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About
4.5
#23 of 38 all-inclusives in Playa del Carmen
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Located on a jaw-dropping and never-ending white sand beach sits Sandos Playacar, an all inclusive resort that offers the perfect family vacation. Boasting a complete beach entertainment program, a waterpark for kids, an oceanfront snack bar, and an infinity pool with a swim-up bar, Sandos Playacar is the perfect destination for an unforgettable getaway! This exciting hotel offers a wide array of food options from around the world, spa, fully equipped gym and fitness activities, kids and teens club, and spectacular nightly performances!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Park View
Residential Neighbourhood
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish
Location
Paseo Xaman Ha Manzana 1 Lote 1, Playacar, Playa del Carmen 77710 Mexico
Name/address in local language
Sandos Playacar
24,668 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Sandos Playacar garners mixed reviews, with its beachfront location often lauded by visitors. However, there are concerns regarding value for money, with guests pointing out the overpriced services and accommodations that fail to impress. Cleanliness is generally upheld, though some areas fall short during peak times.
The rooms, described as outdated with maintenance issues, detract from the experience. Service quality is inconsistent, swinging from commendable to disorganized. The hotel's entertainment is a highlight, despite some calling for updates in decor and amenities.
Location
Beachfront
Atmosphere
Outdated
Rooms
Dated
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Underwhelming
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First of all we had the best travel agent ever Mandy Samaniego (Apple Vacations) which made the whole experience from booking to traveling effortless. I have never traveled and known upfront the hidden fees and with this vacation I was informed of all fees from baggage to an eco tax at the resort. The fees were not excessive but at least they weren't a surprise, thanks Mandy.
The plane ride was non stop which was excellent, we flew United Airlines which was comfortable for a 2 hour flight from Houston, the flight did serve a pre packaged snack bag of pretzels, cookies and water, the drink cart came by and we were offered a can non alcoholic drink which was perfect. At this time for short flights United is not offering any alcohol.
For some reason I felt we should get a private taxi transfer from the airport to the resort, BIG MISTAKE. My brother and his wife traveled to the same resort using the same travel agent and chose to use the transfer which was included by Apple Vacations and they had private transfer each way which was included in the price of the vacation. I spent approx 150.00 extra for transfer to and from the airport which was totally unnecessary My mistake totally.
The taxi transfer from the airport to the resort is approx 45-60 minutes depending on traffic. The resort when we arrived was absolutely beautiful, check in was a breeze. Only advice during check in is have an idea of the restaurants you want to dine in during your stay, once checked in you immediately go to the concierge desk to schedule your dinner plans. The room was spacious and well appointed with a balcony the had mainly jungle view but could see the pristine beach as well. The jungle view is A+ because of the wildlife including monkeys that will come and sit on your patio and enjoy fruits such as banana's and apples. The pools and the beach/ocean were amazing , some of the clearest water I had ever seen with plenty of ornamental fish joining us on our swim. The buffet , restaurants and bars were top notch and all of the staff went out of their way to make sure we had everything needed to make the best vacation ever. I would highly recommend Apple Vacations ( Mandy Samaniego) and Sandos Playacar. Ohhh and the evening shows were stupendous and great bar service.
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Date of stay: October 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:adults only with jungle view, great wildlife all around
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Warren B, General Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Nov 5, 2020
Hi Wayne, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. We look forward to welcoming you back at your earliest convenience. Always at your service! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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I was a bit concerned traveling during these times, but Sandos Playacar was so clean and put my mind at ease! The hotel is only operating at 30% capacity, but there was still social distancing enforced everywhere. At every entrance at the resort i.e. Spa, Restaurants , etc. there was a sanitizing mat that you had to walk on before entering and also every person entering was asked to sanitize with hand sanitizer provided at the door. In addition, all staff members are required to wear face masks at all times. Guests were only required to wear masks when at the buffets, but could remove them while at their tables eating. The buffets are open; however, there are small plates with each item already served for you to grab and go. This made for multiple trips having to carry so many plates, but is understandably done with everyone’s safety in mind. In addition, all restaurant menus and hotel activities can either be found online or via a smartphone after scanning a QR code at the hotel. I recommend printing the menus online if you do not have access to a smart phone since they do not provide you with paper menus. Guest services were also very accommodating and came through with a special occasion cake (at an extra fee of $18) that was beautiful and very delicious! Overall, all of the food was delicious at all of the restaurants and the customer service throughout the resort was great.
