Trip Report Sandos Playacar Mar 2008 - Page 7

cbrund1079 · 04-10-2008

We are newbies to PDC arriving May3rd for 1 week at Sandos Playacar. I have been reading so many trip reports my head is spinning. Can someone explain the difference between the Collectivo and ADO? Is one better than another for a certain area? Can you do Akumal and Tulum in the same day? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Frombe · 04-10-2008

Great pics and info. I can't wait to post my pics when I get back.
In your tips you said Downtown Playa at night. What would be proper dress code for some of the clubs or disco's?

Frombe · 04-10-2008

8) Email resort/hotel ahead of time to request and confirm?

Ken what exactly should we request and what info should I give them?

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

We needed a day of rest! To ensure that my bride and I had the optimal place to do so, I arose at 5:07 a.m. Ha! I’d for sure beat the Lounger Sharks this morning! Last time all loungers on the south side of the Sandos Elite Club roped off beach area were covered by 5:55 a.m., and we had to “settle” for a front row seat on the other side of the “tracks”, the north side. :-o

I hustled down to the beach, towels in hand. Tip: Sand is COLD at this time of the morning. Be sure to wear flips or some type of footwear, or not if you want your feet to freeze. To put out our towels, we used one Sandos towel and her pink towel so we could easily identify it when we came out to the beach later – whether it remained on a lounger or was tossed into the ocean by a Lounger Shark!

There were maybe 5 people on the beach, but lo and behold all of the front row south of the Elite Club and many of the 2nd and 3rd were covered. Ironically, a Sandos security guard approached me and offered to assist me in reserving open loungers: “This one, Senor? How about this one?” He was very nice but I declined as they were all in the 3rd or 4th row back. I’d seen enough of the backs of people’s heads on the bus.

Fortunately, Sandos has a lot of beach and I homed in on the same ‘ol palapa we were at on Wednesday, north of the Elite Club pen. It was already windy, so I tucked the corners of the towel in and stepped back for a pre-dawn click of our home for that day:

The waves were lapping up on the shore and whales pretty swiftly already – here’s my unprofessional attempt at a low-light motion shot with a consumer level digital camera:

As I wandered back to the room, the rope lights were lit on the trees and the resort was quite serene at this time of the morning.

Adult pool:

Main pool area:

Main pool area causeway:

Back to the room to finish the night’s sleep!

Up at 8:30, worked through the usual ready routine and as we waited, watched National Geographic in Espanol. There is CNN in English and Spanish, a German language channel, ESPN Mexico (LOTS of soccer and Major League Baseball), weather (channel 49), another English movie channel with Spanish subtitles, a few other channels and a French language channel. Remember that it’s French. The first night we channel surfed onto this one. Maybe 3 minutes in, the risqué stuff starts and Mamasita commented: “Oh – come to Mexico and right away seeing things here we’d never see back home.” Click.

Today at breakfast we pulled the switcheroo. I had French toast and SHE had eggs. Mmmmmm… didn’t matter, still tasted great for each of us. They once again had spicy Mexican sausage, which was also excellent. We’d gotten used to sitting next to the outer wall at meals, and the breakfast sun and swaying palms in the courtyard and walkways outside the Festival made for a top-notch atmosphere. We also got used to serving ourselves coffee – at times the overworked staff couldn’t seem to keep up with re-setting the tables let alone bringing guests beverages, so it became quicker, easier and acceptable to go get coffee ourselves. It was excellent, by the way. Since return, Folgers has become synonymous with “hot colored water”.

I also had the camera ready and caught one of the early morning thieves in action. He’d just plucked something off the table behind the boy in the red hat:

Out to the beach and we were stunned to see the changes compared to 8 days earlier:

March 20th – North:

March 20th – South:

March 28th – North:

March 28th – South:

It was really humid today and the sun felt good. Our palapa, in the light:

I’d gone for another run – no use pretending now, the Festival buffet was taking its toll. Stopped in the weight room beneath the north building in the rear – next to the spa. You can have your braids done here but be prepared to pay premium prices. Anyway, in the weight room, it was extremely humid. The weights were all sweaty as were the 3 people on exercise bikes, 1 facing the other two and leading them in a cadence. “One-two-three-four…..” I did a few sets and decided I’d rather not spend my vacation time doing this either so back out to the beach to cool off.

