Family Vacations
and
Family Travel

HOTEL REVIEW
The Sandos Playacar Beach Resort is a deluxe 5 star property and long time favorite of many of our vacationkids families. This resort sits on one of the most beautiful, pristine beaches in the Riviera Maya. It is family of five friendly allowing three kids under the age of 12 to share a Hacienda Suite with their parents AND it's kids club offer activities for children age 2 up thru teens. It used to be known to many families as The Gala Resort Playacar. This popular Riviera Maya family resort is located 45 minutes south of Cancun airport in the resort area of Playa Del Carmen. It is centrally located to all the popular Riviera Maya sights like Xcaret, the Tulum Ruins and the ferry over to Cozumel Island. The Sandos Playacar resort recently completed a multi million dollar make-over of it's 300 standard rooms as well as it's 160 Hacienda Suites. It is also the sister property of the Sandos Riviera Maya all suite resort located next door.

All of our Vacationkids.com family travel experts have visited this property in recent years and know first hand why many of our Vacationkids families travel back to the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort year after year. Suzie Sturm recently visited to check out all the newest details with Sales Director, Liz Cervantes

There is a perfectly good reason why the new name to this resort is the Sandos Playacar BEACH resort. It's because it's located on one of the best stretches of beach in the Playa Del Carmen Area. When returning families talk to us about their vacations at the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort all we hear at Vacationkids is "beach, beach, BEACH"!!!

Suzie says to imagine powdery white sand and the most amazine crystel clear azure blue waters and your imagination will come close to the reality of this beach. If you stand on the beach of the Sandos and stare out at the sea, what you will SEE is Cozumel Island floating just off shore. Cozumel Island boasts the world's second largest coral reef, topped only by Australia's great barrier reef. This means the snorkeling and diving lovers can plan day trips (for an extra fee) to be amazed by the sea creatures. But what this also means is that if your family has little sea creatures of your own...ah, little kids we mean, then you'll be pleased to know this is a perfect beach for them. The playacar reef of Cozumel acts as a breaker for big waves. This means your little sea urchins can splash in the gentle surf to their heart's content making the Sandos Playacar Beach resort's beach perfect for families with young children. For big kids and bigger kids at heart, this beach is also perfect for surfing, sailing and kayaking which is included as part of the all inclusive program here.

Another important reason why the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort is SO popular with Vacationkids families is that it is family of five friendly. Their hacienda Jr suites will allow up to three children under the age of 12 to share the same hotel room with their parents. These suites are unique in many features. The suites are located towards the front entrance of the resort. There are 10 suites per small building. As you can see from our photograph, each hacienda building has it's own swimming pool that can only be used by the guests staying in those suites. Hacienda suites are very popular with our family groups and reunions who all want to stay and play together.

Inside you'll see these hacienda suites are one large room offering either one king bed or two double beds. It's one step down to a sitting area with sleeper sofas for the kids. These hacienda jr suites come with one private deluxe spacious bathroom with shower including bench for added comfort, hair dryer, air conditioning, one satellite color TV, telephone, safety deposit box, mini bar with mineral water, soft drinks and beer. Please know the Hacienda suites are situated a substantial walk away from the beach, pool, restaurants and main areas of the hotel.

The standard rooms at the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort offer 2 double beds or 1 king bed, balcony with garden or partial ocean view. They include a small table and chairs instead of the sofa sitting area. Basically they are the same size as the Hacienda suites and offer the same general ammenities. The standard rooms are located in the heart of the resort, close to the pool and beach area. The standard room will accomodate up to 2 adults and 2 children under the age of 12. There are also Ocean Front and Royal Club rooms which offer additional services and amenities such as private check in and lounge area, guaranteed ala carte dining reservations and nightly turn down service. The Royal club rooms are adults only and just for couples.

Okay, so you'll be able to sleep, relax and enjoy 24 hour room service in your rooms but we doubt you'll be spending much time indoors. There are just too many activities for your family to enjoy at the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort...4 swimming pools, one is a private "Adults only" pool, unlimited use of day and night tennis, tennis clinics and equipment, non motorized water sports, free use of exercise equipment and sauna, daily social activities program both poolside and at the beach, Game room, billiards, ping-pong, backgammon,chess, dominoes and cards., Bicycle tours and unlimited bicycle use during the day, indoor/outdoor theater, cabaret shows, music halls and theme nights

Just want a quick snack, try the Ola La pool snack bar. Mediteraeno Buffet opens for dinner serving seafood, meats and chicken with prepared salads. There are two ala carte restaurants to tempt your tastebuds. There is the Fonda Los Alcatraces Mexican Restuarant and the Broccolino serving Italian Cuisine. Both require reservations 24 hours in advance and only allow children from 6-7pm. But don't worry, kids have their own restaurant just for them in the kids club...sorry Mom & Dad, you'll probably be on your own for dinner. Jeez, don't know what you'll possibly have to talk about seeing that you won't have to cut up someone else's food!

And speaking of the kids
The Sandos Playacar Resort offers a fabulous kids club including a restaurant area just for the kids...

The Galaxy Kids club is open from 10:00am-11:00pm for children ages 2-12. The club does close for meals. During the day, children are divided in 2 groups. Ages 2-7 play inside the children's club for the entire day and parents are required to bring necessary supplies such as diapers, sun block etc. Ages 8-12 play outside the children's club under strict supervision in the main pool area, beach areas, etc. Nursery, mini cafeteria, children's pool, theater, playground area, video games, television and sports activities.

Parents wanting individualized or after hours care can arrange private babysitting with concierge 24 hours in advance for an additional fee..

The Sandos Playacar Beach Resort is one of the few who haven't forgotten that teens want their own space too. Teens have their own separate club area open daily from 5:00pm-11:00pm for kids ages 13 to 17. Here teens can enjoy Table games like tennis table, air hockey, soccer tables, pool tables and video arcade under the assistance of the animation staff. Most importantly they have their own space to hang out and make new friends. In the evening, the gala even has a teen disco where these new friends can dance, chat and hang the night away. There is also a video arcade(fee) open daily from 10:00am until 11:00pm.

So at the end of the day, you too will understand why the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort is a favorite of many Vacationkids families. One thing to keep in mind is that this property is one of the smaller resorts in the Riviera Maya offering only 300 standard rooms and 160 Hacienda suites. This may seem like a lot of rooms on paper but in reality this resort is small by comparison.
So why do we bring up this point?
If you're a parent who clicked to this page from either Vacationkids Family of Five Resort Page just stop and think for a moment how many families with families with three kids do you know. Now check this to our Family of Five list once again. There simply are not that many vacation choices for these types of families. Now imagine all the families in the universe who want to travel during peak weeks like Christmas, President's week, spring break or summer vacation. Hopefully now you'll understand why this resort notoriously sells out months in advance. So if you're one of these people who can't make up their mind where to stay or figure you'll wait till the last minute to get a great deal, a word of warning...you're family will end up disappointed. We don't mean to be blunt, just honest. We don't want to see your family disappointed so plan ahead and book early for the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort and a family vacation of a lifetime.