TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My wife and I have travelled quite a bit, so we know what to expect at resorts. Here is our honest review of our recent seven-night stay at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort. The resort gets ?????? The resort is large and visually impressive, with a wide range of activities geared toward families. While it is clearly family oriented, there are several well-designed adults-only areas throughout the property, which helps balance the atmosphere. Our check-in was quick due to our late arrival, although during our stay we frequently observed very long check-in lines in the lobby. Dining was mixed overall. Some options were enjoyable, while others were disappointing. The buffet by the bridge overlooking the water was particularly poor, with long food lines and unappealing conditions. In contrast, the buffet across from Nido in the red building was consistently excellent. The adults-only KIIN beach area stood out as one of the best features of the resort. It offered beachside food service delivered by a waiter, the food quality was excellent, and it also provided an air-conditioned indoor area to relax, enjoy drinks, play pool, and have snacks, including bite-sized sandwiches, pretzels, peanuts, and cookies. The Sandos app was functional and made it easy to book à la carte restaurants. We were able to secure five reservations during our seven-night stay. However, only the Japanese restaurant and Los Lirios were truly good. Late-night dining options were extremely limited, with Nido being the only venue open after 11 p.m. The menu there is restricted to beef and chicken tacos or burritos, and the quality was poor. On one occasion, I observed uncovered cooked chicken and beef in the kitchen sitting in stainless steel hot pans with insects buzzing about, which was very concerning. Bar service was another weak point. Many bars appeared understaffed, often with only one bartender, resulting in long lineups. Several bartenders seemed disengaged, with little friendliness or enthusiasm. While drink quality was generally decent and some higher-end brands were available, cleanliness in the bars, restrooms, seating areas, and other common spaces could be significantly improved. Some of the food safety and handling practices, along with the lack of cleanliness, could be why many people report getting sick. However, we never got sick, as we were careful about where and what we ate. The beach itself was well maintained, though guests should expect frequent approaches from vendors attempting to sell items. While not aggressive, the interruptions were constant. The main pool area was very crowded, and the water was dirty, with noticeable sand accumulation on the pool floor. Wi-Fi coverage across the resort was generally reliable, with only minor issues on parts of the beach. The live entertainment was excellent, with the Michael Jackson show being a highlight. The resort’s location is convenient, situated about ten minutes from Walmart and Fifth Avenue, with access to taxis, Uber, InDrive, or a low-cost shuttle that runs twice daily. Our one-bedroom pool-view suite was quite worn and in need of renovation. The television was outdated, the floors were cracked, and there was broken furniture and damaged electrical outlets. Paint was peeling, and the air-conditioning filters were extremely dirty, appearing not to have been cleaned in a long time. The layout was also problematic, with no door separating the bedroom from the living room and no doors on the bathrooms. While the toilet is enclosed in a small separate room, the overall design felt impractical. This suite is not well suited for families, and housekeeping was below expectations. The water park was clean and well maintained, but food options were very limited and of poor quality. If you plan to drink alcohol at the water park, make sure to bring a reusable cup, as alcohol is not served there. Overall, while there were several positive aspects to our stay, the experience was not strong enough for me to consider returning or recommending to others.

The Good Natural surroundings: The natural setting is beautiful. You’re surrounded by vegetation and wildlife all over the property. The main cenote is a huge plus, and the tunnels have this really cool, mystical vibe. Staff attitude: Most of the staff members are friendly and helpful. Within their possibilities, they genuinely try to help you and usually do it with a good attitude. Water park: Kids absolutely love it here. They can spend the entire day going up and down the slides. For an included water park, it’s actually pretty good. The room: I read a lot of bad reviews about the rooms, but we were honestly very satisfied. Plenty of space, clean, and well maintained. No luxury at all, but also no issues whatsoever. --- The Bad Food: The quality and variety of the food are quite disappointing. That said, there are some hidden gems at the buffet. I basically survived on grilled vegetables and grilled shrimp almost every day. Overall, the food is mediocre. Unfortunately, my son got sick and we lost an entire day of the trip. We talked to other families who experienced the same thing. Drinks: The drink selection — and especially availability — is poor. I was even denied Bacardi Blanco a couple of times. I’d recommend sticking to vodka or gin, which usually come with decent labels. General facilities: Many common areas feel neglected. Lighting throughout large parts of the hotel is almost non-existent. The place has a lot of potential, and it feels like they might be in the middle of renovations — hopefully that’s the case. --- The Ugly Check-in: Even though we arrived early and there were only three parties ahead of us, it still took almost two hours to complete check-in. Completely unacceptable. Staffing levels: It’s very clear that the amount of staff is not proportional to the number of guests. Same issue as check-in — long lines are very common, especially when trying to get drinks.

We had an amazing vacation. We LOVED all the animals, the beach, and all the fun things to do at the main pool. My boys also loved playing ping pong and eating tacos all day every day! Our rooms were cozy and clean and maintenance and housekeeping were excellent. The only complaints we had were about the check in process (it took an hour and a half !) and also that the staff were not super friendly a lot of the time, unless they were getting a tip. (We tried to tip as much as possible but the resort made it very difficult to get small bills for tipping and there were no ATM’s at the hotel). When we did tip, we got excellent service from the bartenders and waitresses. Some servers were very nice regardless. Next time we will bring more small bills! The entertainment and shows were top notch and the entertainment/recreation staff made everything so much fun! The food was great and there were lots of different things to choose from. We heard mixed reviews on the food, but we had zero complaints in that aspect. The AquaPark would be totally amazing for families with little kids. Unfortunately, for us, there were only about 5 slides we were able to go on and they were way too scary for me. There were two other slides that seemed less scary and still quite big, but they would not allow teens or adults on them, which was quite disappointing. All and all it was a great vacation and I would definitely recommend for families with kids.

Just got back a few days ago from a great week at Sandos caracol resort. The beach is beautiful and it has this rock sandbar so there are no waves for a large portion of it which is great for kids and families. The food was pretty good. You could always find something. We really enjoyed the a la cartes which can be hard to book as they were never any time slots available but in the end I was able to get us in. The main buffet was good. The big complaints I have about the buffet are that they don’t have enough staff to manage all the tables. The servers didn’t have time to bus the tables and do drinks so tables would be dirty for a very long time which backed up people from being able to come into the restaurant. Getting any coffee refills is non existent. There are tons of people in the buffet and the lines get very long because of them not stocking the food quick enough so people are waiting in line forever till stuff is replenished. A couple of times I gave up on getting any of the popular dishes that I wanted as the wait was too long. The rooms are very simple and clean. The resort property is beautiful. So many things going on and walking around to do we didn’t feel the need to do any extra excursions. The entertainment was excellent at night. They had proper shows and none of those games where they get you to do dumb things on stage. The one downfall that drove us nuts was the check in. After traveling all day and only having 4 families ahead of us to check in we waited over an hour in line. I have never experienced anything that slow before. There were probably another 20 families behind us in line who were probably in line for another 2hrs after us. They are very disorganized as it should only take 5mins to check in. Once we were finally checked in we were directed to someone to tell us about the resort but they were trying to sell us excursions. I had to be short with him and just say we want to go to our room now. They will also try and sucker you into listening to a speech about time shares blah blah blah for some free extras so just watch out as they can be very pushy.

We came for my friends’ wedding and it was lovely. The wedding ceremony was in front of the central cenote by the lobby. My favorite food was definitely La Mascaras. Amazing Mexican breakfast and specifically recommend the quesadillas in the middle. There was a lot of fun wildlife and nature walks.