It was no sooner than we’d walked knee depth into the water than my lovely bride alerted us to some small blue floating thingie in the water – about the size of a quarter – jellyfish! I’d watched enough Sponge Bob with the kids to know what’d happen if they touched me so out we went!

The waves were so strong that they’d washed this one up on a whale:

We still managed to cool off in a less “electric” spot of beach then swam over to do some Whale Surfing:

Once done, it was back to our loungers.

View North:

View South:

View East:

Our most common view today; View Up:

Around 1 we got hungry and headed in to the snack bar buffet:

Today due to the wind we sat inside, facing the pool:

Another view:

Back out to the beach, a dreamy afternoon. The colors here are occularly assaulting and right brain stimulating.

Trip Report Game Time! Play a little game with me: Look for what is different in each of the 3 lounger chair pictures below:

Please DO NOT use a permanent marker to circle the differences on your computer monitor! Good luck!

Picture 149:

Picture 150:

Picture 151:

For your prize, feel free to enjoy come beach video:

We stayed on the beach until 4 then inside. <3 A siesta for about an hour and then ready for dinner. At this time, Adam from the Royal Elite club called asking how the trip had been so far and saying that we had a “free gift” waiting for us at the Royal Elite desk and I was to come seek hi out to get it. Numerous Trip Advisor and posters to this forum had warned about such tactics that ultimately led to timeshare presentations. We decided we would pass on the free gift.

We decided to hang out at the Sandos tonight since we wanted to make sure we got the “All” in the “All Inclusive” taken care of.

We wandered about the Plaza a bit, and noticed that the rain clouds were building up:

The Plaza:

La Bamba:

Festival:

South building looking across the fountain:

A table opened up and we decided to stay for the evening. We took turns visiting the Festival, both front and Italian in back, and brought our plates out to this table adjacent to the Plaza:

They had entertainment at the west end – good singers once again. We finished dinner and snacked on carmelized peanuts:

La Bamba at night;

The fountain:

The Plaza – no idea who these people are and bet they have no idea they are in a TR:

We’d sat by a couple from South Africa and had a lengthy conversation with the wife about their country, their 40 hour journey to PDC and visit to Cuba, as well as Safari and things that happen in our neck of the woods.

The effects of the Tulum day, and the cumulative effects of being on vacation time and schedule began to take their toll. We stayed up for the music and then left for a midnight stroll along the beach. A cruise ship was offshore near the ferry dock, and it’s lights were spectacular. We could also see the lights of Cozumel again tonight.

No, it’s not a UFO! Look closely and you can see the cruise ship in the background:

Only a few people were on the beach so it was easy to find some privacy and a lounger on which to take it all in. One day left – still so much that we haven’t yet done. Oh well…. Must enjoy the time here while we can. Buenos noches!

**TeeZet** · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrund1079

We are newbies to PDC arriving May3rd for 1 week at Sandos Playacar. I have been reading so many trip reports my head is spinning. Can someone explain the difference between the Collectivo and ADO? Is one better than another for a certain area? Can you do Akumal and Tulum in the same day? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

I've merged the thread you started into this one as I'm fairly positive that Ken (and others) will be able to clarify a thing or two.

missixty · 04-11-2008

Loving your report so much!!

El Paraiso looks gorgeous - was there cabs available as soon as you got off the bus if you wanted to head straight to El Paraiso and not go to the ruins?

Eek at the beach going down so much whilst you were there

I had read that there is a bar at the Sandos only available if you are a VIP Club member? Do you know which one this is? Did you take advantage of the VIP club (sorry if you have mentioned this early on in the report but I don't remember if you did?)

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrund1079

We are newbies to PDC arriving May3rd for 1 week at Sandos Playacar. I have been reading so many trip reports my head is spinning. Can someone explain the difference between the Collectivo and ADO? Is one better than another for a certain area? Can you do Akumal and Tulum in the same day? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Hi cbrund: Let's try and stop the spinning!

