TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Pros: Rooms - were nice, clean, beds were super comfortable. Safe worked as expected. Air conditioning was great. Water pressure in the shower want the best but no real huge issue. We were on the third floor which we preferred. Fridge was stocked daily. Housekeeping was great. Overall 9/10. Food - ate at the buffet mostly and at the steakhouse one night and the Brazilian another. Food was very good. Buffet was always plentiful, changed up a bit, hot food. Loved the omelet station in the mornings and the crepe station in the evenings. The two alacarte options were really good though the steakhouse maybe needed to cook their steaks a bit longer. Medium well was more like medium rare. Cupcake cafe was a very unique surprise. Overall 9/10. Staff - didn't run into one issue. Everyone was super helpful. Check in and out very easy. No pressure from sales as others have mentioned. 10/10. Bars/drinks - lots to choose from. Bar staff usually measured out the shots but you could always ask for more. Bars usually had only one staff so sometimes had to wait a while. Overall 9/10. Beach - would have been beautiful aside from the sargassam but not the hotels fault. Lots of shade and loungers at the beach. Entertainment/ games for those that wanted it. Overall 9/10. Pool - we we in block 8. The pool there was nice and quiet. Block 9 had the swim up bar and a bit more excitement. The family pool by the beach was usually super busy/less loungers. Overall 9/10. Cleanliness - 10/10. No issues. Wildlife - saw monkeys (never before in a resort) and the usual. 10/10 for interest! Cons: Layout of the resort. It was pretty confusing... regular guests, adults only, premium, who could go to what. I've never been to a resort that is in "one" but seemingly so separate. It took a while to work out what was what. Night time lighting was limited. Be prepared. Entertainment. Was so so. Overall 6/10. Transportation within the resort. Plan to walk a lot. If you don't you'll be in trouble. The transportation system wasn't plentiful. Lots of waiting/full busses. Walking was fine if you were prepared. Block 8 to the beach was 10-12 minutes. Lots of nice things to see during the walk though. If you need ttransportation I'd rate it maybe 3/10. Never did find an a 24 hour bar/snack bar. We were really only there for four nights because of a canceled flight but not having something like that was unusual (though maybe we just didn't find it). Overall.... would I go back? Yes probably. For the food, the beach, the staff, the pools. There was a bit of a lack of atmosphere though (compared to bahia where we have gone before). No celebration/ acknowledgement for St. Patricks day which I thought strange given the tourists. A lovely lobby bar has always been a nice way to end the evening, though not at sandos. But lots of positives still overall. Thanks for a great trip.

Me, my husband and our two young adult children have just returned from this resort. We have been everywhere from Spain to Mexico, all over the Caribbean and even Africa and this is one resort that we would most certainly return to. Food was delicious ands plentiful with TONS of options, staff was absolutely lovely and our rooms in the family section were spotless as was the entire resort! We did not stay as RE members, we just had the regular blue bracelets and never wanted for anything… We were able to get into most of the à la carte restaurants but chose to just go to the Mexican and Italian which were unbelievable… We actually canceled our other reservations because the buffet was so good! Make sure to pop into the cupcake Café and the Mexican Grill next-door… I made the mistake of only going to the Mexican grill for a snack the day before we left… I would’ve gone every day had I known how delicious it was! Our rooms in the 8000 block were far from the beach but the saragsssum is so unpredictable this time of year it didn’t matter… Plus the beautiful walks to and from the buffet were actually quite nice(had to visit Pancho and Lola anyway). That being said there is some work to be done to shorten up the check-in process but we were never once bothered by the timeshare reps although we spotted them right away and would just politely smile on our way by. I can see how it could be boring after the show ends (the shows are good with a live band and singers ) because besides the disco there’s not a lot going on…it’s not one of those resorts where the animation crew is running around giving you nicknames and riling everybody up but there were always activities by the family pool where bamboo Island is located (I can’t comment on the other pools as that was mostly where we hung out). We had a great week, walked to plaza Playacar almost daily and also took a taxi to fifth avenue and Walmart a couple of times, so very sad to leave.

We had the absolute best time at sandos! Our favourite spots included the pool by the 9000’s building with the water park, the walks to see all the animals around, the cupcake cafe for coffee and cupcakes every afternoon and our nightly suppers at the international buffet with the best waiter Rigo! Love this resort!

Rigo gave us exceptional service at the main buffet!

A perfect spot for a large family reunion. We visited as a family of 12 with ages ranging from 4 to 75. The family suites are large with huge whirlpool tubs,bunk beds, king size bed and sofa. They are all poolside and our family was near the smaller water park for the kids. The Hacienda suites are roomy, beds are very comfortable and each block has its own small pool and hot tub. The property is lush with a jungle feel and very well maintained. There are small animals and beautiful birds everywhere. My daughter said “the land feels happy here”. There are busy pools and quiet pools and plenty of places to sit both at the pools and the beach. The staff were very nice and helpful everywhere. We ate at the International buffet or the Gaucho steakhouse buffet everyday for breakfast and most nights for dinner. We were never disappointed by the food. There was such wide selection of food that we never got sick of it. We loved the lattes at the Cupcake Cafe every morning and their baked goods were delicious. We ate at the Gourmex restaurant and it was absolutely delicious. We also ate at the Gourmet restaurant and we were equally impressed. Some of us also went to the Asian restaurant and the reviews were mixed from there. It can be difficult to get reservations through the website but just keep trying and ask at guest services around 4pm when sometimes they have cancellations. At lunchtime, we always ate at the beach buffet near the large children’s water park . Again, selection was varied and delicious. The animals and monkeys sometimes put on a show for us in the trees while we ate. The evening shows were okay. Not cruise ship quality but entertaining.