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john316
Canda

“Murphy’s Law” Family Vacation

Reviewed Apr 4, 2022
Post Covid family vacation for 5 adults and 5 children was mediocre

Positives:
5 Grandsons (ages 3 years to 10 years) enjoyed the waterslides, pool and beach. They favoured sea shell hunting and pool snorkelling. Toys may be purchased at on location shop at triple the price.
Adults enjoyed availability of beach lawn chairs and the near perfect weather throughout our stay.
Breakfast buffet was good and offered good selection of choices
for each family members liking (3 yrs to 63 yrs).

Negatives our family experienced;
Check in was extremely slow and inefficient. Wait time in line ups excess of 1 hour to reach check in clerk.

Food/Snack consumed following check in, caused 4 family members to get grossly sick throughout the night and lasted up to 4 days. We believe it was and contribute this to the Hamburgers they ate (3 boys and 1 adult). House keeping is not possible after 10:30PM as it is closed. Front desk being short staffed already…. No service.

Besides getting sick over the bedding, we experienced shortages of pillows and quilts upon arrival to all 3 of the “Royal Elite 1 Bedroom, 1 King with Sofa Bed” Rooms we had booked for our stay.

Faulty appliances that did not get properly repaired or not repaired during our 8 nights stay;
Malfunctioning air conditioner, that also caused water to leak onto dresser and down the wall onto ceramic tile floors, making it dangerously slippery.
Malfunctioning mini fridge/bar that never did get inspected or repaired. Leaving Warm beer and/or pop to consume. Mini bar not stocked each day as outlined.

Shower drain 100% plugged causing water to run into bedroom. Did not get repaired. Fortunately we had second shower in room + traveling with extended family allowed showers in their rooms.

Wristband / bracelet fobs stopped working on door lock due to dead batteries in lock sensor, leaving us locked out = very inconvenient.

And finally had to request service to unlock our safe box due to further wristband fob errors twice during our stay.

Long line ups for restaurants and/or zero availability. Some people mentioned they’d line up 30 minutes prior to restaurant opening time, to get tables.
We waited in excess of 90 minutes 2nd evening to eat in a restaurant, but opted to leave before dessert due to poor minimal service. 5 children sat for 30 minutes at table before they received water.
Went to International Buffet remaining 7 nights, but unhappy with dinner quality.

We do Not recommend this resort
Date of stay: March 2022
Value
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Location
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1,233 - 1,238 of 25,942 reviews
Reviewed April 4, 2022

Pros - Location and activities are great. The water park and pools are fun for the family. Beach is a bit rocky, but still nice, just bring water shoes. The trails and ruins around the resort are very nice. Wildlife is fun to see too.

Cons - Food is terrible. They won't let you make reservations so you have to wait in line, which can be hours if you aren't there when they open or go super late. They ran out of the menu steaks at the steak house, and the ones they gave us were gray. We left mid-meal it was so terrible. They desperately need to improve the food and restaurant system. It makes for an unpleasant time.

Service could've been better, but I suspect that is a result of the employee shortages from COVID. You just need to be patient.

The resort has a lot of potential. The location and atmosphere are wonderful, but the systems in place and food are lacking.

Date of stay: March 2022
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
1  Thank MtnKatie
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.
Reviewed April 4, 2022

the staff that was there were great, but lacking staff, lacking everything actually. if all the things that were lacking were listed we would not have stayed. we stayed based on the amenities we had last time. group of 9 of us. the mexican buffet was not a buffet, the only other buffet was not good at all. specialty restaurants were long waits to get in, we couldn't even get in to eat at el tempo that you have to have a reservation. never had this problem before. no swim snorkel for the big cenote, hit or miss on mini bar being restocked. no beach service at the select club adults section on the beach, on resort cenotes were closed. pool was packed with kids and couldn't play pool volleyball. there was no party person walking around to get you signed up for activates. no mariachi band tequila tasting. lines lines lines. rooms were nice and clean, uncomfortable beds, which has become the norm in mexico, nice staff, beach was way rockier than it's been in the past, seaweed everywhere. sad to say we probably won't be back. :-(

Room tip: stay in select club. if you are staying with other people be advised you won't be near each other.
Date of stay: March 2022
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    • Sleep Quality
    • Service
Thank Hairytattoo
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.
WebRelations Caracol, Owner at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort, responded to this reviewResponded April 4, 2022

Dear Hairytattoo,
We are very sorry to read that the resort did not meet your expectations during your last visit.
Be sure that we are reviewing the restaurants' entrance procedures with the intention to ease them and avoid annoying lines to our guest.
The local regulations have limited the hotel's activities and timings for shows, we regret that this aspect caused you discomfort and we hope to e able to activtae these activities soon.
Regards.
Giovanna barbieri
Quality Manager

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed April 3, 2022 via mobile

Lots of wild life:Coatis, monkeys, birds, iguanas. Water slides open:10-5pm. Family of 4 we had an amazing time there!! Set up your activities at the beginning of your trip: plant a tree, swim in the Jade River, kayaking + Day trip to XCARET. Also, first day try booking the Japanese “El Templo”.Other restaurants don’t require reservation. Here are restaurants we loved in descending order: Las Mascaras (BB/Dinner), Los Lirios and La Toscana (Dinner)/La Laguna (for all) Room service was great!

Room tip: Organize all you can at the beginning (including renting a car) + booking trips. Staff is very friendly and helpful.
Date of stay: April 2022
Trip type: Travelled with family
3  Thank Abcd12345asdg
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.
Reviewed April 3, 2022

Overall we were pleasantly surprised. We came in with low expectations after reading recent reviews. Our room (eco family superior) was great! Renovated, clean, comfortable bed and spacious! The resort is really cool with so much foliage and trees throughout. Our daughter really enjoyed seeing all the animals. We liked the tortuga pool because it was quieter. Big con would be the food and Drinks. We could always find things to eat though. They are understaffed so you need to plan your day to avoid lineups.

Date of stay: March 2022
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Thank Julia G
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.
Reviewed April 3, 2022

it’s an amazing experience.
The check-in is long and they give us a smelly room but got transferred to a better room after 2 days.
No spot for us in the Japanese Restaurant for the whole visit. But it’s all good.

Date of stay: March 2022
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Thank Miles M
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.
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