Sandos Caracol Eco Resort

justinek348 wrote a review October 2025
London, Ontario

Family Adventures to Sandos Caracol April 2025 and December 2022

We’ve stayed at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort twice – once in November 2022 and again in April 2025 – and both visits were memorable family trips. We traveled with my partner, our 4 kids (ages 4–13), plus a friend and her 4 kids.

Rooms & Location

2025 stay: We booked 3 Eco Family Superior Rooms side by side, which the resort kindly accommodated. These rooms were close to the adults-only side and overlooked the main cenote, where monkeys visited us almost daily – a big hit with the kids.

2022 stay: We stayed in the Family Penthouse Suite, which fits 4 kids and 2 adults with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It’s closer to the beach, but we didn’t get the same wildlife experience. Great option if keeping everyone together is your top priority.

The resort itself is stunning – it really feels like you’re in the jungle, with beautiful cenotes, wildlife, and natural views everywhere.

Royal Elite Experience

We booked through Royal Elite and had black wristbands, which gave us access to exclusive areas. This made a huge difference for us, especially since we’re not big fans of the main Laguna buffet.

Mornings often started with a quick kid-friendly stop at the buffet before moving to the Royal Elite pool and Los Lirios restaurant for a better-quality breakfast.

Los Lirios was our home base most days – with excellent staff, beachfront access, snacks, and a swim-up bar.

Dining & Food

El Templo (Teppanyaki): Absolute highlight of both trips! Fun show cooking for kids and adults alike, ending with great food. Book immediately upon arrival – it’s hard to get in.

La Toscana (Italian): Used to be à la carte in 2022 but is now buffet-style. Quality was inconsistent – one night we had amazing service, another night was a complete miss with poor staff interaction.

Fogo de Brazil (Brazilian Steakhouse): A fun experience with meats served on skewers at the table and buffet sides. Note: it’s the same space as La Jungla (adults-only restaurant) but converted for dinner.

Other notes: The kids loved their fancy non-alcoholic drinks at the swim-up bars. Coffee lovers: the buffet coffee is terrible. L’Elephant café was closed for renovations in 2025, so we had to go to La Jungla or the adults-only Select Club beach lounge for decent take-away coffee.

Activities & Entertainment

Pools: The main pool near the beach is huge and lively. La Tortuga pool is smaller, quieter, and perfect for relaxing while kids swim.

Waterpark: Great for kids, with separate areas for different ages. That said, our kids often preferred the main pools with swim-up bars over the waterpark. No alcohol is allowed in the waterpark area.

Shows: Very entertaining for kids, though note that they are held in different areas across the resort, not always in the main theatre.

Wildlife & Exploration: Between cenotes, monkeys, and lush grounds, the resort offers a true “jungle adventure.”

Birthdays & Special Touches

We celebrated 3 kids’ birthdays during our 2025 stay, and the staff surprised them with sparklers on dessert and a fun kids’ “shot” ritual at dinner. These small touches made the trip extra special.

Beach & Off-Resort Options

The beach at Caracol is rocky and requires water shoes. In 2022, most of the sand was washed out after a storm, but in 2025 it had improved. It’s fine for lounging but not ideal for swimming.

As Royal Elite guests, we also visited Sandos Playacar (20 minutes away), which has a beautiful beach, a great Royal Elite pool, and a smaller waterpark. If you’re a beach lover, Playacar is the better choice.

Practical Tips

Bring plenty of sunscreen, bug spray, and after-sun care – resort prices are very high.

Bring your own straws or tumblers with straws, as none are provided.

For cheaper massages or hair braiding, head just left of the resort beach. It’s more affordable than in-resort options, though you’ll be out in the open.

Overall Impression

Sandos Caracol is a fantastic choice for families with kids. There’s endless exploring to do, wildlife to see, and activities for all ages. The resort is clean, the staff are generally friendly, and the food is kid-approved (with some hits and misses for adults).

For family travel, we’d happily recommend it and have even sent friends who enjoyed it. But for adults-only travel, this wouldn’t be my pick – the atmosphere is very kid-oriented, and nearby Sandos Playacar offers a better beach and more polished experience.

