PLEASE HELP?? Sandos Playacar or Dreams Tulum???

[Silra]

HI looking for help deciding between these 2 resorts. My self, my hubby and our 10 year old daughter are planning a trip Jan.'08. Nows here the crunch my older parents(late 70's) want to go to. Now we are not fussy ( but they are, yikes) and we limited to Sunwing only.
So trying to decide between these 2 resorts, based on what they like. They have travelled lots and prefer upscale. So am looking for
A smaller resort, with good service, the nicer the ( not really liking the mega resorts)
good food,
Quieter beach preferable,
Rooms , beach, pool all fairly close walking distance, my mother has somewhat limited mobility
a quiet or adult only area
Dreams look\s little nicer but it is 2 hours from airport, the crunch for us as a family is it is about $700 more for the three of us to go to Dreams( Sandos has a great kids sale on), is Dreams that much nicer for the extra$$? The beach definately looks quieter. How busy is the Sandos Playacar beach?? is there construction going on beside it heard there was a new Sandos resort going just beside the Sandos Playacar. How busy is the PLayacar beach area.
Which resort has better food and service??
Does anyone know which are the newer and better rooms at Dreams??
It is hard to get around off resort at Dreams? what about getting around off resort at the Sandos Playacar?
OK I am stressing because of taking my parents., under pressure to keep them happy, my hubby and i don't really care where we go! so any help and and advice would be appreciated!

thanks so much Laur

[Shammy]

Dreams Tulum is going to be the better choice for you - it is a more upscale resort than Sandos Playacar. Not to say Sandos is bad, just that Dreams is better.
The Playacar beach area is quite busy, lots of people walking up and down, there are numerous resorts along that stretch of beach. Sandos is the last resort along the way, but I would never call the Playacar beach area "quiet".
Sandos is under renovations right now, and once finished (12/07) there shouldn't be any more construction around there.
Dreams isn't 2 hours from the airport, it's about an hour and a half tops. You need to upgrade your transfer to non stop or private to avoid making stops at other resorts along the way - that'll bring you over the 2 hour transfer time. If your tour operator doesn't offer this, you should hire a private transfer through other means and skip the included one.
Getting off thr grounds of Sandos is easy, 5 minutes to Playa, and Playacar is centrally located. Leaving Dreams is easy, but you're far away from anything north. Getting to the Tulum ruins is easy of course, but getting into town (if this is something you even want to do) is a long drive.
So I guess you have to decide if you want a somewhat nicer resort or one that keeps you more centrally located.
P.S. Is there a reason why these are your only two choices?

[Silra]

Thanks for the info, we picked these two first of all it has to be in the Sunwing, thats all that flys out for them, we were trying to find a smaller resort, something well contained not too spread out, we have been to the Copacabana( I think its the Catalonia now ) so we wanted something different, the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda beach sounded not too good, The Grand sunset Princess is not yest opened so didn;t know what it would be like... but we are open to other suggestions?

Lauren

[Shammy]

I would keep the Grand Sunset Primcess on the list too - I really think it's going to be a nice resort. I met with their rep last week, saw some photos and was impressed. I don't know exactly how big it'll be, or how much ground it'll actually cover so can't comment on the size, but here in the US, they are offering kids free so the price should work out well.

[Silra]

Well we went and booked Dreams, now I can relax and wait for January!

[Shammy]

OK good, I think you'll be very happy there - it's a nice place!

[lminster]

I've stayed at both Dreams Tulum (back when it was Sunscape Tulum) and Sandos Playacar (last year). They are both very nice resorts. Either way, you can't really go wrong. I think you are choosing between two of the best in the area.

Dreams definitely has a more sophisticated feel to it. Folks dress up at night for dinner and the specialty restaurants are better than most. My family of 5 enjoyed our stay at Dreams. The rooms are nicer than Sandos. The beach is a bit more secluded and guests are not required to wear wristbands. The resort is a bit far from the airport, but it is very close to the ruins at Tulum (easy cab ride). I would highly recommend hiring private transportation instead of using a tour companies transport (which can take forever). We used DreamDays.com and were very pleased with their service. We now use them regularly. At the resort we found that the lobby/pool bar serves some better brands of alcohol. We found the service at this resort to be sub-par. The shows are nice at night and there is a movie theater. It is a VERY quiet resort. Do NOT expect any kind of night life beyond the shows. This worked well for us at the time when our kids were really little, but in my opinion this resort is best for mature adults. Keep in mind that my stay at Dreams was about 3 years ago while it was Sunscape and before the expansion.

All that said, let me also tell you that my family LOVES the Sandos Playacar. So much so, that we are returning next March for a second time - we have NEVER opted to go to the same place twice in the past. We found the food at the buffet restaurant to be the best we have ever had at an all-inclusive. The buffet offered grilled to order items nightly, fresh fruit, delicious desserts including chocolate covered strawberries. We enjoyed the buffet more than the specialty restaurants. The entire resort is very casual with EXCELLENT service. Upon request, the bars served better brands of alcohol. There was usually a self serve bar set up in the buffet restaurant for after dinner cordials. This resort is also a small one, but it is a little spread out. The Hacienda suites are located a little ways off the beach, but you get your own small pool and the walk is not that far - good exercise. The standard rooms were renovated a year or two ago. The Hacienda Suites are a bit outdated and need some work. The beach is beautiful. The pool is generally pretty quiet. For families with kids i would definitely say this is the better choice.

Good luck with your choice. If you have any other questions, let me know.