Sandos Playacar for 5 - Page 2

**Shammy** · 08-06-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixkristy6

The coffee we had at Java Joe's was amazing but I think they are originally from NYC? Or NY? I forgot what Mitch told us.

They are from NJ - SHE is an ex travel agent!

sixkristy6 · 08-06-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shammy

They are from NJ - SHE is an ex travel agent!

I knew it was close to NYC

SHE knows how to make good coffee!!

gopherlips · 08-07-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixkristy6

I think (for me) the coffee would have been okay had they had real milk not the powdered stuff (I like cream in my coffee).
The coffee we had at Java Joe's was amazing but I think they are originally from NYC? Or NY? I forgot what Mitch told us.

I even tried the milk from the buffet line and found that if you did not put any coffee in the cup, the milk was pretty good

gopherlips · 08-08-2007

Wednesday - Rain and when not raining, overcast and rough ocean. We took the opportunity to go back to 5th and do the shopping deal. Stopped by Kodak shop to get some parts for the Camera and went back the Sandos and using some tape and parts put the camera back together and use the lighting to get these shots.

Took a few more shots and then it was over

.

We went to the show that night at the resort and, of course, Gretchen is brought up on stage for a kind of scavenger hunt and is up there for about an hour - and I don't have a camera. She did the women proud in a drinking relay, but one of her partners in crime on the stage obviously was a wine drinker judging from how he sipped. I was hoping the cervesas were in a can so that I could throw her an ink pen for some shotgun action

, but no such luck.

I have a lot of pictures starting on Thursday and an interesting story of getting lost on a bicycle trying to buy a new camera.

4wheeled · 08-08-2007

nice report, looking forward to more.

am glad you resolved the camera disaster.

you're a happy fun lovin' looking family!

gopherlips · 08-08-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4wheeled

nice report, looking forward to more.

am glad you resolved the camera disaster.

you're a happy fun lovin' looking family!

Live by a simple philosphy of life -

If it's not fun, why do it?

btodd · 08-08-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopherlips

Live by a simple philosphy of life -

If it's not fun, why do it?

Love that philosphy!! Loving your report too...............

L.A.M.F. · 08-09-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopherlips

I was hoping the cervesas were in a can so that I could throw her an ink pen for some shotgun action

, but no such luck.

haha that would have been awesome.

gopherlips · 08-09-2007

Thursday 5 am - I'm up, WTF

Must have been all of the sugar in the fruity drinks yesterday. Quietly I sneak out of the room and go down to the beach to watch one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. I envy anyone that gets to see this on a normal basis. It was fabulous!!! I still have no camera

and decide that it is time. I know that I saw a Sam's club coming in to the resort, so I get one of the resort bikes and set off.

What a piece of crap this bike is! I guess I am spoiled by my tri bikes, but this one was a real piece of work. The 3 miles felt like 25. If you are familiar with Playacar you know that the main entrance off of the highway is surrounded by trees. If you turn right you will not find Sam's - trust me on this one. I make it down to the Ferry docks by taking a right in Albuquerque and ask a nice Policia man where TF is Sams??? Turn around and go back to whence you came

. If I had taken a left, Sam's is about 100 yards away

. No one spoke English, and my Spanish is not that great, but I finally got out of Sams with a new Nikon and realize something - how am I going to get this back on this POS bike

I get an extra bag and strap it to the bike.

I head back to Sandos and go thru the round about - I end up at 5th again. Back to the round about and find the resort. Unload the bike at 11 and go back to the room and realize how much I like my bikes at home (mine are Quintana Roo tri bikes one for training, one for racing

)- no one has moved.

It is time - the shades open and everyone gets up and I find that a lot of sleep makes the kids act better, even when they get up.

Got lots of pics with the new camera:

Gary the snail

We went to the show at the resort, but I obviously did not know how to use the camera at night

so the pictures were just a blur, I figured it out later that night

More later...

Juanito · 08-09-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopherlips

There were a group of Italian girls there that attached themselves to my son and he had to hide from them at time - but you know he loved it. This was Griffen's hard life

Surrounded by Italian babes? He's one lucky little so-and-so.

