Sandos Hotels & Resorts Reviews 

The Worst Hotel Experience I Have Ever Had

The Worst Hotel Experience I Have Ever Had

This is, without a doubt, one of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had in Riviera Maya and Cancun.

From the very beginning, everything has been a complete disaster. We were made to wait, and the staff did not allow us to check in when we should have. There is chaos everywhere, enormous queues, and absolutely no organization or proper communication.

The situation with the restaurant reservations was equally ridiculous. Today, I went to the concierge and practically had to beg Gustavo to make an à la carte restaurant reservation for us. He told me there was availability at the Riviera Restaurant at 8:00 PM and assured me that he had made a reservation for three people.

However, when we arrived at the restaurant, there was no reservation under our name. We had simply wasted our time.

When we tried to resolve the situation, two female employees, Monica and another woman whose name I unfortunately did not see on her badge, did not accommodate us or help us.

Why does a hotel in this day and age make restaurant reservations such a complicated process? Why are guests forced to stand in enormous queues just to book an à la carte restaurant instead of using a simple app or online system?

I went to make a reservation at 4:00 PM and found a huge crowd of people already waiting. Even after asking for help from the concierge and receiving confirmation, the reservation was not there.

There is no proper organization, no efficient service, and no sense that the hotel genuinely cares about its guests’ experience.

I am extremely disappointed with this hotel. Between the chaotic check-in, the endless queues, the lack of organization, and the complete mess with restaurant reservations, this experience has been absolutely unacceptable.

I would not recommend this hotel based on my experience.

Lovely hotel the staff where great with the adults and kids
All day and night entertainment very clean hotel food was good will be a must to return

A Huge Disappointment

We visited the Sandos El Greco Hotel
in Ibiza. It is DEFINITELY not a four-star hotel. In our experience, two to three stars at best.

What a disappointment. We paid extra for an all-inclusive package and a sea view, only to find that our “sea view” consisted of a building site on one side and a tiny glimpse of the port on the other. Certainly not what we expected after paying a premium for the view.

The hotel feels very rough around the edges and the facilities are, at best, average. We even had to pay a deposit for beach towels, which felt very unnecessary for a hotel of this supposed standard. The air conditioning was another issue. You cannot control it yourself as the handset has been removed, which was incredibly frustrating.

On arrival, our toilet wasn’t working. To be fair, the gentleman who came to fix it was the only member of staff we found particularly friendly or helpful.

We were given virtually no information about the hotel, its facilities or where anything was located. There are also very limited sunbeds, making it difficult to relax around the pool.

There is a resident DJ, which could be a great feature, but having music playing day and night became more of an irritation than an amenity.

The hotel is also over an hour’s drive from the airport, which is worth knowing before booking.

Overall, this hotel fell a long way short of our expectations and certainly did not feel like a four-star experience. For what we paid, particularly for all-inclusive and a sea view, we expected considerably more. Sadly, a huge let-down and definitely not somewhere we would return.

Definitely not 4 star ⭐ , went to Sandos El Greco Ibiza for 10 days with my brother for the eclipse. After turning up at 2am went to our room which was the size of a matchbox. Returned to the reception to be told this was what we booked, a compact double room, No we didn't. Anyway not a manager available to resolve this so had to sit in reception for 9 hours to wait for them. After eventually meeting the manager, who was absolutely dismissive with the situation blaming TUI, but didn't make any attempt to assist us with the issue, not even an offer of a coffee.
The TUI rep eventually turned up and I explained the situation to her, she said that this is what we had booked and paid £3200 for , we still disputed her claim. The hotel allegedly had no more rooms which made it more suspicious . For being a 4 star hotel rating, which I believe is well overrated the way this manager was very dismissive was really poor , after my 2nd day I decided to fly back home , as the room was totally unsuitable and noone could or would help us .
IF I WERE ANY OTHER CUSTOMER I WOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE BOOKING THIS BRAND OF HOTEL.

WHEN ALSO CHECKING ONLINE WITH TUI AND SANDOS HOTEL IBIZA THERE IS NO COMPACT DOUBLE ROOM ADVERTISED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Food was shocking and not much variety, a toaster that doesn't even toast the bread. Entertainment was terrible. Black mould on air conditioning in rooms. Air conditioning is very outdated. Very slippery around the pool. Cockroaches in the toilets. Definitely not a 4 star hotel. Would not be returning!!!

DO NOT sign up for their royal elite program. Their sales team lied through their teeth. After they get your money you are nothing. Not to mention I can book through westjet cheaper than through Sandos even though I bought 30 weeks in their Royal Elite program. It is an absolute joke.