*Side Note, we stayed in the Family Section of the hotel, which is at the far end of the resort closest to the front lobby. This meant the beach was about a 15 minute walk away from our room. However, there is a shuttle that runs every 10-15 minutes that transports around the resort. The resort is very spaced out and there is lots of walking involved.
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Warren B, General Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Aug 10, 2020
Hi Martha, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. We also want to thank you for recognizing our efforts in ensuring the safety, health and well being of our guests. We have worked very hard to design new protocols, train our staff and implement the Sandos Clean Stay program. While some of the protocols may sometimes feel slightly inconvenient, keeping our guests safe so they can enjoy a great vacation is our highest priority. Rest assured that we will let Guest Services know of the praises you sent their way! We look forward to welcoming you back at your earliest convenience. Always at your service! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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There are more luxurious and expensive resorts, but if you book a family type room at Sandos at a reasonable price, it delivers what it promises. The highlights are the beautifully landscaped grounds and the gorgeous beach. Our room, in the family section, was large, clean and comfortable and the bar fridge was stocked daily. The pool outside our block of rooms was quiet in January. There was no need to reserve chairs and almost never a lineup at the pool bar. Another pool with watersides for young children near the beach was busier. The resort is narrow and quite long and it took us almost 15 minutes to walk to the main buffet and beach. There’s a little trolley that runs every 15 minutes but we enjoyed the walk. We tried the steak restaurant and a small lunch buffet near our pool, but neither was very impressive so we ended up opting for the main buffet for the rest of the week. There was always something good to choose from there. Also near the main buffet is an outdoor theatre, a coffee and cupcake bar and a taco and crepe restaurant that unfortunately was only open in the evening. The entertainment consisted mainly of tribute style performances, which were quite good and the acoustics on the stage were excellent. The Sandos is located in the large gated community of Playacar on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen about an hour from Cancun airport. If you don’t leave Playacar, you never have to encounter the ‘real’ Mexico, which would be a shame but some timid folks might find that comforting. All in all, we had a relaxing vacation because the Sandos had everything we needed and there were few lineups or waits for anything. I would recommend this place.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web_Sandos, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Feb 6, 2020
Hi Rvannie, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. We look forward to welcoming you back at your earliest convenience. Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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The wait to check in was insane, only two people working. I also went with the group of 23 last week and was one of the 7 that got sick, and I am still sick. Had to take time off work due to my stomach pains. Our friend that was in the hospital is currently STILL off work. Was told the virus could be from poor food handling... or unclean pools? Not sure. We did meet the large group of 30+ and they had said they never left the resort and half of them got sick with dhiarrhea And stomach pain. Great to spend a lot of money on a vacation right? Watched one of staff ‘clean’ the reusable cups- put it in a solution and shook it around and sat up to dry. The air conditioning and disgusting moldy smell from my brothers room was never fixed and they paid the most to be in their large space. The two insulin needles found by our KIDS was crazy, a three year old almost stepped on the second one if it wasn’t for an older kid that quickly pointed it out. Such a shame as the beach was beautiful otherwise. My room was nice and cleaned great. The animals in the pen looked sad and I didn’t really see the point of them being held in that small space. Breakfast was the best meal, steak house was terrible as we all ordered different stuff, but left and got a burrito or went to the buffet after. We made it to the Brazilian and the one male chef cooked up shrimp for someone that doesn’t eat land meat so that was very nice and accommodating. Burrito/crepe place was amazing as well as the cup cake cafe. Also think a la cartes should be a thing to all not just royal members or elite club members. Staff throughout were mostly friendly except for the last man I seen while checking out asked me how my stay was and I explained it could’ve been better due to everything I said above... he literally said nothing back and put his head down, no apology or kindness. Will not be returning unfortunately.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web_Sandos, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Jan 18, 2020