If I had to choose between the two resorts to return to, I’d pick Sandos Playacar – but for a kid-friendly, jungle-style adventure, Sandos Caracol is a unique and memorable experience.

Date of Stay: April 2025

maricK9002ZT wrote a review October 2025

We had a blast! Highly recommend this resort!

We went to this resort in October 2025. It was my husband, myself, and our two teenage kids. We booked a family suite and headed to Mexico, hoping for the best. We had gone to Mexico a few years ago before the pandemic and had a horrific experience at a totally different resort so we were a little nervous going back.

We had the best week at this resort. We’ve stayed at sandals and beaches and dreams all over the Caribbean, but we all agreed as a family that this was one of the top rated places that we’ve ever stayed. There were so many things to do that in the week that we were there we barely completed all of them. I’ve never seen a resort with so many all inclusive activities - from cenotes, rope bridges, a legit water park, beautiful beach and pool, and so much more, we were more than entertained throughout the entire time that we were there. Both of our kids had so many things to do that they were never bored while on the other hand my husband and I were able to relax while they were able to play and enjoy their time there. We went kayaking in the ocean and played ping-pong and enjoyed tacos in the middle of the night. It was absolutely dreamy.

When we originally arrived the room that we were staying in did not have a bathroom door, and this made my daughter a little nervous. One of my biggest recommendations would be to go to guest services. Mauricio really helped us out - he had checked us in, and when he heard that we were having a difficult time getting a room change, he move things around and got them to listen to us, and they were able to switch our room to something that was much more suitable for our family. I am so grateful.

One of the reasons that we chose, this resort was because of their food. We had been to Sandos in Cabo about 10 years ago and really enjoyed the food there. This resort did not disappoint. Every time we sat down for a meal, each of us was able to find more than one thing that we enjoyed immensely. I had one of the best ever fillet steaks at Los Lirios. My husband enjoyed the beverages at all of the bars. The pastor tacos and gringas (quesadillas - soooo good, highly recommend) were right up there with some of the best pastor we’ve ever had. But one of the things that amazed me was that every time we went to the buffet, we could always find so many different things that were enjoyable to eat. I had huge pan seared scallops on more than one occasion at the buffet, freshly made piñata‘s fried right in front of you, a fully stocked salad bar, and so many different kinds of cuisines each night that we were always able to find something different. Sometimes buffets at other resorts can get boring but we were never bored here. The food was really good.

We ended up leaving the resort, only once to do a tour, and it was spectacular. Another big recommendation would be going to the massage place that is not a part of the resort but is right next-door. I could have literally gotten a massage every day while I was there, and I can’t even tell you how much I needed that kind of relaxation. It was amazing to be able to get a massage and listen to the waves hitting the shore at the same time. It was beautiful.

Overall, we had a great vacation. I’ve never said this about another resort before and we’ve been to Mexico about 10-12 times and to the Bahamas and Jamaica and DR a bunch of times BUT this is the first time that I would ever go back and stay at the same resort. I would absolutely return to Sandos Caracol - and I would have amazing food and service and entertainment and everything. I read the other reviews and I was a little nervous going but I can honestly say that they weren’t true. What IS true is that this place is amazing and other peoples reviews were so grumpy. We felt safe and relaxed the entire time we were in Mexico. We will be back!!! Kinda bummed I didn’t buy the timeshare - hah!

Oh, and NO need to do royal elite or select. We had a fabulous time without it and I didn’t feel as if I was missing anything.

Date of Stay: October 2025

R8297NSlindam wrote a review October 2025

Great 30th birthday celebration!

Excellent week at this beautiful resort. Lush vegetation and wildlife. Very impressive high calibre entertainment. Good food!! Zyanya and Melisa (with assistance from Raziel, Yiannis, Francisco, Dorian and Leilo) did a fantastic job of making my daughter’s birthday a memorable one.
Special shout out to the Bell Hop/Cart gentlemen who happily accommodated my ride needs.
😊

Date of Stay: October 2025

GrandTour58341705344 wrote a review October 2025

Reconsider to find another resort

Check in, reservations, lobby customer service was a total nightmare, no consideration for single parent traveling with children, one way to receive customer service attention is to join their elite club, disappointed experience.
Hotel staff, restaurants, swimming pools and others are amazing.
Reconsider to find another resort

Date of Stay: October 2025

ljconway84 wrote a review October 2025

Wow fantastic place

Spent 2 weeks here and it was fantastic.
Hotel was beautiful, staff are fantastic and so welcoming.
Trips-
Xcaret 8/10 expensive
Cozumel snorkelling 10/10
Food- 10/10 ate at buffet hall great choice
Location 10/10 we will be back

Date of Stay: October 2025

varkanoid wrote a review October 2025
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Manage Expectations and you have great holiday!

