Sandos Caracol (continued)

I have to say, the rest of our trip to the Sandos Caracol was actually really excellent.

I filled out a little form talking about the different issues that I had with the hotel, and the General Manager wrote me a personal email.  We got a fruit basket and a bottle of champagne sent to our rooms, and all of the issues were taken care of right away.

Many of the "issues" were really minor, like not having labels on the shampoo/body wash dispensers in the shower, or small housekeeping problems.

Here are some of the good points about Sandos Caracol:

1)  It's an excellent family resort.  The kids Aqua Park is large and not too deep for little ones.  There's a bar there in the park if kids need some soda or water (or adults are inclined to have an adult beverage).  There's snorkel equipment available at the cenote, and there are activities all day long.  There's also a kids club if adults want to get a little alone time during the day.  Be sure to bring socks for your kids, because they won't be allowed into the kids club without them.  Socks at the gift shop are a whopping $7.50 per pair!

2)  The food is really good.  There are plenty of choices, but not so much if you're a vegan or you're trying to eat healthy, since a lot of the food is cooked in oil and/or butter.  There is food and beverage available 24/7, so you'll never go hungry or thirsty.

3)  You can do a lot of exploring at the hotel.  There are Mayan ruins, lots of signage with eco-information.  There are paths that run through the jungle and mangroves.  I recommend getting up early and going exploring before everyone else wakes up!

4)  This resort really goes out of their way to be truly eco-friendly.  They have recycling and compost, and disposable plates/napkins/cups are kept to a minimum.  I really liked that a lot.  There are mosquitos here, but there are homeopathic repellant dispensers located everywhere.


More "Know before you go":

1)  There is no courtesy shuttle from the hotel to nearby Playa del Carmen.  You'll have to go in taxi, and that'll set you back $140 pesos.  I understand that the exchange rate is pretty good right now, but taxi drivers STILL exchange at $10 pesos per dollar, so $140 is expensive for a 10 minute ride.

2)  The resort is busy year-round.  We were really surprised with how many people there were.  The hotel was full, which made changing from our not-so-nice, far-away-from-everything room to a nicer, closer room very difficult.  This also required us to check out of our old room at 10 AM (even though actual check-out isn't until noon), and wait for another room to become available at 3 PM.  We were sans room and our luggage was sitting in the lobby for 5 hours, which is kind of tough when you have 2 little kids.

3)  The hotel exchange rate is not good, at $12 pesos/dollar.  Change your dollars before you arrive.

4)  Staff English is pretty limited.  It wasn't so much of an issue for me since I speak Spanish, but it could be a problem if you have an issue and need assistance.  Speak slowly and avoid colloquialisms!

5)  Get to the pool early to beat the crowds.  I'm not kidding.  The entire time we were there we could not find an open lounge chair next to the pool.  I also do not honor the towel system.  As in, if your towel is on the chair, your chair is saved.  No, siree.  If your towel is on the chair and I don't see anything else around (no bottles of lotion, cups, or anything else), your towel is on the ground and my butt is on the chair.  I'll wait 10 minutes first, but that's it.