Wish you were here?
Hotel overview
Take the fiesta to the Caribbean Sea with the All Playa Experience, featuring a themed beach party every day of the week honoring the world’s top beaches. If you've been looking for a way to make a splash, plunge into one of the resort's swimming pools before diving into a variety a variety of exciting activities for adventurists of all ages. The Kids Club has supervised games and crafts, while big kids will love the arcade and video games at the Lite Teen club.
For a fun-filled grownup getaway, book your stay in the Select Club Adults Only section (ages 18+), with its own pool, bar, exclusive breakfast buffet and access to upgraded amenities.
When you feel hunger pangs, you can chow down with the wide variety of restaurants like the Cupcake Café, Chayita Mexican restaurant with made-to-order tacos and burritos, impressive buffet, Mexican cuisine at Gourmex, and so much more. In the evenings, head to the Gran Plaza for cocktails and a show under the stars.
Location
Playa del Carmen - BeachProperty information
{{title}}
Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy:
Hotel requires a debit card authorization upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy -This hotel does not allow groups of students or spring breakers.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
25372 reviews
-
Jul 09, 2025Worst vacation experience ever! Avoid at all costs!! Unsanitary!!
My wife and I stayed at the Sandos Playcar resort February 11-16. After being there for a day and a half we both became VIOLENTLY ill in the morning of the 13th. We spent 2 days in our room trying to recover. With the constant bombardment of staff to attend a time share meeting, none of them had the courtesy to tell us about a first aid/infirmary to help us on site. We were there the same time as a wedding party that also became ill along with most of the resort visitors. This illness episode is greatly documented with news stories in about the resort. The cause of the sickness was not disclosed but it could have been multiple issues that we observed. Buffet food looked disgusting from sitting for an extended period of time, sink and shower water smelled like sewage, and the reusable drink cups were not sanitary. This is just name a few. We were later contacted by the resort for compensation but we were ultimately denied due to not going to see a doctor. We did not find it necessary at the time to see a Dr. in a foreign country. Beyond the sickness, our room was also subpar, ceiling fan stopped working, wifi was non existent, locked out for an hour due to electronic door knob failure. Rooms are also very outdated and in disrepair. Do not believe the 5 star reviews. Complete let down and waste of money and valuable vacation time.
-
Jul 06, 2025Salmonella and See Weed
Our biggest issue was salmonella which was horrible and downright scary for our 6 year old. There have been past major issues. (Just Search Sandos Playacar salmonella). If I would have read those reports before I would have NEVER gone. I will say the location was great and very safe. Everything looks ok on the surface and then the sparkle fades very quickly. Staff was friendly and attentive, but a bit short staffed at times it seemed. Zero point in going unless you book with a Royal Elite member and even then it feels pretty minimal. Either way if you ask anyone for help, you will be immediately trapped in a sales pitch for an RE membership. It’s CONSTANT if you have the black band or not. The place is huge - about a half mile from main lobby to the beach. A lot of different restaurants, but they mostly have the same kinds and quality of food. Extensive buffet for sure but things don’t get restocked and it gets chaotic if you don’t go early. The beach would’ve been very nice if not for the seaweed. There is simply no way of addressing that and I get it, but it was pretty disappointing. You can even see it from your plane as you fly in. It’s everywhere. The “app” isn’t well designed nor does it work well or have all of the information that would be useful (like that the kids club is closed certain times of the day which made us lose our reservation for a massage). We wouldn’t say it’s very kid friendly- really only the pools as far as activities for the kids go.
-
Jul 05, 2025Family vacation after 10 years @ Sandos Playacar
A large family group of 30 returned to Sandos Playacar after 10 years for a Memorial for a family member. The Sandos Playacar team was great helping coordinate and plan a ceremony and a Chill n Grill on the beach for our group. Special thanks to Lore Moreno Guest Service Rep. Eyter Briseño Guest Service Manager & Humberto Food & Beaveges Manager. Pedro was in charge of the Chill & Grill chefs & waiters. We enjoyed quality family time in the facilities including Sandcastle building, volleyball games, dancing at the nightclub and of course watching the quality nightly shows! Our main complaint was the huge amounts of seaweed that polluted the beach making it impossible to swim in the ocean.
-
Jul 03, 2025
HORRIBLE!
We arrived at 11am and understandable our room wasn't ready so we decided to eat. We were told no food establishments were open till 12:30 we then had to wait just to eat. We then had to wait till 3:30 instead of 3 on the room being ready. The buffet was horrible which we had to eat at for all 3 meals because the restaurants weren't open for lunch just at 6 for supper. You needed a reservation for restaurants which were always booked up and were limited to begin with. I had water dripp on me from ceiling of buffet and was scolded by staff member simply for not putting a spoon back. The beach was deserted due to seaweed which I can't blame resort totally. We were constantly bothered by staff trying to upsale us on things. There wasn't much offered for kids other than swim. We felt totally ripped off and wouldn't recommend and will never go back. This resort SUCKS!!!
-
Jul 03, 2025
Worst first day ever and no one cares
This place is a first class dump. No seats on men’s or women’s toilets. Ac, tv, fridge, lights, and it’s $100 if you lose a towel. They finally moved our room except they never told us they did it. So we were sitting around for hours waiting for a phone call to tell us what was happening. I walked across the property twice to get to guest services because the line to fuesg services doesn’t work. The woman who swore up and down she would help me and inspect the entire new room is now no where to be found. Towels and water at the pool when it’s 90 would be nice too. They did make plenty of time to Reh and sell us a time share after I begged them to leave us alone. Her book was we couldn’t get a map without here… DONT EVER COME TO THIS DUMP.