Sandos Playacar Beach Resort

We've stayed at Sandos Playacar 3 times, making two free day-trips to Sandos Caracol Eco-Resort in that time. Sandos repeatedly exceeds our expectations.

Being non-drinkers, we have been surprised to come away feeling that our All-Inclusive fees were a bargain for the value received. Food is very good to excellent at all restaurants. I'm not much of meat eater as a rule, but the Brazilian restaurant meats, served off of swords, were so savory that I hardly ate anything else that evening. Our grown children told us that a dinner comparable to what we 6 enjoyed in the French a la carte restaurant at Sandos Playacar would have cost $400 in Vancouver, BC. Our kids are not tee totalers; they pay their own way and bring their friends.

The food at the Caracol is not as good as at the Playacar, but it's an Eco-Resort and a very different ambiance. Built right into the jungle, with an emphasis on ecology and Mayan culture, and more family-oriented than the upscale Playacar. A deficit at the Caracol, we think, is that the 2 room suites don't have closing doors between the sleeping areas. We rather enjoy our privacy when the lights go out.

At both resorts, cabanas, beach chairs, hammocks and queen-sized beach beds are free, towels are free, drinks, pop, water and juices are all free, ice cream is free, room service is reasonably quick and free. Wifi is spotty at the haciendas were we always stay, but strong at the big Meeting Place open air lobby.

At Playacar there are golf carts running around the grounds like mini-taxis all day and probably all night long. Other than at check-in and check-out, we never use them, as it's only 4-6 minutes easy stroll to wherever we want to go in the resort. Tennis is free. The bicycles are fat tired, and the bikes themselves are a bit tired, too. But we peddle into town in 10-12 minutes, and hefty cable locks come with the bikes.

We've been in various studios and suites, all are clean and spacious. The showers are huge. The king sized beds are a bit firmer than we are used to. Our princess daughter sleeps soundly on the twin bed/couch. Our mini-fridges were refilled daily with what we asked for. Staff are smiling, with a yes-we-can-do-that attitude. Very gracious. We take a wad of US $1 dollar bills to use as tips, including at the resorts (though you don't have to tip at the resort.)

We really enjoy Playa del Carmen. Being central on the Mayan Riviera, it's close to everything. In the past we always rented a car, but public transportation is so ready and inexpensive that we are planning to use busses and taxis next time we go. We have picked up a bit of Spanish, which we expect will be challenged using the Colectivos.

Cozumel is directly off the coast from Playacar, so there is no surf at the resort beach. I missed that. The resort has kayaks, snorkels and fins, even a catamaran that guests are allowed to check out free for an hour. More, if things are slow.

We've heard that the east-coast spring break crowd can be kid-tipsy-loud-obnoxious. We know that there are many Europeans who vacation at the Sandos resorts (it's a Spanish company), and that makes for stimulating conversations around the resort.

Overall, we give the Playacar 9.5, the Caracol 8.5.