I want to be as honest as possible about this place. For starters, the staff were very pleasant, and our room was always kept clean, though one light was not working and the wardrobe door was hard to close. The reception, restaurant and bar were also well-kept. But for some reason, the tables and floors in the pool area were not cleaned. Also, many of the umbrellas did not work. One was ripped from its stand by the wind and could have caused a nasty accident. We were half-board but only had one evening meal as the food was, sorry, awful. Chilli con carne is a meat dish served with rice, not kidney beans floating in a thin brown liquid with only chips as an accompaniment. But, most annoyingly, when I tried to get a snack from the snack bar, I was told I could not get food until 4 pm! I got the impression that they were trying to force us to upgrade, something I would never recommend. The breakfasts were okay I suppose, but I did wonder how long the bacon and sausages had been lying around. The mini-golf area is embarrassing. Get rid of it. It's like something from a child's nursery, as is the Butlins style 'entertainment'. Overall, this place needs some TLC and some basic maintenance. Maybe a manager who cares might help. You need to look after your cats as well, like all the other hotels in the area, We will not be coming back.

**review left on behalf of my Grandparents**

I've been to this hotel 5 times when it was The Flamingo and cannot believe how much the hotel has gone down hill over the year time. We had amazing family holidays there, but this last experience will be the last.

As soon as we arrived we had to make an immediate complaint about a cockroach infestation in our room. I actually bagged them up and took them downstairs, only be to treated with complete disregard from hotel staff. When asking for escalation the staff shrugged it off like these types of conditions were typical. We resorted to removing these ourselves and buying products to fumigate the room with.

After unpacking we realised the air conditioning was working and were met with a similar response. We were assured that it would be fixed tomorrow, but tomorrow never came. We went without for the entire week. Temperatures that week got over 35oC and barely dropped at night, our young grandson took ill several nights because of it.

Food in the hotel was not as advertised, most stations closed at the restaurant and very obviously recycled at lunch. I understand food wastage but expect at the very least the advertised options to be available.

Lastly (and most concerningly of all when travelling with children) our balcony door was completely broken, the lock didn't function and the door was so loose it was early opened by our Grandson. Anyone that's travelled abroad can understand the anxiety this causes and while this was fixed eventually but it took 4 days.

It's no exaggeration that our entire holiday was ruined but most disappointing has been the response.

I hope someone at the hotel gets a chance to read this.

Just home after a 3 week stay at the Sandos Atlantic Gardens, Playa Balance.
Cannot be more effusive about how wonderful all the staff were before and during our stay. From front desk to restaurant/bar staff to the house cleaning crew to the grounds people.
Before we arrived, I had a few requests ( personal reasons ) which were carried out without question. The restaurant staff were always on hand..asking if we wanted wine/sangria and clearing away used plates and glasses. The house keeping staff cleaned the bungalows every day, towels were changed every day and bedding changed two or three times a week.
The food, from breakfast through to dinner, was plentiful, varied and catered to meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike. Yes, some items were repeated a lot ( chicken, beef, lamb, fish ) but honestly you could eat a completely different meal for days at a time if that is what you want. There were numerous potato options as well as hot vegetables and salad items. If I have one small issue..some of the food wasn’t hot..but there is a microwave for everyone to use.
Hot drinks and beer are on hand from 7am to 11pm along with other alcoholic drinks from the bar during the day.
I have never understood how the Gardens is only rated as 3 stars.
We look forward to coming back again next year. Hopefully the weather will be better. It’s not something that even the Sandos Atlantic can sort out. It did spoil the overall holiday a bit but the Gardens are well worth visiting.

We stayed at the Sandos Caracol Eco Resort. On leaving there were charges added to our account for items that we didn’t have. We were not allowed to leave until we had paid for the charges.

We asked to speak with a manager but were told that none were available. There was also no supervisor to assist.

We were intimidated by a male employee and had no choice to pay. Otherwise we would have missed the bus.

This type of behaviour is not something I expect of a Tui hotel and intimidating two women travelling is poor.

I would not advise staying at this resort

We stayed at Sandos Caracol. Our stay was decent. Room was relatively clean--no mildew like other resorts in the same area. The beach was great for families--lots of space for swimming and sandy play. Other resorts we've visited in this area have rocky/not very clear beaches. Main pool was nice and seemed well maintained. Good walking paths, places to explore.

Food was slightly disappointing. The buffet was OK. It was really hard to book into the other spaces on site to eat, so we ended up at the buffet every day. We were disappointed in the lack of guacamole (avocado), and only saw it once the whole trip. We also thought there was a lack of drink options that weren't pop for kiddos.

Water Park area was ok. It's nice that it's set aside as a family area with no smoking or alcohol. The kids pool was slightly gross, though a bit cleaner once closed for cleaning on Tuesday. Parents are not allowed to use the slides with kids, which limits some options for those kids that need some support.