The first thing I'd do is go here http://www.cancunstore.com/ and get the Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya maps. You get extra mini maps, including Akumal and Tulum. They tell you where to pick up collectivos and ADO bus station locations.

Here's my 2 pesos to answer your Q's:

Collectivos are similar to Ford 8-10 passenger vand or small mini-busses. They pick up downtown (on Juarez) and will pick people up along Hwy 307 anywhere if they have room. They are inexpensive and you pay the driver when you board. We never tried one because the ADO went where we wanted and it seemed more cofortable.

ADO busses are "greyhound" type tour busses (see post above). The ADO station is at 5th & Juarez and busses leave for Akumal and Tulum on a schedule. It cost us $3.50 per to go to Akumal and $4.20 for Tulum, one way.

The collectivos to me seemed like they made more stops, some we not in great physical condition and the ones I saw were often full or near full. The We were both comfortable with the ADO busses - the one to Tulum made 2 stops down and zero stops back. The one to Akumal made stops as the driver saw passengers at stops along the highway and on the way back, he picked up people until the bus was full, SRO included.

We like the bus, but many have liked the Collectivos too. By comparison, I had a taxi driver assk me where we were going on the day to Tulum. I told him and he offered to take us there, wait til we were done and take us back for $50.00. Our total transportation cost that day was $26.40, which included a cab ride to and from our resort to town, which we coulda' walked if we were ambitious.

Akumal and Tulum on the same day? I would not do it due to the things you may want to do and see at each place, but I suppose you could squeeze them in if you left early enough.

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frombe

Great pics and info. I can't wait to post my pics when I get back.
In your tips you said Downtown Playa at night. What would be proper dress code for some of the clubs or disco's?

Depends on where you want to go. We weren't going to anyplace fancy to eat, so I wore a decent shirt or polo, nice bermuda-type shorts and flip flops, or same type shirt and long pants with flips or sandals. Maamasita wore nice shirt & skirt or shorts w flips. Pics show our dress code and what others were wearing - look for street or club pics.

I can't wait for you to post your pics either!

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frombe

8) Email resort/hotel ahead of time to request and confirm?

Ken what exactly should we request and what info should I give them?

- Compliment/looking forward to visiting the Sandos
- Your travel agent's name, phone, email and confirmation # and when you will be arriving and departing
- Sandos VIP Card number (sign up for it on the sandos.com official website - google it)
- Requests: oceanfront, high floor, smoking preference, poolside if you want, we requested honeymoon, close to beach.
- Be polite and thank-yous help (get more bees with honey, etc...) and thank them in advance for responding to your email

You may not get a reply - maybe try one more time - if you get a reply, print it and bring it to check in with you. Make sense?

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by missixty

Loving your report so much!!

El Paraiso looks gorgeous - was there cabs available as soon as you got off the bus if you wanted to head straight to El Paraiso and not go to the ruins?

Eek at the beach going down so much whilst you were there

I had read that there is a bar at the Sandos only available if you are a VIP Club member? Do you know which one this is? Did you take advantage of the VIP club (sorry if you have mentioned this early on in the report but I don't remember if you did?)

Thanks, Missixty!

I remember when my trip counter said 73 days

At the entrances to El Paraiso and Tulum there are cabs everywhere. The Archaeologica Zone is vehicle free (except for the shuttles) but as soon as you wank out of the zone there are cabs lined up waiting for you. Same with El Paraiso, and same along the road from Tulum to El Paraiso - they slow down & look to see if you need one. Some are red - the ones in PDC were aqua striped.

The beach did go down alot but I am thinking that every so often at night they must bring in the sand haulers and move sand from their property to the south and dump it over those whales in front of the resort. The reason I say this is that the day I went running south, there were heavy equipment (ie: road grader) tracks all over, smoothing things out and the beach had as much sand on it that day as any when we were there. Remember the reasons for choosing the Sandos include the mile to the south, so I wouldn't fret.

Right behind the concierge desk was a lounge that seemed open to everyone, and over by check in was an "Elite" club sign and what looked like tables inside the door. I think that's where they escorted people to talk to them about time shares, which we never did. Other than that I was not aware of any exclusive, VIP bar.