Wasn't the Sandos one of the places that had its beach eroded a few months ago?

It looks like it's OK now. I was just wondering if the Sandos Playacar was yet another example on how a place with no beach one week can have a couple hundred meters of sand the next week and of course, vice versa.

There's a bike shop in town that has some nice Specialized, Cannondale, GT, etc rigs. Just make sure they haven't rented them all out to a tour operator before you show up. I'd love to ride a Cyclocross bike around Playa. But I didn't see any.

gopherlips · 08-09-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juanito

Surrounded by Italian babes? He's one lucky little so-and-so.

Wasn't the Sandos one of the places that had its beach eroded a few months ago?

It looks like it's OK now. I was just wondering if the Sandos Playacar was yet another example on how a place with no beach one week can have a couple hundred meters of sand the next week and of course, vice versa.

There's a bike shop in town that has some nice Specialized, Cannondale, GT, etc rigs. Just make sure they haven't rented them all out to a tour operator before you show up. I'd love to ride a Cyclocross bike around Playa. But I didn't see any.

I did a lot of research on the beach before we went and I think the Sandos with the bad beach was the Caracol. As we walked North, the beach started to narrow, rather quickly. But if you look at this shot

this is the beach to the south of Sandos Playacar and is deserted(sort of) and I don't believe that anyone would rebuild the unimproved areas.

And yes, my son is one lucky little so and so...I got a chance to see the mothers

(sorry - no pictures). he probably won't remember it, but when he is older will probably kick himself.

As far as the bikes are concerned - I went to lay on the beach, drink heavily, look for naughty chicas (look, don't touch) and have a good time. Maybe when we go back without the kids I will rent something worth riding - probably a jeep

, But I will keep this place in mind, just in case. I have a free bike ticket and could bring my own but will probably use it for a tri I want to do next year in St. Croix

Juanito · 08-09-2007

Thanks for the report, GL.

I was debating on what to do when we take the kids. Rent a condo or go AI?

Thanks to your report, I know now that the SP has 2 of my favorite things in the entire world; Italian women (only to look at) and bicycles. Even a Walmart bike is better than no bike at all.

gopherlips · 08-09-2007

Just make sure you get the tires pumped up at the little hut on site...

This resort was perfect for the family trip, but we will find somewhere else for the no kids trip. AI has its advantages with little kids.

missixty · 01-09-2008

Does anyone know what sort of beer they have at the Sandos? On tap and in mini bar?

What are the soft drinks like? May sound a silly question but at the Allegro they were flat as anything but they were great at the Tucan.

What was the food like?

Thinking of changing from the Quetzal to the Sandos due to the beach but obviously we won't be able to help but compare everything at the Sandos to how great the Tucan was so we are a little aprehensive?

gopherlips · 01-09-2008

the mini bar had canned Pepsi products and Sol beer. The restaurants had the same - I don't believe that they used any type of drink machine, only canned/bottled drinks and they were nice and fizzy. Just as hint for the drinks, as soon as you get your first, order a 2nd. They have a lot of people to take care of and it sometimes took a little bit to get the 2nd one. The culture there is to not bring you one until you ask for it. In the states they look for half glass and automatically bring you another - they don't in Mexico.

As far as the mixed drinks, I found that if you ordered in English you got a different level of alcohol vs if you ordered it in Spanish. Just my experience. I don't remember his name, but the bartender on the beach was a big guy that his eyes went in 2 directions that made the best drinks at the resort.

08-08-2007	#19 (permalink)
gopherlips ruined Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fort Loudon Lake Tennessee Posts: 97	Wednesday - Rain and when not raining, overcast and rough ocean. We took the opportunity to go back to 5th and do the shopping deal. Stopped by Kodak shop to get some parts for the Camera and went back the Sandos and using some tape and parts put the camera back together and use the lighting to get these shots. Took a few more shots and then it was over. We went to the show that night at the resort and, of course, Gretchen is brought up on stage for a kind of scavenger hunt and is up there for about an hour - and I don't have a camera. She did the women proud in a drinking relay, but one of her partners in crime on the stage obviously was a wine drinker judging from how he sipped. I was hoping the cervesas were in a can so that I could throw her an ink pen for some shotgun action, but no such luck. I have a lot of pictures starting on Thursday and an interesting story of getting lost on a bicycle trying to buy a new camera.

