Sandos Playacar - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

25019 reviews

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  Beware high probability of getting sick!

  Two of the four of us got extremely ill beginning on February 12 until our departure date of the 16th. To date we are still suffering stomach issues from this Resort and it is not from overindulging or too much sun. You will notice when you go into the shop how many bottles they have of electrolytes for sale and there is definitely a reason for this you're going to need it. We talked to so many people that had loved ones back in the hotel room sick and I have never heard of so many people suffering at a resort before it was literally like the bridesmaids movie coming out from all ends

  Feb 19, 2025
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  NOROVIRUS or FOOD POISONING

  NOROVIRUS or FOOD POISONING- DO NOT GO HERE This is the second time we have been here. We loved the first time we came 7 years ago but it has gone down hill since. The positives- great beach, lots of pools, spacious rooms The negatives - 1. The new RE pool has no markings of where steps are so you stub your toes constantly. 2. The room had a sewage smell that was terrible. The people we traveled with also experienced the same smell. It is a very toxic smell. Seems to be in the family room areas. 3. 6 out of 9 of our two families got norovirus or food poisoning. I am talking throwing up so bad that you broke blood vessels in your face. I am talking have stuff come out of both ends at the same time. 4. Guest services laughed when I called to ask for housekeeping to come clean and get new sheets. Like they thought it was funny that we were so sick we crapped the sheets. 5. The food is not good. We waited 1.5 hours for dinner at Asiana restaurant and It came cold. We ate at el Gaucho and the steaks were so overcooked it was gross. 6. Alcoholic drinks are watered down. When we were able to drink before we got norovirus, we weren’t able to even get a slight buzz. We noticed that the majority of their alcohol is clear so it can be easily topped off with water. 7. Poor food handling/unsafe food handling. I witnessed first hand an employee cleaning our table and removing silverware we hadn’t used. They brought it over to where they keep the clean/unused silverware where I witnessed them checking with their hands by rubbing the tongs of the fork if it was still clean and then wrapping it back up to be used by someone else. This was in the family snack bar pool area. No wonder we got norovirus or food poisoning! We had none of these issues the first time we came. I WOULD NOT recommend this resort anymore. It’s a waste of money and you’ll spend your whole vacation sick.

  Feb 18, 2025
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  Serious health concerns

  Upon arriving I noticed the water in our bathroom smelled like sewage as did the water served in the restaurants. Within 3 days my entire family of 4 were ill throughout the week. My son visited the onsite physician (very nice man) twice, and was eventually hospitalized. We paid $120USD for the physician visit, and $5000USD for the hospital stay. We spent the week attempting to get him well enough to fly home, all the while feeling unsafe to eat and drink the food at the resort. The elevator to the third floor where our room was located was broken with no sign of attempted repairs. I read the same issue from another review over a week prior to our trip- the issue had still not been fixed when we arrived. Challenging when you have heavy suitcases and ill family members. For the first half of the trip we received notices on our door to come an listen to a presentation about becoming members. Phone calls to our room also occurred asking us to come to the lobby to listen to a presentation about becoming members. I just wanted a quiet and relaxing vacation and found this stressful. This resort looks like it could have potential, the beach is beautiful. However, along a portion of the walkway to the beach I could smell very strong odors of sewage. They have a trolly that can take guests to and from the beach, but there is often a long wait and during dinner hours (when families with small children could benefit from the ride) the 1 trolly was often full. This meant most of the time we were walking, passed the strong sewage smell, feeling ill. The building where our room was overlooked a busy road, you could hear cars driving at all hours of the day. The staff all spoke English, and the cleaning staff did an exceptional job. I feel terrible for them as almost all other tourists I spoke with had been ill on their trip and I can only imagine how much more work that placed on the maids. I will not be returning and do not recommend this resort.

  Feb 17, 2025
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  This resort has gone downhill

  Last year we had a wonderful experience however this time was a nightmare. I brought my entire family back this year and was quite disappointed many aspects. Apparently there was a change in ownership/management within the last year so not sure if that had something to do with it? Our entire party of 14 got stomach issues. Every other family at the resort that we spoke to also indicated that they experienced issues. We suspect a sewage leak as the tap water and toilets smelled of sewage. Our room bathrooms smelled of sewage. We requested garden view when booking 7 months in advance. We did not receive garden view. My brother's family and my parents paid more for haciendas and were told they were not available as the resort was overbooked. We were on the third floor, and had to climb stairs all week as the elevator was broken with no sign of being repaired all week. We had to carry multiple large suit cases up and down stairs. We also found the stairs difficult when feeling nauseated, which was many days of the trip. Our telephone was not operational. We put in a request to have it fixed twice, and were told it was done, twice. The phone wasn't even plugged in after we were told it was "fixed". There was no phone jack to be seen in the room. This means we could not order room service. In each women's bathroom, there was at least 1/3 of the stall locks not working or toilets plugged. When walking through the central meeting point, we were consistently approached by workers asking us to become members. When we were looking for assistance, the workers would ask how they could help, and then immediately tried to have us listen to a presentation about becoming members, without being helpful. Last year we were able to access the sister resort, Sandos Caracol for free and without issue. This year we were told that we had to pay at least $100USD by two different staff members. When I asked why, I was told to listen to a presentation on becoming a member and then the trip could be arranged. Luckily, my travel agent linked us with the head Concierge who sorted things out for us. We were left multiple cards on our door by the Air Transat representative onsite directing us to meet them in the lobby. When I searched for them in the lobby, I was told they weren't there. They called my sister who shared with me that they were asking her about listening to a presentation about becoming members. Guest services was excellent at deferring questions to other guest service desks. The family beach pool "domes" are now $150 to use, whereas they were free for families last year. Disappointing as we paid to use the resort and felt swindled at each turn. Overall, we felt taken advantage of. The resort quality has changed dramatically since last year. We will not be back unfortunately and I am so sorry my family had to endure this past week.

  Feb 16, 2025
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  Nice holiday

  Very big resort with excellent amenities. They had a slight food problem but were right on it to get it resolved. We really liked the Brazilian and Italian restaurants the most. Spent most days at the pool , full day at the beach. The foam party was great and entertainment was excellent !

  Feb 15, 2025