Sandos Playacar Beach Resort & Spa

It was my third trip to Mexico ( each time different spot) but Gala is a clean resort, ( from the other we experinced in the past), they changed our towels (in room)twice a day. Food was good and plenty of it. The Galaxy Club for kids was great , my son was there evry day ,he enjoy it. But there was two things we do not like : they do not have a heated swimming pool which was inconvinient specialy we were traveling with small kids ,and their shows are started at 9:30 pm it is too late for people w/ kids. We travel w/Funjet and seems they realy care about their customers.

Our stay was really fun because the people were so willing to make our stay enjoyable. I wish the people in the restraunts would smile more though. All the juices at breakfast were so fun! That was my favorite food part! My favorite part of the resort was that it wasn't really part of the big city, Cancun. I liked being able to be more relaxed. I felt very safe staying at the resort since the people were all so humble and kind. I was also impressed with the number of the resort team that spoke english. It made my stay a bit simpler. (I've taken spanish for about a year and a half, so it helped if they knew a bit of english:-). New Year's Eve was a blast. Everything was so pretty and I am impressed at how everything was cleaned up in time for breakfast. I was to say good job to all those who stayed up all night to clean up and get htings ready. (I feel to snobby and guilty for not being helpful). This page says you can't give personal insults, . . . but can I give a personal compliment? I thought the two sax guys were such troopers to play so often during the time I was there. They may have gotten tired of playing at one point, but it's really neat and romantic to have live music! All in all, my vacation was enjoyable because I felt like I could go up to anyone and talk to them! Everyone was so kind and willing to help. I greatly appreciate everyone's effort!

I already wrote a review from our trip in Dec. 2002, but there were a few points that I missed in my review...No one in our family of five got sick at all. They had large bottles of water in every room that was replaced everyday. We used that to bruch our teeth. The ice cubes in drinks did not bother us. Every bar had a huge commercial size bottled water container and served regular water from that. We traveled with Funjet Vacations and they had an office onsite that was manned all day, everyday and served as our own consierge. After reading some of the other reviews, I just wanted to point out that Mexico is not the USA. They don't have the same beer and soda and customs. We enjoyed the differences for what they were...

A group of us traveled to the Gala in August of 2002 and boy were we disappointed. DO NOT pay for the ocean view room this is a joke you don't even see the ocean unless you are on the 3rd floor the basic run of the mill room was much nicer than the more expensive ocean view room and the Hacienda JR suites well they are about 3 miles away from everything yes they have a little car (1 car mind you) that will come and get you but who wants to wait forever when you have kids ready for the beach. The mini bar you are limited to 2 of everything and don't even try to get more because it will never come and this includes water! The food is fair all the way around some nights you get lucky some you go hungary. The lunch menu is never ready on time not one day in the 8 days we were there did they have everything ready at 12:00 for lunch. No swim up bar and a long line to get a drink. They advertise beach/pool waiters there is one poor little girl who is serving the beach and pool so you are better off to get out and go get your own drinks. If you have a large family with lots of kids you will proably like this place if not try something else. This was a big disappointment and we tried to switch resorts but our tour company (Funjet) wasn't interested in keeping us happy they had our money and that was all they were concerned about. The one good thing the dive shop was excellent they have some great tours and they are very friendly.

The Gala Resort, was a wonderful experiance, and I enjoyed every minute of it... the rooms are comfortable, most of which have a breath taking view the the beautiful Carribean Sea, the staff couldn`t have been more friendly, there were non- stop activities, I personaly enjoyed the night time volleyball game, held on the beach, the beach is absolutly beautiful, and it is also the last resort on the long line of resorts, which allows a less crowded atmosphere and a very long stretch of beach, the near by village ; Playa del Carmen is true Mayan culture, i aslo suggest staying away from Cozumel, it was very dirty exrtemly hot, and crowded, however i strongly suggest going on the 4 wheeler tour in the rainforest, that takes you to a cave , that has great snorkling! This is an excellant vacation spot, Take my advice and go!

