Sandos Caracol Nature Resort & Water Park All Inclusive

Upon arrival—already exhausted after a long day of travel—it took nearly an hour just to check in and receive the bracelet required to access our room. We were then greeted by a pleasant young woman who reviewed the resort map with us and encouraged us to attend a “not a time share” presentation the following morning, noting that breakfast would be provided. She also advised us to make dinner reservations as soon as possible. As we walked to our room, which was supposed to be located in an adults-only area, we were surprised to see children everywhere. In addition, the short path to our room was overshadowed by a strong sewage odor. The next morning, we woke up early—as we typically do at 6 a.m.—but found that the gym did not open until 7, and food was not available until 8. When we attempted to book dinner reservations, we discovered that nothing at all was available for the entire duration of our stay. During the meeting with Alejandro, I repeatedly asked about the cost of the program being presented, but was told each time that pricing would be discussed later. We were shown exclusive-member areas—which were indeed beautiful—but the “included breakfast” turned out to be simply eating at the buffet with Alejandro. We declined the executive program, as I had not yet had the chance to experience the resort or determine whether I would even want to return to Cancún. Alejandro ended the meeting abruptly; he sent us down the elevator without so much as a thank-you or a polite goodbye, which came across as dismissive and unprofessional. Our attempt to dine at Lido also proved frustrating. My friend requested no onions, with added lettuce and cheese, but because our server did not speak English, the dish arrived with only meat and onions—which we later realized was the standard preparation. I had looked forward to enjoying authentic Mexican cuisine, yet found none at this resort. Because no restaurant reservations were available, we were forced to eat at the buffet each night. This would not normally have been an issue, but on Wednesday evening, there was a 40-minute wait at 7 p.m., and when we finally entered, there was almost no food left that I was willing to eat. The night before, we had witnessed an employee clearing dishes without gloves, then using the same unwashed hands to cut a loaf of bread, which made me unwilling to eat it. We visited the adults-only beach area, where the food was excellent—but service was only offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. While there, we were constantly approached by people selling massages and various items, disrupting any chance of a peaceful experience. Children frequently ran along the beach, though staff made an effort to keep them out of the lounge area. At the adults-only pool, lounge chairs were never available unless we went to the upper pool, and even then, the dense tree coverage made it difficult to find any sun. On Thursday (Thanksgiving), the resort made a commendable effort to celebrate, but by the time the football game ended, the food was largely depleted yet again. The breakfast buffet was also disappointing. Although the yogurt bar looked appealing, there was no actual yogurt available. When I asked, I was told it was on the way—this was at 9 a.m. We attempted to use a hot tub to relax, but the only functioning option was located near the gym, and it remained occupied the entire day. Overall, I was dissatisfied with nearly every aspect of this trip. The concierge desk staff were particularly rude; one employee, wearing pink eyeliner, rolled her eyes at me and implied I was lying about not receiving towel cards at check-in. She was extremely dismissive toward both me and my friend when we asked simple questions, such as directions to 5th Avenue. I had no intention of “stealing” towels—and fortunately had brought my own—so I chose not to argue. On a positive note, the bell staff were consistently helpful and courteous. Perhaps I am accustomed to a certain level of service, but when I spend money on a vacation, I expect to enjoy my experience—and unfortunately, I did not at this resort.