WEEK 1 OF 2
We booked with TUI UK family of four 2 adults 2 teenagers. Standard green wristbands no extras. Premium Superior room super king-size with bunk beds. TUI kept us informed before arrival of all construction and closures. Bit disappointing but do your homework and Sept/Oct is low season when all hotels do maintenance. This is end of week 1 we are still here and have one more week. Further review may follow for week 2.

On arrival Sat 7pm reception empty. Check in took 15 mins. No Royal Elite staff around to push the "Welcome Pack/Meeting" on us so no sales pitch. For next few days we got 2 phone calls, notes under door and hung on door asking us to go to lobby meeting. We ignored these as per other reviewers recommendations.

We are in block 46xx rooms lovely clean bug free and large. Everything worked. A really good modern room. Bit far from amenities until you explore and find the shortcuts!! ;) Balcony no view but jungle didn't mind. Balcony door has a net screen if you keep it closed at ALL times no bugs get in. Amazing walking round how many guest leave it open then moan about bugs in room!! We had a monkey one day come onto the balcony and try pinch the mosquito reppeller he smelt it then dropped it so be aware of jungle visitors on the balcony!

Food is usual AI assortment no worse or better elsewhere. Come with that expectation and won't be disappointed. Theme nights at main buffet La Laguna. Only restaurants open at moment are El Tempo and La Riviera. Been to El Tempo twice it is brilliant food fantastic going to La Riviera tonight. Book via app for reservation. Don't have to do it at midnight like other reviewers have said plan your meals and can book during day. Sports bar reopened last night. Breakfast at La Laguna or the Italian restaurant. Food selection of English type breakfast sausage(good English type not hot dogs!) hash brown, crispy bacon, scrambled egg, omelette stations, bread station toast, continental type etc. El Nido taco bar sit down to be served 24hrs open very good too. Also one reviewers complained no lights on walkway to main buffet this is a lie it's well lit. Yesterday there was a state wide power cut we were notified about in advance by hotel. We didnt notice any difference hotel has back up generators even wifi and aircon still worked.

Reviews complaining about sewer smell it's not sewege it's jungle smell!! Hardly notice it now.

Beach is good. Rocky near adults only bit but further down where us norm green bands are it's not rocky at all. No seaweed. Plenty of beds. See my pics.

Main pool disappointing as half shut off. Can get busy.

TUI rep is most days at the entertainment area if you need advice or book an excursion. She is very good and helpful.

Cenote Cristalino fantastic. Given a life jacket and swim/snorkel in cool clear water. Free.

Our 2nd day we went exploring there is a lot to do. We found a "I'm a celebrity style suspension bridge" which is a little scary to cross in a good way and also an underground lit and well maintained tunnel which goes from this bridge all the way to the select bar!! See pic.

Water park good for kids here now whilst writing this. Snack and drink bar. No alcohol served tho.

Staff are amazing and tip them if you feel they have offered extra service.

Mosquitos were a problem 2nd 3rd day but now leave us alone. Be prepared with bug spray, bug cream and buy a insect healer pen from Amazon. Instant relief from itching they burn the bite. Honestly they are a miracle.

The animals we have seen all sorts up close and personal. Coatis are everywhere and will pinch your drink if not careful one just drunk my sons Sprite! All adds to the experience treat them with respect. See pics.

To conclude it's a different type of hotel. Do your homework, check the good Facebook fan groups. Set your expectations it's not a home away from home which some seem to expect. It's a hotel in a jungle setting with a beach. We came in 2007 and it's changed a lot since then. Looking forward to week 2!

Date of Stay: October 2025