- Mexico Holidays
- Playa del Carmen
- Sandos Caracol Eco Resort
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Sandos Caracol Eco Resort
Mexico, North America
Playa del Carmen
Sandos Caracol Eco Resort All Inclusive is a fantastic resort which is a perfect blend of fresh luxury and eco-friendly design and facilities. Here, style and substance exist in perfect balance. The hotels impeccable service exceeds every expectation to guarantee guests unlimited amounts of fun and relaxation. A great hotel whether guests are travelling with their family, significant other or friends.
Facilities
- Darts
- Tennis
- Billiards
- Beauty salon*
- Spa treatments
- Massage*
- Steam bath
- Sauna
- Entertainment programme for children
- Entertainment programme for adults
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.0 Very Good27,361 reviews
Excellent
57%
Very Good
23%
Average
10%
Poor
5%
Terrible
5%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
A stunning resort, with excellent service
We stopped at Sandos Caracol In March 2026, and honestly, I struggle to find anything negative to say about it. We opted for the adults-only choice, and with that came access to an excellent adults-only pool with club room (snacks, mini bar with beers and soft drinks, serve yourself sprits and a coffee machine), along with a similar arrangement at the beach, with the added bonus of an excellent barman. The complex itself is pretty sizeable, with ample wildlife (monkeys, coatis, agoutis, Raccoons, iguanas; some friends even got a video of a good-sized python that they saw one evening), so it's perfect for nature lovers. I did a few 5km runs around the grounds and very rarely had to repeat paths. On the nature front - the snorkelling was brilliant off the beach, but the boat trip that leaves from the hotel's dock is easily the best snorkelling I've done in Mexico - absolutely do give it a try if you're interested in seeing the local marine life.
Food and drink, in my mind, were brilliant. I like good food and the selection of authentic Mexican food was endless - though if you'd rather a more beige type of food, you might find it limited. I eat every bit of see food and different meat products I saw, and both my partner and I had no issues, I don't know what people who have reported bad bellies eat, but I can assure you ours were fine. Drinks, like all good Mexican resorts, were plentiful; no menus outside the specials at the beach club, they will make you anything you like, you're also not limited to non-brand spirits; if you want a margarita made with 1800, they will happily oblige.
Rooms - now this is the only bit that Sandos falls down on, though its worth mentioning we did book a week before departure - so we must have got the last of the bunch of the rooms. It was clean, tidy and spacious enough, it could have just done with a little bit of a refresh and modernisation. One evening, one of our bathroom taps started leaking quite significantly, we reported it and with in around 20 minutes maintenance was in, sorting it (around 8pm), and while they worked, the concierge arranged a place for us at one of the al a carte restaurants that was otherwise fully booked. We returned to a message saying a new tap system would be installed in the morning, which it was, so full marks to the swfitness in solving any and all issues.
Booking à la carte - lots of people complain about booking a restaurant, and to an extend it can be a bit of a pain to figure out. Yes, waking up at midnight to get a slot is a surefire way to get a place in somewhere you want (its all done via an app), but spaces do become available throughout the day, and we managed to try everywhere we wanted to (sometimes multiple visits)
Location - while being a resort set in a good patch of jungle, Sandos is also easily connected to PDC town. You can either take the shuttle bus that runs from the hotel for a small fee, or its about a 5km walk, through the gated complex the hotel is set and then along 5th Avenue right into the heart of the town - super safe and easy, and you go past a few stunning public beaches.
All in all, I would happily return to Sandos; it's a stunning resort with fantastic staff and excellent value for money.
One final thing - you will be invited to a one-and-a-half-hour presentation about buying into the "holiday club" (new era timeshares). We did it to get a couple of Thermos cups and a beach bag, because they said that if at the end it wasn't for you - that's fine. However, when I started trying to dig deeper into the flawed maths of it being "affordable" the sales guy quickly became frosty - so if you do go to the presentation, prepare to be strong-willed and stand your ground.
Amazing!!
Everyone was so polite and great at explaining everything!!