The biggest disappointment came at check out. We were told check out was noon but that we could use the facilities, including showers, until our shuttle arrived at 630pm. Upon check out we had to turn in our towel cards and have our bracelets cut off. I questioned how we could continue to use the beach/pool/showers without towels. Was told we would have to ask a staff member at the pool/beach and they would be understanding. They were not and we were told we absolutely could not have towels (once our kiddo was already soaked from a swim). Not great customer service or care for guests.

It was an ok stay, but I don't think we'll return.

We unfortunately stayed in Sandos Griego in Torremolinos.

When we arrived early hours in the morning, our first impression was it looked nice from the outside, On The Beach made it look great.
When we got onto the 9th floor to our room the disappointment kicked in, I thought I went in my nanna’s room, it was so dated with brown curtains that had definitely seen better days, the beds were ok but only had two thin bedsheets and it was cold in the room, no duvet, until I found a scratchy, brown blanket folded up in a torn plastic bin bag.
We had no kettle, when we asked for a kettle we was told that we had to get the tea and coffee out of the restaurant, but there was no coffee sachets or milk pots as the coffee was made from a machine 🙄
Next morning we went down to breakfast and there was a lot to choose from however the food was so bland. It was inedible. The only thing I enjoyed for breakfast was two slices of toast and a cup of coffee, considering I paid to be all inclusive.
We explored the area and found the shops and beach which was lovely 🥰
We came back for dinner and every night the food was bland, I asked why this was to be told “it’s to cater for the older clientele” hence why they removed Mexican and curry night from the menu🤯Some of the desserts had an antiseptic taste as did some of the cheeses and other foods. 🤢
they had no system on letting people in, people would be wondering around looking for a place to sit with their food in their hands, as people were just piling in. On the Wednesday we booked into the restaurant as it was only open 2 nights in the week, that was the best meal I had whilst staying there.
Pepe’s “night club” was good but music was only catered for certain groups of people (people not actually staying in the hotel 🇪🇸)
Staff were ok, I felt they were a tad abrupt, maybe over worked and under paid.
The 1 pool they had for the whole hotel which has over 400 rooms, I’ve been to hotels in Malta and Croatia that had half the amount of rooms with more pools 🙄

On the beach state the hotel do not take large groups, whilst we were there a large group of men arrived for the week.

The hotel is tired, get rid of some rooms and make a decent game room, an indoor pool, stop trying to cram so many people in that it’s uncomfortable to move around the hotel.
My friends bathroom was a joke, she had the smallest gap to pass between the bath and sink, and she’s not the tallest person, the key card slot for the lights were to high on the wall.

The positive was the evening entertainment every night, it’s not west end but it was really enjoyable and house keeping would clean out rooms and finally gave us a bin 2 days before going home 👏

Would we go back, that’s a hard NO!
This is not a 4 star hotel, 2 max!

WHAT A SHIT HOLE
Sandos Cancun
We booked at what they said is a 5 start hotel for $500/ night in Cancun (Sandos Cancun)
This place was a DUMP they had NO hot water, had to take ice cold showers, they had very loud construction going on from early morning until late in the evening, this was not disclosed. They had "room service" but you had to order on an ap AND THEY HAD NO WORKING WI FI. The front desk would never answer the phone, it was impossible to reach anyone,
WE checked out after one night in the DUMP and went to a different hotel (had to pay $2500/ night as no reservation but atleast it was clean and livable) We contacted them for a refund of the 3 nights we did not stay there (we agreed to pay the night we actually stayed as we did sleep there) Avoid this place and avoid any 3rd party site calling this a 5 star hotel as it is NOT.

We stayed at the Sandos Monaco, Benidorm, for a week at the beginning of March 2025. It was absolutely fantastic and I’ve recommended to everyone I’ve spoken to. We upgraded to all-inclusive and the food was plentiful and extremely variable. I never struggled to find anything to eat. The Indian meal at their sister hotel was a lovely surprise too. There was too much to eat if anything!

The cocktails were great, Spanish measures of course! The entertainment was a bit hit and miss. The bad nights were funny because they were so awful but they had an excellent singer on the Saturday night which was lovely. The mattresses were extremely comfortable which you don’t often get at hotels although the pillows were too soft so that spoiled the bed a bit. The spa was lovely and we both had a great massage. It was a shame that access to the spa wasn’t free (or at least one complimentary entry) as it’s €19 per person just to use the pool/jacuzzi/sauna/steam room. We paid more for the massage, again, it was lovely.

Overall, it was a great hotel which I would highly recommend.

