. And even when I stayed up that late, I had no luck with early booking most of the time.
We were 3 and arrived just before New Year's Eve for 1 week.
Obviously, it is a busy season and even in the restaurants where you had to make reservations, we had to wait a long time to get our food. In one restaurant we had a late booking and all the food was served cold. It was a waste of our time to have stayed up to book it and then to eat there.
We loved the location, the wildlife and the nature surrounding us. [Details]

Nice bedroom and bathroom. A/C, wifi worked well. Plenty of storage for clothes etc. [Details]

My parents moved rooms 3 times and didn't have a hot shower the whole time. They are pushing using the app but it can't handle the traffic and is incorrect and not updated. You have to stay up till midnight to book a la carte restaurants and before 12:01 there is no availability. Multiple restaurants with no coffee. Buffet food was terrible and all cold. The 3 a la cartes I had were great - the Mediterranean, Japanese and Brazilian. Little piece of paradise if they could upgrade the infrastructure and amenities to handle the 900 suites in high season. [Details]