I don't normally leave reviews, but I feel this resort needs to do things better and others need to know what to expect in advance, or before booking. Sandos Caracol Eco was over-hyped and under-delivered for our family of 5 (2 adults, and the kids are 9, 11 and 12). Large property, clean throughout and for the most part friendly staff. The rainforest grounds overall are a highlight and we were able to see many types of birds, creatures and monkeys quite close up...this was very cool. We booked a family 'penthouse' suite, which was very nice to have, since the two spacious rooms were separated by a lockable door. For anyone booking this type of room, there are two full bathrooms - one for each side so there was no crossover or kids wanting to use ours and we had some privacy at night as a bonus. Nothing special was done to enhance our experience at any point, we were never offered upgrades, no towel animals on our beds, no welcome package etc. The waterslides were closed the first day we were there for whatever reason and opened the second day - but only partially. We suited up and went on in, only 4 of the larger 'adult' slides were open and got boring very quickly for us, we left after 1.5 hours and never went back for the rest of the trip. (if you have kids 6 or under I'm sure the waterpark is a blast to hang at all day, but it's defiantly NOT a reason to book this resort). The beach was the main hangout point for us, followed by the smaller secondary pool area about two thirds of the way to the waterpark. The main pool by the beach (on the bar side) gets very crowded, noisy at times and the water gets pretty gross from the kids, sunscreen and everyone spilling drinks...best to avoid this area if you want peace, quiet and a nicer experience. We never had to wait for sun loungers at the beach to be available and easily found a place to land. I would say the resort was at best 2/3rds full most of the time, but if it was full you might have a hard time getting a spot. My biggest complaints about this resort: 1) Check in: We arrived to check in at approx. 8pm EST after a very early morning and a super long travel day without much food. We were all running low on patience at this point and just wanted to get to our room and then grab some food. There were a handful of other travelers in line in front of us - the check in process was PAINFULLY slow and took over 45 minutes until we were finally ready to head to our room - pack your patience for just about everything service related, you're gonna need it! 2) The food: I've stayed at other resorts in Mexico, many have had self-service snack bars where chips and salsa, tacos, hot dogs, burgers, chicken fingers, fries etc. are available just about 24 hours a day (especially for kids and family oriented resorts such as this one) Sandos Caracol has nothing like that available and you must sit down and wait to be served at the snack bar - really irritating, especially when multiple menu items were not available...this happened frequently. When the food did finally come at the snack bar, the salsa or tacos were 50% white onion and not very tasty - many times we were forced to pick everything off and choke them down. The pizza was totally inconsistent and inedible a couple of times as well. The snack bar in general was a 2 out of 10 rating for us and really disappointing. Please note, there is no quick food/snacks available anywhere near the beach. The main buffet (Laguna) was generally decent and had a good selection of authentic Mexican dishes and North American things as well. However, the selection was never very consistent as well and was always hit and miss on items. EG. for breakfast, first three mornings we had really tasty sausages available, after that never saw them again for the rest of the days. One day burgers, hot dogs and chicken nuggets were available at dinner for the kids, then never seen again for the rest of the time. It was frustrating for us with slightly older kids, I couldn't imagine how irritating this would be for families with 4-5-6 year old picky eaters. 3) The service and the staff: Everyone in general was fairly friendly, but many times it took far too long to get service and it was like our presence was an inconvenience to many of the servers. We would sit down at the Laguna buffet with plates of food, order drinks from the staff and be fully done our meals and ready to go by the time they got back to us - unacceptable. The snack bar was probably even worse service-wise. It didn't matter if you tipped or not, the service was the same slow, indifferent pace and care level the majority of the time. On occasion, someone would hustle and take some pride - this was noticed and appreciated 100%. If this resort was full to capacity I couldn't imagine how frustrating it would be for patrons. For our family this experience was just average and we will defiantly be booking elsewhere next time. There are dozens and dozens of resorts from Cancun to Tulum along the water, pick something else unless you're dead set on this one, or you happen to get an amazing deal (40-60% or more off regular prices).

I understand this is an eco-resort but certain cleanliness needs to be followed. The pools are DIRTY and never cleaned. There are so many racoons and monkeys that defecate around the pool decks that are not cleaned, and everyone is in their bare feet tracking that into the water. The pool with the swim up bar is the worst. The water was yellow and cloudy and throughout the week it was never cleaned. NOT ONCE. It doesn't help that another pool butts right up against it and shows the direct comparison of water. GROSS! The racoons are such a problem that the minute you put a plate down they will jump up on the table and take the food. Make sure you lock your patio door as the monkeys are able to open them and walk right in. Do not eat anything in the snack case in the lobby or any unattended areas on the resort. The monkeys go in and out of these cases and take the food. The staff watch them do it and do nothing about it nor clean the cases or get rid of the food. The mosquitos and sand flies are terrible. All of us adults were bitten all over. We had to take allergy pills just to stop from scratching the skin off our legs. People were walking around with different bites and infections that we encountered. Most all of the hotel lobby staff are rude and unwilling to assist with anything. It takes over and hour to check in and that's with only 3 families in front of us. They didn't care that we wanted to stay near each other and contacted the hotel directly before arriving to ensure this would happen along with our travel agent only to be told that they don't put notes on reservations and it's all done by random selection and there was nothing they would or could do about it. Every single time you went to the desk to ask a simple question you were met with an attitude or a rude response or told you were in the wrong line and to go over there and wait another hour for an answer to your question. My parents room flooded and when trying to find out what the hotel could do in the way of moving to another room they were told TOUGH. We have nothing else and handed them towels to clean it up. When they inquired again, they were told that if they weren't happy they were free to check out. When they asked if they could speak to a supervisor or manager, they were told no. They would say the same thing. They do not care about customer service and the staff around the resort are so over worked that I dont blame them for not caring. The 4th night of our stay I sent a request on the app and when I went to check on the status I noticed my room number had changed. I thought it was just an error but when it was still there in the morning, I went to the front desk to inquire only to find out they had moved our room halfway across the resort and I had no say in the matter we had to get out NOW. This is not a small resort and to move your family of 4 and huff your luggage a km on cobblestone pathways is not fun.. Needless to say, I won't be back, I won't recommend this resort or its brand to anyone. They didn't care about the $$$ we spent to be there so I will care about ensuring my friends and family don't waste theirs. They were given many chances to make it right and chose not to.