Hi Nadia, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. While your comments are not typical of the large majority of our Guests experiences, we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. Always at your service! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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Overall the resort is very clean and well up-kept, no complaints there. The food was very good as well both the buffet and all the restaurants we visited, for an all inclusive we don’t usually expect anything top notch but we were pleasantly surprised at the quality and tastefulness. The rooms were clean and fairly updated- there was some mold on the wall in the bathroom shower but wasn’t a major ordeal for us. We stayed in the rooms close to the lobby so it was a bit of a hike to the meeting point, restaurants and buffet and sometimes the trolleys that shuttle you there took long to arrive, in general it wasn’t a huge deal but with a cranky 3yo who’s ready to nap waiting for the trolley for 30min from the beach was a bit of an annoyance. Also some people would just jump ahead to get on when u’d been waiting before them but most of the drivers were good at addressing that by making the folks get behind. I’m 5 1/2 months pregnant so I was a bit frustrated with this, otherwise we would have just walked the whole time, it’s a nice walk especially after getting stuffed! We were with our 85yo grandfather who’s hard of hearing and can barely walk so he was originally placed in a room upstairs and at the other end of the building. The concierge arranged another room for him the next day which we had to do a bit of fighting for but in the end they moved him right on the first floor close to the trolley pickup. And something that stung a bit was that I emailed in advance with staff for arrangements for my husbands birthday to decorate the room and a special dinner for our family, which I was told would be noted in the system and taken care of. The night before his birthday I confirmed with concierge that the room would be decorated and was advised to visit guest services to make arrangements for dinner. The next morning we went to guest services and I was told they do not make reservations for guests that are not royal elite -which was another disadvantage because unless you are royal elite u can’t access many areas and bars, etc. but royal elite is adults only which was not a possibility for us. Anyway, after raising a bit of a hype that I had spoken to someone in advance via email and having to bring up the email as proof we were finally able to get the reservation. But The room was never decorated when we got back at 530pm so I had to again call and complain, which at that point my husband already was aware of my frustration and it was no longer a surprise! Luckily the lady warren B I spoke with online made up for that by extending one of our rooms for an extra 2 hours free of charge. All in all the pool area is nice the kids slides were a lot of fun for our toddlers, and an abundance of chairs and umbrellas on the beach! Not sure if we hit a bad week with wind but there were a lot of waves and a few days we couldn't have the umbrellas open. The water was clear and clean and beautiful white sand. In the end we would definitely go back!
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web_Sandos, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Jan 19, 2020
Hi Regina, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. We look forward to welcoming you and your family back at your earliest convenience. Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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Adult only beach front breakfast is excellent. Seems like not many people know about it (location number 2 on the resort map) so is always nice and quiet. Mirna at the front desk is very friendly and the Yamilet is very nice and always remembers my name (little things like this make a big difference). The food is really good and so is lunch, but be warned children are allowed at lunchtime. Once you’ve had breakfast walk just a few yards along the beach to the Blue Moon bar (location 9 on resort map) for their healthy detox drinks that are only served in the morning.
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Date of stay: December 2020
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Warren B, General Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Dec 24, 2020
Hi Mexicantrip123, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. Rest assured that we will let Mirna & Yamilet know of the praises you sent their way. We look forward to welcoming you and your family back at your earliest convenience. Always at your service! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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Just home from another fantastic family holiday. We are a family of 5 2 adults 3 boys, 12 yrs, 10 yrs 7 yrs travelling from the the UK I booked the holiday separately flights with TUI, which meant we could stay in the hacienda which were perfect for us lots of room, boys liked using the pool etc. The kids/beach entertainment team are some of the nicest people they really get to know the kids, especially JC he was great on the beach with the football activity Taylor was also so kind and helpful my boys really enjoyed spending time with them both. The new pool area is nice a little over crowded. I think the snack bar by the pool would be better used by families for breakfast as the main buffet gets so busy after 9.30am it would be a great location as a overflow it was crazy queuing out of the door in the main restaurant, the adults breakfast could be served in the french restaurant next to the adults pool. We enjoyed all the restaurants the Italian and french served the most amazing fillet steak it was so good better then the streak restaurant. The Christmas Eve gala dinner was great in the buffet. All in all this is a truly great hotel perfect relaxing family hotel the beach is breath taking the ocean is like a bath ! We can’t wait to return next Christmas hopefully see JC and Taylor!
