Sandos Caracol Eco Resort & Spa

Location: About 45 minutes from the airport, a shuttle can be reserved through the hotel which is probably the safest route and will run you about $ 50 pp round trip. The property is very large and sits right next to the beach which is beautiful. The resort has its own place to reserve snorkling, kayaks and scuba tours which is pretty convenient (and fairly priced). The property is also fairly close to the local shops.
Service: Well when we arrived at about 6pm it took about 20 minutes for someone from the front desk to check us in. For some reason these people always seem flustered and always seem to take an extended amout of time to do whatever is it they are trying to help you with. As we attempted to check in we were told by Daniel that the room we reserved (and paid for back in Feb. was no longer available for check in that night) he mentioned trying to send us to another hotel which after a day of traveling we were not interested in so he suggested giving us another room with only 1 bed. It was my friend and I traveling so we requested 2 beds so we declined that option as well. All he kept saying was there were no other rooms left yet people were being checked in all around us so you can imagine how this was a bit hard to believe. After an hour of going back and forth (and asking to speak to the manager who never bothered to help us) Daniel «magically» found a room that would accomodate us. On the ride to the room we started talking to some other guests who told us that they had been trying to check in since 3 that day and that when they got to the orignal room they were given there were people already in there! Needless to say organization is not their strength here…
Food: The resort has 5 – 6 different restaurants on the property. The food is good but not great. The international buffet has the best selection, the italian place is a little bland, the japenese restaurant is the only place you have to make a reservation in advance for so we didn’t get to go there and the brazillian place is basically like fogo de choa. The mexican breakfast is pretty good, try the tamales and the honey dew juice! I’d recommend the steak and fish restaurant for dinner. It sits right on the beach and the food was pretty good.
Atmosphere/​Property: The hotel itself is nice and spread out so you don’t feel bombarded with people but everything is close enough to walk to (cenote, front desk, restaurants, the beach etc). The rooms are a good size, we didn’t have any issue with mosquitoes in our room like some of the other reviews said but maybe we just got lucky. The walls between the room are very thin so you can hear everything going on. They do offer free wi fi so that’s a plus! They do have the option of purchasing the adults only section of the property which we probably should have done because it seemed like everywhere my friend and I went there was a temper tantrum happening. This isn’t the hotels fault but it definitely takes an effect when kids are running around in the restaurant or having a melt down when you’re trying to have dinner. Parents, control your kids. Please.
Over all it was a nice stay, there is a lot of animals roaming the property so one morning we got to see a spider monkey and another day we say a peacock. And we got a lot of good local tips from Javier who works in the lobby (which saved us a lot of time and money). Look for him if you decide to stay there, he’s awesome.

Mexico… paradise…as long as you are stuck in a gated resort. While I drink my 6^th water-​diluted margarita, I wonder where the hell the monkeys ARE!?! I was promised the pleasure to see a monkey dangling from the tree. As an eco-​resort, they did a great job of keeping the place habitable to all the caged and fenced animals. The resort was so eco-​friendly that the guests were able to feed the raccoons by the snack bar, all while the multilingual telecom repetitively shouted how imperative it is to NOT FEED THE ANIMALS because they have their own food in their natural habitat. What natural habitat? You mean The snack bar in which the scavenging raccoons’ eyes are glued to your plate waiting for a piece of fry to fall on the ground? Overall, a nice resort but a poor excuse to fence animals and consider it to be «eco-​friendly.»
I have no complaints about the customer service, overall they were very friendly and accommodating. We were upgraded to a honeymoon suite which welcomed us with a bottle of champagne and later with chocolate dipped strawberries. For all those experienced resort-​hoppers, you know those people that sit at that deserted table that everyone tries to avoid eye-​contact with? Yes, I am talking about the hounds that chase you at every corner about buying a timeshare. Well, Sandos doesn’t do timeshares… no wait, I am not finished. After we checked in after an exhausting day of traveling, a manager sat us all down with a welcome cocktail in hand. He gave us the whole speal of how everything works in the resort. Then he offered us a tour of the resort and in doing so two of us receive two free 50-​min massages. Is there a catch? Hold on! So we decide to go. We did get a tour… a TOUR in a handbook of worldwide hotels if we sign up for the Elite Club. YUP! At least we got a $ 140 coupon for two massages… that actually only were worth 25 minute each, so we had to pay more.
To get my money’s worth, I had to start obnoxiously crying out, «MAS TEQUILA! MAS TEQUILA!» to the bartenders! I was practically on my knees begging for just a drip of tequila. There were many restaurants with a nice diversity of food. I was actually impressed by the food since most all-​inclusive buffets are usually so bland! The pool was just the right temperature and if you are cool enough to become an elite club member, you then have access to your own exclusive pool and hot tub. On the beach, elite club members are also FENCED (just like the animals haha!) in with their own hammocks so they don’t have to roam with the non-​elite losers.

A wonderful all inclusive resort for the entire family to love!!!
Where do I begin??? This resort provides a wonderful environment where you are immersed in nature, surrounded by wildlife and beautiful lush landscapes. There are animals everywhere! Gorgeous tropical birds, wild racoons, other animals that are just walking around the resort, turtles in all the ponds you pass, donkeys, deer, and monkeys!
We went with 12 people, ranging in age from 2 years old to 64 years old. Everyone had a wonderful time. There is a kids club there where you can drop the kids to play and have fun supervised by other people, there are games for kids in the main pool area, an aqua park for kids to go nuts in, and the shows at night are great. They have water sports and activities right there on the beach for kids and adults, pool games for all ages, included free scuba lessons, gym classes, eco tours, bike trips to mayan ruins, a natural spring you can snorkel in, really awesome shows at night, and all of the food and drinks you can consume! Do not miss the Michael Jackson show it was so awesome!
The restaurants were all very good. The steakhouse on the water had the best atmosphere and food options. The Mediterranean restaurant was good, Edgar waited on us there and he was friendly and very accommodating. However, beware of the bugs if there is no breeze! The Italian restaurant was also very nice and the AC was a plus for making it comfortable. We had contacted guest services ahead of time to make our group reservations at the nice restaurants. Mariana Urtaza was our guest services rep and she was AMAZING. She went above and beyond to make our trip very special for everyone. Not only did she make reservations, she had special celebrations setup for birthdays and personally took the time to come check on us constantly to make sure we had everything we wanted. I was very very impressed with the service at this resort, we felt like royalty at all times!
For those without kids the adult only select sections are awesome. The beach area has top shelf liquors, hammocks and beds out on the sand, separate quiet areas, the pool is totally silent and relaxing and the restaurant there was wonderful. Get the chipotle shrimp, so good! If you are going as a couple these areas are where you want to be. Also, for those who want nightlife there is a DJ that sets up and a dance party breaks out every night in the main theater area. Oh and I got a massage from Roberto, a relax massage, it was wonderful!
The rooms are nice, modern and nice furniture. The resort is much more walkable than it appeared on the map so if you are going with a large group do not worry we were all closer to each other than we thought.
Overall I would recommend going here if you want an all inclusive getaway that is relaxing and convenient. If you do go get in touch with Mariana, from the moment she met us getting off the shuttle from the airport she made sure our group was treated like royalty. It is guest service like that which really makes a vacation enjoyable.
Room Tip: Upgrade to ocean view, the rooms are very elegant and then you get access to everything!