Here now and everything is fantastic. To think I almost switched hotels due to these reviews. It is unlike any resort I've ever been to and I have been to tons. Jamaica, Cuba, other side of Mexico, Antigua, tobago, Dominican, the states. etc. This place is neat! Our room is massive with 2 balconies, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Hot water all the time in my massive walkin shower. Monkeys everywhere if you just look up. And the food??? I have 2 kids here with me and they eat everything. The buffet has over 100 choices so if you cant find something you like, maybe you're the problem. And there are 2 buffets! We havent even tried any of the ala cartes yet. I think people complaining about food are those that sit at home and order McDonald's every night and then come here and complain about the hundreds of dishes of fresh veggies and fruits and cooked to order meats. Bread stations. Pasta stations. Pizza stations. Etc. The lineups were long for the weekend and now its quiet again. Resort was at capacity but lineup was never longer than 5 mins. Just relax! Drinks are great. A real fresh fruit smoothie bar at main pool daily. Can't be beat! Not to mention the entire vibe of the resort. Its like it's own little city. Natural rivers and cenotes, underground tunnels, ancient ruins, suspension bridges. Everytime we leave our room we stumble onto something new we didnt see before. Those saying they havent seen a monkey are crazy. Just look up! They are constantly high in the trees swinging around. The coatis are everywhere my kids love them. The lobby and restaurants are so beautiful.. cant believe review before me said no one speaks English. We staying at the same resort?!? Everyone here we have spoken to speaks perfect English. But it is their second language so what do you expect? Waterpark is a hit. The beach beds and hammocks are perfect while my kids play on the giant chess board. We did book royal elite and the royal elite infinity pool and poolside restaurant is the best! But, if you didnt book royal elite there is still so much to do! Quit complaining you're on vacation. :)

Poorly organized. Buffet lines long poor organization layout. Could be improved Trying to book another restaurant is difficult.booked early as they stated ended up getting only one reservation. Lots of staff only speak their.language compared to other resorts we have been 2. HAD TO SWITCH ROOMS AND SO DID 2 OTHERS IN OUR PARTY OF 6. AIR CONDITIONER RIPPED OUT OF WALL. SWEAGE SMELL, NO HOT WATER . THE POSITIVE GOOD FOR.KIDS AND DRINKS. ENTERTAINMENT COULD.BE.BETTER ,PRETTY LAME.

We recently had our destination wedding, and I have to say that our wedding coordinator, Víctor, was truly the standout of the entire experience. He was absolutely incredible from start to finish. His professionalism, warmth, and attention to detail made our day feel seamless, stress-free, and genuinely special. Víctor went above and beyond in every way. He handled every detail with care, guided us through each step, and made our wedding day feel effortless and beautiful. The hotel is incredibly lucky to have him. To be transparent, the resort itself had several challenges. Multiple members of our group experienced no water or no hot water, and water pressure was a consistent issue. The water park faced frequent closures, almost daily, which was disappointing for families. Many rooms, including ours, had strong sewage or mildew-like odours, and check-in and check-out were painfully slow, with reception staff who often seemed overwhelmed and not particularly helpful. That said, there were positives worth noting. The grounds were beautiful, lush, and full of wildlife, and there was a ton to do on the property—from activities and shows to cenotes and nature paths. The setting itself is truly stunning.

Don't stay here! So many things were terrible. Waited in line all the time, check in & checking out took forever, took over an hour for each. Concierge was usually lined up so long that it was useless. The buffets are awful! The room wasn't bad but the windows & sliding glas door didn't lock. Had no service on the beach & there was no food there either. Had to wait in line ups for drinks. The entertainment was lousy because there was no where to sit even. Don't waste your time going here as this was our worst trip ever in more than 20 times travelling to Mexico.

Animals: Mexican racoon and stray cats. Some ducks. One peacock. Some monkeys but they were rare to see. Food: average but don't expect to get into the restaurants. You'll have to use their app which resets at midnight and fills up immediately. I was told by the front desk to "just keep checking the app incase a spot opens up". Cleanliness: average to below average. There was a kid who puked in one of the snack bar lunch areas and it took nearly 15min for someone to clean it up. People were walking through it not realizing what it was.

Staying here right now. Food is very average, buffet and snack bar keeps running out of food, expect huge lines in buffets. Service very slow. Only one bartender in the bar. Resort is very outdated. Not worth the money.

It was amazing! Victor is the best I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding director highly recommend to anyone wanting to get married in the area!