When I checked in I presented the clerk with my reservation confirmation, VIP card (printed from Internet sign up on their website - thanks, you told me about this one

) and the email response I got back showing that they had at least acknowledged my room preference requests. My travel agent made these requests too, which I feel is why we got the quality and location of the room that we did - it was great! BTW, from your TR from the IB* last year you have a picture looking at the Sandos almost at the balcony of the room we stayed in! Little did I know that's where we'd be this year! Wow!

Thanks for the enthusiastic comments on the TR too - I'm just trying to write what I would want to know if I was a reader soon to be going to the Sandos or PDC!

130taKen120 · 04-11-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by missixty

Loving your report so much!!

P.S. Did you get your maps yet?????? These were invaluable! I say this and I am not in any way related to the folks that produce them

missixty · 04-11-2008

Ah hopefully that's good if they keep raking it in from the south then!

Did you notice any benefits of showing your VIP card? Was it worth taking?

Could you see the Tucan monkeys from your room?

I have a map someone sent me showing Playa beach clubs etc but I haven't ordered any other maps.

cbrund1079 · 04-11-2008

Thanks for clearing up the issue about the ADO/Collectivo differences.

Your trip report really has us excited about our upcoming trip. It looks like you really made the best of your time there and had a fantastic honeymoon. Looks like you were making memories...that's what life is all about.

Was the resort at full capacity when you were there? Did it seem very crowded?

130taKen120 · 04-12-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by missixty

Ah hopefully that's good if they keep raking it in from the south then!

Did you notice any benefits of showing your VIP card? Was it worth taking?

Could you see the Tucan monkeys from your room?

I have a map someone sent me showing Playa beach clubs etc but I haven't ordered any other maps.

I agree - I think that by your trip, hopefully the waters will calm and they will continue to work on rebuilding the beach in front of the resort. In any case the service, food and atmosphere are first class and no grain of sand will take this away.

Take your VIP card and hand it to the reservations clerk when you check in! I also strongly suggest that you email them ahead of time (politely) and insist (again, politely) that they reply. I think the fact that I emailed several times to both the concierge and reservations desk WITH my Sandos VIP number and the requests that originated from our travel agent really may have helped us get the room that we did. Since you guys are going in June, you may have less trouble as there may be fewer guests there at that time.

No monkey sightings - bummer! We'd read that about the Tucan and it was our 1st choice before seeing the beach erosion pics of it last December when I began on this forum. The Sandos is much more open-air than Tucan.

The maps I got can be ordered online here Can-Do Maps and travel guides and their value far outweighed their cost. But then again, I teach geography and have this instinctive desire to familiarize myself with my surroundings and mark territory before being totally comfortable moving about

130taKen120 · 04-12-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrund1079

Thanks for clearing up the issue about the ADO/Collectivo differences.

Your trip report really has us excited about our upcoming trip. It looks like you really made the best of your time there and had a fantastic honeymoon. Looks like you were making memories...that's what life is all about.

Was the resort at full capacity when you were there? Did it seem very crowded?

Hi cbrund:

Thanks for the comments about the TR! We tried to do the touring/relaxing/touring/relaxing type schedule, and it was a fantastic honeymoon!

The resort was far from full cap when we were there, but the beach in front of the Sandos Playacar was crowded with the guests that were there at the time (see next installment for a truly uncrowded sample of beach :-))

In fact, since returning I have heard that the newer parts back away from the beach (see my TR day 2) will be part of a new resort named Sandos Riviera, yet I am thinking that guests there will be able to use the beach much the same way as guests at the Riu Tequilla can get shuttled to and from the beach at the Riu Playacar.