I recently attended a wedding at Sandos Playacar Resort on 22/11/24 and unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing. As guests, we were shocked by the minimal food portions, especially considering this is a 4-star hotel. The main dish served at the reception was embarrassingly basic, made with only two ingredients, which is completely unacceptable for an event of this caliber.

To make matters worse, the food catered for kids was absolutely terrible. The children at the event were left with poorly prepared, bland meals that no one seemed to enjoy.

The couple who got married were beyond frustrated, as many of the things they had carefully planned and requested through the hotel’s wedding coordinators were simply not delivered. After months of preparation, it was heartbreaking to see their special day almost totally ruined by poor service and a lack of attention to detail.

The entire experience was a letdown, and the couple deserved far better. A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest moments of someone’s life, and it’s shameful that Sandos Playacar failed to make that happen. I would not recommend this resort for any significant event or special occasion.

Not hygienic at all, bathroom is not maintained and cleaned. Wall paper was falling off with mould on it, in my friend’s room the toilet wasn’t able to flush.

We came as a group of 2 families with 4 children, the check in alone at 10pm took nearly a hour and half. The staff were ignorant and rude.

My friend who did the wedding on the 22nd of November 2024 is really upset with the arrangements that Sandos made. The couple was not allowed to decide vendors until three months before their destination wedding. The wedding was not on a private part of the beach, they did not supply the requested food and overcharged and even the decoration was not done. DONT DO YOUR WEDDING HERE.

I read lots of reviews and was a bit nervous about some things I read. But I had no reason to worry. It was such a fantastic experience.
My kids cried when I took them home. They never wanted to leave.
The staff was so accommodating and nice. My youngest slipped at the airport and skinned his knee. When we go to resort the concierge saw him limping and the rip. He brought us over to a desk and checked us in there while another person got my son a bandaid and fancy "Minion " drinks. (Non alcoholic frozen blue and yellow). That was it. They were in love and I was impressed with the care and attention. They brought us and our luggage to our room.
We had the Eco Family room which is HUGE and the kids had bunk beds in a separate room with a TV. 2 bathrooms and we were in the jungle surrounded by so many animals.
The food was great. We tried all the a la cartes but they preferred the buffets. SO much to choose from and lots of kid friendly choices. My daughter has a food allergy and everything was labeled and easy to decipher. We had no issues. They had plenty to eat with no complaints.
The water park was a must do. There are height requirements for different sections but that is normal.
The kids club was phenomenal. They would play for 2 hours and we could go do hydrotherapy at the spa, go to beach, get a massage, take out kayaks or even do some activities. Then we'd spend the rest of the day together with a siesta in the afternoon. It was great to go relax for an hour, take a nap, then shower and do dinner. The shows were excellent and for all ages.
We liked having Nido snack bar open 24/7. The tacos are impressive. And we could get a drink to have as a night cap. We even got a couple burritos, brought to our room, put in zip loks we brought and ate the next day on the beach.
The pool always had fun activities for the whole family from dance lessons to volleyball and trivia
The whole vibe was just so positive. The people are so happy and helpful.
We will definitely return to this resort.

I have been going to Sandos Caracol and Sandos Playacar for 10 years now. They are unique, family oriented resorts with an adults only area. The customer service is top notch. I really don't get the complaints but I am sure it being Mexico plays a part. Many tourists expect English to be spoken, American food served and for customer service to bow and scrape to every Karen who didn't get 2 wash cloths. The way these tourists act is shameful.
If you want an affordable resort with good, plentiful food, lots to do tons of animals, and friendly workers then these resorts are for you
If you want Western culture, tex-mex, and 5 star amenities at a 3 star price then stay home.

We stayed in sandos griego torremolinos.
I have positive and negatives to write.
Postives - very clean hotel, nice location. Very friendly staff! All staff are very nice and helpful. Its spacious inside and out. Modern looking. Lots of choices with drinks. Rooms cleaned everyday (if needed). Entertainment every night!
Sandos griego facebook page is very active and the response time from Carl in particular is fantastic.

Negatives - swimming pool doesn't get much sun due to position of hotel (nobodies fault) food is basic but fills a hole but is often cold. The restaurant that you can book into once during the stay is nice, food is alot warmer. Better menu on offer...
Would i return again? Absolutely!

I just got home from spending a week at Sandos Cancun. The resort was beautiful, but the food was nothing but a disappointment. We had dinner twice in the steakhouse and the first time it was just good. The second time, the steak was not as tender as the first time. When I think of a steak, I think the steak is at least 1 inch thick. The steak here was not even a 1/2 inch thick. The Italian restaurant there was horrible. The chef needed a lot of help. I have never had worse food. There were 8 of us, and we all agreed. The buffet was just okay. It would have been nice to have had some great Mexican food. Only a few Mexican foods offered in the buffet.