My boyfriend and I traveled to this hotel to celebrate our one year anniversary. We spent 7 days at the resort and just got back. We are extremely happy with our experience. We booked using RCI, our timeshare vacation exchange company and our room was in the adults only side. I think it's important to have realistic expectations of any resort, especially an all inclusive one of this size that has an adults only section and also welcomes families. Here is our honest and detailed review:

Staff- We found most of the staff in the resort to be very pleasant and accommodating. Our concierges Itzel Orapeza and Sebastian Veramendi were exceptional. They reached out to us a few days before we arrived to introduce themselves to us and they maintained daily contact with us via WhatsApp chat. They helped us with our reservations to the restaurants, and gave us a tour of the resort so we knew where everything was. They reminded us of activities we might enjoy on the resort and set up reservations to the special events. They also set up our daypass to the Sandos Playacar since we were told the beach at this resort was rocky. We had water shoes but decided to try the other beach simply because I am not a strong swimmer and wanted to go into water I could easily walk in and wade in. Both of us got sick during our stay (me on day 5 and my boyfriend on day 6). Itzel and Sebastian made sure we had fresh chicken soups made to order, and bread and plain rice sent to our room. Being sick on vacation was a downer, but it can happen anywhere. I've traveled to Morocco and stayed at a 5 ★ hotel and had vomiting and diarrhea there too.

Food- The food at the buffet for breakfast and lunch were fine. Lots of options to choose from, some were tastier then others. This is a typical buffet experience anywhere you travel. They do have fresh made to offer items on the grill such as omelettes, steak, chicken and pork chops. This is the way to go if you're concerned about food born illness from buffets.

We only ate at the buffet once for breakfast and once for lunch because I found it to be too warm. They do have air conditioners and fans but with the pyramid style hut cielings and so many people inside of the restaurant it was not cool enough for me. My boyfriend was fine though so this is my issue that I am more sensitive to heat/hot temperatures. The restaurants were very good and our concierges got us in to all of them at the times we wanted. We ate at Toscano (Italian), Lirios (seafood) and Templo (Japanese) and loved the meals there. They will also bring you second portions if you want (so you can have two steaks, etc). We had breakfast and lunch at Fogo de Brazil almost every day since this was a la carte and was in the adults only section. We really enjoyed this restaurant as well and the service was great.

Drinks- We had a bottle of tequila, sparkling wine and red wine in our room which was refilled whenever we wanted. The mini fridge had beers, soda and mineral waters. We also had our own water cooler in the room with filtered water. The cocktails/ drinks at the bars were "okay". The margaritas were the best thing to order and came in several flavors. This was not a deal breaker for us. There was a bar next to the theater that served excellent drinks.

Spa and Pools- the adults only pool and jacuzzis were very clean, and well maintained. It was a peaceful environment and where we chose to spend most of our time during the day. There were plenty of pool chairs and huts to cover you from the sun. I like that the pool was 4 1/2 feet deep all across so you could swim in it and also walk and exercise in it (aqua aerobics). We loved listening to our small speaker poolside with our drinks on the edge while we waded in the pool. The bar was pool side. Guadalupe took great care of us and brought drinks to us poolside and also made a yummy margarita too. The main pool was a nightmare for me lol! Too many kids and they splashed and screamed, like we all know kids do. We tried it for one hour and never went back to that pool.

The spa was amazing and the prices were great. The massages were excellent with Norma and Lorena and the hydrotherapy pool was divine. We also really enjoyed the saunas and face masks and body scrub treatments we received. For the couples- we found it was way cheaper to book two massages separately for the same day and time. We still did every experience together except for the actual massage where we were in two separate rooms.

Fun/ amenities- Our room was very clean and comfortable and there is a red light outside the room which indicates do not disturb to the cleaning staff. The bed was firm and comfortable and we had lots of pillows. The A/C in the room was excellent. The TV had clear reception and plenty of channels and we were able to see TV shows and movies in English and some with subtitles in English all week. We liked having double sinks in the room and a large walk in shower. The water pressure and temperature were excellent.

This resort has so much to do that you really don't have to leave. We were planning on going on outside excursions but didn't feel the need to. We were able to swim in a cenote, see Mayan ruins, walk in the jungle and see animals (we also had a fun time seeing the monkeys and coatis from our balcony. They were also around the pool area). They had a romantic boat ride and swimming in the Jade river. They have vendors selling all types of Mexican art, souvenirs, clothing, typical food in one area of the resort. They even had a fair one night where even more vendors were there. So you can shop and buy things there that are made from local people (many are indigenous so you are supporting local communities). They are happy to negotiate prices and you will find beautiful and useful things at this "market". The evening shows are very entertaining (i.e. a fire show, 80's show, a show about Mexican history and culture, Michael Jackson, Beauty and the Beast). The musicians and singers are very talented. My boyfriend was singing along to the 80's show as if we were at a live concert. They had karaoke night at the theater and my boyfriend sang and it was a blast for us.

Important things to know- you are going to be in a resort in a similar setting to a JUNGLE. It is hot and very humid especially in August when we traveled. It also rains for short periods of time almost every day. There are plenty of animals and yes there are bugs that the animals eat. So we saw cockroach looking bugs a few times when outside and we saw flies. I was only bitten once by a mosquito so they must be spraying the grounds. Bring bug spray, and also bring ibuprofen, pepto bismol, immodium and alka seltzer. This will allow you to recover fairly quickly if you do get a bit of travelers diarrhea, or catch a bug from eating at the buffet ( which again can happen in any country you travel to). However if you forget these items they do have a store on site that sells everything like this.

To the ladies reading this- wearing your hair in braids or a protective style is wise. Otherwise you will probably have your hair up in a ponytail or bun day and night. It's too hot and humid to try to blow dry your hair straight or do curls or waves or other styles. Wigs will be unbearable and tape in extensions will not survive this environment. Naturally curly hair will look fine in this weather but it will feel very hot on your shoulders and back if you wear it loose.