04-10-2008	#91 (permalink)
cbrund1079 lost on fifth Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 15	Collectivo or ADO from Sandos We are newbies to PDC arriving May3rd for 1 week at Sandos Playacar. I have been reading so many trip reports my head is spinning. Can someone explain the difference between the Collectivo and ADO? Is one better than another for a certain area? Can you do Akumal and Tulum in the same day? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

04-11-2008	#94 (permalink)
130taKen120 beachaholic Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Frozentundra, MinneSnowta Posts: 386	Friday 3-28-08 – Beach Game Day We needed a day of rest! To ensure that my bride and I had the optimal place to do so, I arose at 5:07 a.m. Ha! I’d for sure beat the Lounger Sharks this morning! Last time all loungers on the south side of the Sandos Elite Club roped off beach area were covered by 5:55 a.m., and we had to “settle” for a front row seat on the other side of the “tracks”, the north side. :-o I hustled down to the beach, towels in hand. Tip: Sand is COLD at this time of the morning. Be sure to wear flips or some type of footwear, or not if you want your feet to freeze. To put out our towels, we used one Sandos towel and her pink towel so we could easily identify it when we came out to the beach later – whether it remained on a lounger or was tossed into the ocean by a Lounger Shark! There were maybe 5 people on the beach, but lo and behold all of the front row south of the Elite Club and many of the 2nd and 3rd were covered. Ironically, a Sandos security guard approached me and offered to assist me in reserving open loungers: “This one, Senor? How about this one?” He was very nice but I declined as they were all in the 3rd or 4th row back. I’d seen enough of the backs of people’s heads on the bus. Fortunately, Sandos has a lot of beach and I homed in on the same ‘ol palapa we were at on Wednesday, north of the Elite Club pen. It was already windy, so I tucked the corners of the towel in and stepped back for a pre-dawn click of our home for that day: The waves were lapping up on the shore and whales pretty swiftly already – here’s my unprofessional attempt at a low-light motion shot with a consumer level digital camera: As I wandered back to the room, the rope lights were lit on the trees and the resort was quite serene at this time of the morning. Adult pool: Main pool area: Main pool area causeway: Back to the room to finish the night’s sleep! Up at 8:30, worked through the usual ready routine and as we waited, watched National Geographic in Espanol. There is CNN in English and Spanish, a German language channel, ESPN Mexico (LOTS of soccer and Major League Baseball), weather (channel 49), another English movie channel with Spanish subtitles, a few other channels and a French language channel. Remember that it’s French. The first night we channel surfed onto this one. Maybe 3 minutes in, the risqué stuff starts and Mamasita commented: “Oh – come to Mexico and right away seeing things here we’d never see back home.” Click. Today at breakfast we pulled the switcheroo. I had French toast and SHE had eggs. Mmmmmm… didn’t matter, still tasted great for each of us. They once again had spicy Mexican sausage, which was also excellent. We’d gotten used to sitting next to the outer wall at meals, and the breakfast sun and swaying palms in the courtyard and walkways outside the Festival made for a top-notch atmosphere. We also got used to serving ourselves coffee – at times the overworked staff couldn’t seem to keep up with re-setting the tables let alone bringing guests beverages, so it became quicker, easier and acceptable to go get coffee ourselves. It was excellent, by the way. Since return, Folgers has become synonymous with “hot colored water”. I also had the camera ready and caught one of the early morning thieves in action. He’d just plucked something off the table behind the boy in the red hat: Out to the beach and we were stunned to see the changes compared to 8 days earlier: March 20th – North: March 20th – South: March 28th – North: March 28th – South: It was really humid today and the sun felt good. Our palapa, in the light: I’d gone for another run – no use pretending now, the Festival buffet was taking its toll. Stopped in the weight room beneath the north building in the rear – next to the spa. You can have your braids done here but be prepared to pay premium prices. Anyway, in the weight room, it was extremely humid. The weights were all sweaty as were the 3 people on exercise bikes, 1 facing the other two and leading them in a cadence. “One-two-three-four…..” I did a few sets and decided I’d rather not spend my vacation time doing this either so back out to the beach to cool off. It was no sooner than we’d walked knee depth into the water than my lovely bride alerted us to some small blue floating thingie in the water – about the size of a quarter – jellyfish! I’d watched enough Sponge Bob with the kids to know what’d happen if they touched me so out we went! The waves were so strong that they’d washed this one up on a whale: We still managed to cool off in a less “electric” spot of beach then swam over to do some Whale Surfing: Once done, it was back to our loungers. View North: View South: View East: Our most common view today; View Up: Around 1 we got hungry and headed in to the snack bar buffet: Today due to the wind we sat inside, facing the pool: Another view: Back out to the beach, a dreamy afternoon. The colors here are occularly assaulting and right brain stimulating. Trip Report Game Time! Play a little game with me: Look for what is different in each of the 3 lounger chair pictures below: Please DO NOT use a permanent marker to circle the differences on your computer monitor! Good luck! Picture 149: Picture 150: Picture 151: For your prize, feel free to enjoy come beach video: We stayed on the beach until 4 then inside. <3 A siesta for about an hour and then ready for dinner. At this time, Adam from the Royal Elite club called asking how the trip had been so far and saying that we had a “free gift” waiting for us at the Royal Elite desk and I was to come seek hi out to get it. Numerous Trip Advisor and posters to this forum had warned about such tactics that ultimately led to timeshare presentations. We decided we would pass on the free gift. We decided to hang out at the Sandos tonight since we wanted to make sure we got the “All” in the “All Inclusive” taken care of. We wandered about the Plaza a bit, and noticed that the rain clouds were building up: The Plaza: La Bamba: Festival: South building looking across the fountain: A table opened up and we decided to stay for the evening. We took turns visiting the Festival, both front and Italian in back, and brought our plates out to this table adjacent to the Plaza: They had entertainment at the west end – good singers once again. We finished dinner and snacked on carmelized peanuts: La Bamba at night; The fountain: The Plaza – no idea who these people are and bet they have no idea they are in a TR: We’d sat by a couple from South Africa and had a lengthy conversation with the wife about their country, their 40 hour journey to PDC and visit to Cuba, as well as Safari and things that happen in our neck of the woods. The effects of the Tulum day, and the cumulative effects of being on vacation time and schedule began to take their toll. We stayed up for the music and then left for a midnight stroll along the beach. A cruise ship was offshore near the ferry dock, and it’s lights were spectacular. We could also see the lights of Cozumel again tonight. No, it’s not a UFO! Look closely and you can see the cruise ship in the background: Only a few people were on the beach so it was easy to find some privacy and a lounger on which to take it all in. One day left – still so much that we haven’t yet done. Oh well…. Must enjoy the time here while we can. Buenos noches! __________________ Honeymoon's over! Now it's: 2008 Riviera Maya/Sandos Playacar Trip Report ~130+120~ Last edited by 130taKen120 : 04-11-2008 at 08:19 AM. Reason: pic