Went for 1 week, ending 12/3/02. This place was fantastic. Best vacation that we have ever been on. Already planning our return next year. The beach is great! We travel quite a bit, and the beach at the Gala is one of the best we've been to, with soft, white sand; clean and wide; with plenty of beach chairs and palapas for shade. Also, gentle slope into the ocean...our 10 year old could go out 20 yards and still touch. And because Gala has no neighboring resort to the south, you can walk the beach in that direction pretty much by yourself. Nice clean pool, with (again) plenty of lounges for sunning, etc... The place never felt crowded. The rooms were nice (we had 2, one for the kids) although nothing fancy. Mini-fridge with bottled Coronas, cans of Coke, Water, etc... The food is "over-the-top". Lots of variety and all of it delicious. Different main courses every night, and so much to choose from. The danger here is that you'll gain 5-10 pounds in a week. We found the service to be great all the way around. The people are very friendly and helpful. When you are 75% done with a drink, there's someone coming around to ask if you want a new one. Also excellent service at the Kids Club, Room Service, Towel Checkout, etc, etc... Every person we talked to was having a great time here. I don't know how anyone could find anything to complain about. This place is designed to be the perfect vacation.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Gala Resort for 4 nights, we just got back a few days ago. We did not do much research on Playacar before we booked our trip since it was a spontaneous vacation but our travel agent recommended the Gala and we were very happy with it. Honestly, I was a little apprehensive before we got there because I had read on various message boards that people were unhappy with the food, service, etc. I just cannot believe that people would have been dissapointed with their choice. The staff was great--very friendly. The food was good and we are pretty picky eaters so that is saying something.....rooms were VERY CLEAN, nothing exclusive but real nice and the beaches were beautiful!!! They say it's a family resort but there were also single people without kids, couples, groups of adults, etc. There were not tons of kids running around. We are frequent travelers and like to stay at very nice places and the Gala was right up there with the rest. We are a younger couple w/no children and very much enjoyed our stay and would definitely go back next year and stay at the Gala. We can't wait to go back to see some of the friends we made!!!

We have only stayed in one other all inclusive resort before this one. Both had a 5 apple rating. In our opinion... this was not a 5 golden apple. The one was in Punta Cana and it was FABULOUS. There wasn't much variety in means of food at the Gala. Same thing day to day. You had the choice of Buffet Every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner or one of the two restaurants. Only one restaurant was open per night. The Gulf is beautiful!!! And the beach was very well maintained. We didn't have any problems with the staff. They all seemed very friendly and spoke great English. So there wasn't a language barrier... which was very nice. The rooms were just OK. Our bed spread had cigarette burns all through it though. They kept us stocked on large bottles of water which was one of my main concerns before going. If you go - TAKE BUG SPRAY!!! It's impossible to come by and if you do it will cost you at least $10 USD. And you will get bit up if you do not have any. The pools weren't quite as nice as I anticipated, they were actually pretty dirty. We did visit the resort next door and it "looked" much nicer. Sat. is the day for the vendors to come and they have some awesome talents from finger painting to painting with spray paint. Overall, may made our vacation fun. Unfortunately, If we would ever return to Mexico we won't be staying at the Gala.

What a horrible expreience the Gala Playacar was for me. Rooms not ready, horrible food and drinks, dirty pools, and very rude staff. No one at the resort seemed to care about the guest. No electricity to the building our room was in. No elevator and we were on the third floor. A/C in room was broken. Room service took forever with the food and drinks. Food was cold and the drinks were hot. after 7 hours of tring to get problems resolved we left. Left our room key, took a $50 taxi ride to Cancun and checked into the Le Meridien. It was like going from hell to heaven! My advice to anyone, stay away from the Gala Playacar! And never fly Allegro airline. It is the Gala of the skies.

My husband, 9 year old daughter and myself stayed at the Gala Resort Playacar at Playa del Carmen for a week in August of 2002. I was very disappointed and taken aback with how sullen and surly some of the workers were especially at the restaurants. Also, the service there overall in all the departments were poor. I will not stay there if I decide to visit Playa del Carmen again.