Comments & Reviews about Sandos Playacar Beach Resort & Spa:

Let me start by saying we travel- alot- at least 3 times a year. Seriously, after reading many many other reviews I can understand why some are amazing and some are poor. You have to take into account value for the money you pay. Sure there are more luxury style resorts but you will pay more. We stayed for 10 days in mid September and my family got nothing but courtesy and great service. The beach is absolutely perfect. No rocks, no silt, perfectly warm calm water. It tops beaches we've stayed at in Maui and St. Lucia. 24 hour a day room service. Staff were great with our little boy. There was great variety on the buffets. However, we did do some things that helped to add to our amazing experience.

First- Language We are always courteous and say please and thank you in Spanish! We did our best to try and speak some Spanish. Some of the problems that other people writing have encountered are in fact due to language barriers. For example, we saw some English guests asking for drinks "on the rocks". The bartender was new and although his english was good he did not yet know this term. The guests thought they weren't being listened to and were getting angry??? Why bother getting upset. We helped them ask again- the bartender quickly changed their drinks and everyone was happy. If you don't get exactly what you want ask again using other words! Remember it is Mexico, Spanish is the language - when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Second-Be Nice In Mexico, as in most parts of the world it is important to be courteous. There was a loud group from the USA (sorry I know not all Americans are loud but this group was) that drank all day and by mid-afternoon were yelling "more tequilla" at the server. They then complained about poor service. Be courteous- people will respond.

Third- tipping drastically improves things. Although it is an all inclusive the staff here are not paid very well. They are very busy and sometimes we would see them literally running. We tipped - $1 for breakfast, $2 for lunch, $3 for dinner and that way the servers knew we appreciated their hard work. We also tipped at the bar- $1 for the first trip up for a few drinks and then every so often. Our drinks were never watered down. Our room was always very clean- we left $2 on the bed for the maid- and a separate $1 in the fridge for the minibar guy. Really it's like an extra $12 per day- it was worth every penny.

Lastly-Location We stayed in one of the jr. suites - they are in buildings with 10 units and each has a smaller private pool. We spent a couple hours each day in our own pool with not one other person there! The walk to the meeting place is maybe 5 minutes. We never took a golf cart. Do not stay in the main building by the lobby. Either go in the rooms by the Ocean if you want to be near the main pool and action or pick a jr suite for peace and quiet.

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