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04-10-2008	#92 (permalink)
Frombe toe in water Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 45	Great pics and info. I can't wait to post my pics when I get back. In your tips you said Downtown Playa at night. What would be proper dress code for some of the clubs or disco's?

04-10-2008	#93 (permalink)
Frombe toe in water Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 45	8) Email resort/hotel ahead of time to request and confirm? Ken what exactly should we request and what info should I give them?

04-11-2008	#96 (permalink)
missixty life=playa Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 575	Loving your report so much!! El Paraiso looks gorgeous - was there cabs available as soon as you got off the bus if you wanted to head straight to El Paraiso and not go to the ruins? Eek at the beach going down so much whilst you were there I had read that there is a bar at the Sandos only available if you are a VIP Club member? Do you know which one this is? Did you take advantage of the VIP club (sorry if you have mentioned this early on in the report but I don't remember if you did?)

04-11-2008	#102 (permalink)
missixty life=playa Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 575	Ah hopefully that's good if they keep raking it in from the south then! Did you notice any benefits of showing your VIP card? Was it worth taking? Could you see the Tucan monkeys from your room? I have a map someone sent me showing Playa beach clubs etc but I haven't ordered any other maps.

04-11-2008	#103 (permalink)
cbrund1079 lost on fifth Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 15	Thanks for clearing up the issue about the ADO/Collectivo differences. Your trip report really has us excited about our upcoming trip. It looks like you really made the best of your time there and had a fantastic honeymoon. Looks like you were making memories...that's what life is all about. Was the resort at full capacity when you were there? Did it seem very crowded?

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