08-09-2007	#24 (permalink)
gopherlips ruined Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fort Loudon Lake Tennessee Posts: 97	Thursday 5 am - I'm up, WTF Must have been all of the sugar in the fruity drinks yesterday. Quietly I sneak out of the room and go down to the beach to watch one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. I envy anyone that gets to see this on a normal basis. It was fabulous!!! I still have no camera and decide that it is time. I know that I saw a Sam's club coming in to the resort, so I get one of the resort bikes and set off. What a piece of crap this bike is! I guess I am spoiled by my tri bikes, but this one was a real piece of work. The 3 miles felt like 25. If you are familiar with Playacar you know that the main entrance off of the highway is surrounded by trees. If you turn right you will not find Sam's - trust me on this one. I make it down to the Ferry docks by taking a right in Albuquerque and ask a nice Policia man where TF is Sams??? Turn around and go back to whence you came. If I had taken a left, Sam's is about 100 yards away. No one spoke English, and my Spanish is not that great, but I finally got out of Sams with a new Nikon and realize something - how am I going to get this back on this POS bike I get an extra bag and strap it to the bike. I head back to Sandos and go thru the round about - I end up at 5th again. Back to the round about and find the resort. Unload the bike at 11 and go back to the room and realize how much I like my bikes at home (mine are Quintana Roo tri bikes one for training, one for racing)- no one has moved. It is time - the shades open and everyone gets up and I find that a lot of sleep makes the kids act better, even when they get up. Got lots of pics with the new camera: Gary the snail We went to the show at the resort, but I obviously did not know how to use the camera at night so the pictures were just a blur, I figured it out later that night More later...

08-08-2007	#20 (permalink)
4wheeled beachaholic Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 410	nice report, looking forward to more. am glad you resolved the camera disaster. you're a happy fun lovin' looking family!

08-09-2007	#27 (permalink)
Juanito reposado Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The state of 5 national parks and 1 crappy soccer team Posts: 1,053	Thanks for the report, GL. I was debating on what to do when we take the kids. Rent a condo or go AI? Thanks to your report, I know now that the SP has 2 of my favorite things in the entire world; Italian women (only to look at) and bicycles. Even a Walmart bike is better than no bike at all.

08-09-2007	#28 (permalink)
gopherlips ruined Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fort Loudon Lake Tennessee Posts: 97	Just make sure you get the tires pumped up at the little hut on site... This resort was perfect for the family trip, but we will find somewhere else for the no kids trip. AI has its advantages with little kids.

01-09-2008	#29 (permalink)
missixty life=playa Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 581	Does anyone know what sort of beer they have at the Sandos? On tap and in mini bar? What are the soft drinks like? May sound a silly question but at the Allegro they were flat as anything but they were great at the Tucan. What was the food like? Thinking of changing from the Quetzal to the Sandos due to the beach but obviously we won't be able to help but compare everything at the Sandos to how great the Tucan was so we are a little aprehensive?

01-09-2008	#30 (permalink)
gopherlips ruined Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fort Loudon Lake Tennessee Posts: 97	the mini bar had canned Pepsi products and Sol beer. The restaurants had the same - I don't believe that they used any type of drink machine, only canned/bottled drinks and they were nice and fizzy. Just as hint for the drinks, as soon as you get your first, order a 2nd. They have a lot of people to take care of and it sometimes took a little bit to get the 2nd one. The culture there is to not bring you one until you ask for it. In the states they look for half glass and automatically bring you another - they don't in Mexico. As far as the mixed drinks, I found that if you ordered in English you got a different level of alcohol vs if you ordered it in Spanish. Just my experience. I don't remember his name, but the bartender on the beach was a big guy that his eyes went in 2 directions that made the best drinks at the resort.

register to remove these adverts