GREAT REVIEW We WILL be back
this place is amazing for wildlife, monkeys on balcony, coatis, agoutis. we stayed in Select Area lovely pool ,specialist restaurants are good but buffet a bit samey . We would go at a cooler part of year next time. Entertainment 'cruise ship' level Friday market you NEED to haggle way down. NOTE don't bother to go to 5th Avenue - tourist trap. Only dissapointment on TUI I said it was birthday day after we arrived. Nothing done by hotel. I would love to see a big board in Lobby with photos & names of all the animals/birds you can see. I-SpY Booklet for kids to tick off for perhaps a small prize if thy see all of them. Already planning to go back foe 20th wedding anniversary early 2028
Review by Steff H Bristol, United Kingdom
Our experience
Our Experience at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort Overall, we had an amazing experience at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort. However, if you asked us whether we would come back, our answer would be no. There were definitely things we loved about the resort, but there were also enough drawbacks that we would choose somewhere else for our next trip to Mexico.
Room We stayed in the adults-only section. We originally booked the Select Club Superior Room on the ground floor but decided to upgrade to the Select Club Penthouse. The rooms in the adults-only section are definitely dated. That said, the bed was comfortable and the A/C worked great. We really enjoyed having the jacuzzi on the balcony, although the jets wouldn’t shut off. We only used it once, so it wasn’t a huge issue for us.
One thing we noticed was that the door had two small openings at the bottom where little critters could potentially get in. We covered them with a towel and, luckily, never had any bugs in our room.
One of the biggest benefits of staying in the Select Club section is having access to the adults-only pool and the restaurant located right beside it.
Pools The Select Club pool was large and, during our stay, mostly empty. Because the resort is surrounded by jungle, there were quite a few bugs in the pool. The staff did a great job keeping it clean, though, and we didn’t experience the same issue at some of the other pools. We especially enjoyed the pool with the La Tortuga bar.
The main pool, on the other hand, was small and very crowded. We traveled during the resort’s quieter season in September, so I can only imagine how crowded it must get during peak season. The water also looked quite dirty, likely because of the number of people using it and the swim-up bar. We personally didn’t enjoy this pool.
Staff The staff were absolutely amazing. Everyone worked incredibly hard to keep the resort running, from the front-desk staff to the groundskeepers who cleaned the pathways every day and the housekeeping staff. Everyone we encountered was friendly and welcoming. Kudos to the entire staff! They really were one of the highlights of our stay.
Food Unfortunately, this was probably our biggest disappointment. A couple of the restaurants were closed because we were visiting during the slow season, which was unfortunate. We tried several of the available options, but overall, we weren’t impressed.
The Italian restaurant wasn’t great, although we did really enjoy the steakhouse. The taco restaurant wasn’t very good, and the buffet was pretty bland.
We were always able to find something to eat, but we never really had a meal that we were excited about.
One other thing to note: they don’t leave snacks in your room. The mini fridge only had drinks.
Entertainment & Activities There was plenty of entertainment happening throughout the resort during the day and at night. You can tour the Jade River, swim in a cenote, and take part in various activities. They also have a lot to offer families traveling with kids.
By the end of the day, we were usually exhausted, so we only ended up watching one of the evening shows, “Coco,” and it was amazing! The entertainers were fantastic.
The Wildlife One of our absolute favorite parts of the resort was seeing all the wildlife roaming around. We saw monkeys, capybaras, peacocks, coatis, iguanas, geckos, and so much more. It was such a unique experience to have all of these animals walking around the resort. Honestly, this may have been our favorite part of the entire trip.
Beach The beach itself was beautiful, and the staff did a great job cleaning up the sargassum early each morning. The Select Club also has its own beach house with beds and hammocks where you can relax, and we really enjoyed spending time in this area.
If you’re someone who loves swimming in the ocean, though, keep in mind that the beach is quite rocky and the water isn’t the crystal-clear turquoise you might picture when thinking of a Mexican beach.
Final Thoughts We truly had an amazing time at Sandos Caracol, and there were definitely things we loved about the resort—especially the staff, wildlife, activities, and beach area. However, between the dated rooms, disappointing food, crowded main pool, and some of the resort’s other drawbacks, we don’t think we would return.
Would we recommend it? If you’re looking for a unique eco-resort experience surrounded by wildlife and lots of activities, it could be worth considering. Just go in knowing that it isn’t the typical luxury, crystal-clear-water, picture-perfect resort experience.
Service at tacos
Great tacos at the tacos spot, spoke with the manager David and was served Yvette! Very good and very friendly!