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sandos_Playacar, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Jan 1, 2020
Hi Trek618974, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. Rest assured we will let JC & Taylor know of the praises you sent their way! We look forward to welcoming you back next Christmas!. Happy New Year! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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This resort was perfect and inviting from start to finish! The reception made of feel very welcome, our rooms although dated were clean, comfortable and quiet. The fridge was stocked daily, plenty of fresh drinking water, 24 hour room service and delivered to your room on time! All staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was good, especially breakfast. The snack bar had the best chicken wings ever. Cocktails were made professionally which really surprised us, all bartenders in every bar knew exactly how to make everything on the menus. Exactly what you would expect if you were fine dining in a big city. The grounds were impeccably clean and beautifully landscaped. We stayed in the adults only section, very quiet, pools well kept and clean. Beautiful sandy beach, warm waters and no seaweed. Walking distance to Playa del Carmen and the ferry to Cozumel. We all felt safe, enjoyed our vacation, definitely would go back and highly re commend to everyone
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web_Sandos, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Feb 3, 2020
Hi Denise, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. We look forward to welcoming you back at your earliest convenience. Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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Many private pools closed. Family pool furthest away from main buildings and not at all stroller friendly. Also, unless Royal Elite your place in sun will be dirty, uncomfortable and far away from the beach. That’s very best and kindest I can say of this so called family friendly resort. · Horrible customer service. Take our advice and save your money and go elsewhere. Standing out was Jorge and Nicole at Guest Services who when approached gave WORST guest service we have ever experienced (and we are frequent travelers). None of them should even work with guests or in the hospitality industry. Jorge was aggressive, confrontational and threatened us not to mention both were incredibly rude and no one was remotely interested in helping us at all. Housekeeping lost my little girls favorite teddy bear with no follow up or even a decent apology offered to us. Unless you are a Royal Elite Club member or if you have no standards at all (or if you’re completely drunk for the duration of your stay) simply save your hard earned money and go to a much more customer service oriented, friendly and more personalized resort. No one cares and no one listens to you. What an utter disappointment. Would not even go back if they offered us a free stay whatever length. Wedding every night outside our window (and we were not only ones) with incredibly loud music to late at night (cash cow for resort) and therefore my family wasn’t able to sleep at all. When asked if we could change rooms told that’s not an option as resort is full. Just horrible all together. Thank God our holidays didn’t just consist of this awful resort. Mexico is such an amazing country so don’t waste time and money going to Sandos Playacar. We went to Cozumel for the day just to escape this appalling place and staff which was amazing. Shows were ok. Restaurants were simply overcrowded with ridiculous wait due to being grossly understaffed. Food very average. Even at check in when asked staff to give us a nice room reply was “you get what you pay for “ and “the more you pay the nicer room you get” bearing in mind we were not paying cheapest room or rate. Her comment sums it up perfectly and displays staff appalling attitude towards its paying guests. Total waste of time and money
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Web_Sandos, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Jan 18, 2020
Hi Sayda, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. While your comments are not typical of the large majority of our Guests experiences, we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. Always at your service! Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
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We travelled this resort for a family vacation from Feb 7 - 14th; there were 9 of us (5 adults & 4 kids); 3 separate rooms; check in was smooth & quick with the resort placing us close together in the 9000 section of the resort; our room was very nice; clean; with a view of the pool; we especially like the water dispenser in the room! Breakfast every morning at Gaucho's with great service from Yamilet & Melina; there was a very good variety of food at this resort, from the restaurants to the buffets; my favorite place for dinner was the Brazilian restaurant; The beach is beautiful; there is a shuttle that runs regularly and we never had much of a wait. You can also start strolling down and hop on the shuttle when it's going by; the family pool and water park at the beach area are also very nice; we spent most days at the beach; having lunch at the buffet that's right there; The staff at this resort are all friendly and helpful; bar service is good; and they were great with the children; It's true that the family section is farthest from the beach, but we didn't find this to be an issue at all; it just meant we had to prepare well to ensure we had everything with us when heading out. The shops at Playacar are a short, safe and beautiful walk down the street; Playa del Carmen is a $8. cab ride away. I hope you will enjoy the resort as much as we did! Safe travels!
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sandos_Playacar, Web Relations Manager at Sandos Playacar
Responded Feb 17, 2020
Hi Dfranczak, Thanks for having taken the time to share your comments and opinions of your stay with us at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort. We really appreciate hearing about our Guests experiences and we will be forwarding them to our Management for their review. Rest assured that we let Yamilet & Manuel know the praises you sent their way! We look forward to welcoming you back at your earliest convenience. Warren B Web Relations Manager Sandos Playacar Beach Resort webrelations.playacar@sandos.com
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There are more places to choose from in the Playa del Carmen area.
PRICE RANGE
C$319 - C$452 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
sandos playacar beach hotel, hotel sandos playacar beach, beach playacar resort sandos, sandos playacar resort, sandos playa del carmen, gala resort playacar, sandos gala playacar, sandos playacar mexico, sandos resort, playacar sandos
LOCATION
MexicoYucatan PeninsulaQuintana RooRiviera MayaPlaya del Carmen
NUMBER OF ROOMS
819
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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