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Hotel Sands – reviews, photos

Morelos 24, Barra de Navidad 48987, Mexico
Hotel amenities
Hotel Sands
3.0 of 5 stars 17 Reviews
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17 reviews from our community

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Traveller rating
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    5
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Date Rating
Kelowna, Canada
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Older hotel crying for some attention from its owners”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

I found this hotel looking around for a better place than where I was. I was on the ocean side but when all the construction started at 7am til 7pm. everywhere to fix the hurrican damage I had to find a quieter (and cheaper) spot. I loved the lobby and gardens here! The pool was the best I had seen this whole trip. There is a great little bar with awesome drinks and very friendly people to chat to.The restaurant was the best breakfast and best hamburgers in Mexico! So, I got a room. The rooms are very run down. Holes in the drapes that are barely hung. Shower curtains with mold. Stained towels. The beds where covered with sawdust from the termites eating away the wood. The beds are hard and covered with a plastic. Too bad. This is a really funky hotel. If they spent a few dollars and found a good manager they really could fix it up again to its old glory. Cost 35$ a night.

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  • Stayed January 2012, travelled solo
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Kitchener
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Quaint, somewhat aging hotel, but great value”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 January 2012

This hotel gives great value for money, even if it has really seen better days. The pool got progressively nastier in terms of hygiene the longer we stayed and the more visitors who arrived (we got there before Christmas, and as more guests arrived just after Boxing Day, it got to be pretty opaque looking--probably no chlorine, or at least not anywhere near enough), but the laid back atmosphere and reasonably priced rooms more than compensated. Poolside bar and quite a decent restaurant, breakfast was included, rooms are clean. Our bedding and towels were fine. Showers had pretty low water pressure, and tended not to be too warm by day's end. The early bird gets the warmest shower...Sometimes a little noisy in the late evening, particularly as more families populated the rooms, but was always quiet at night. A few sort of sketchy "regulars" populate the pool deck (seems a number of people who have boats moored in the lagoon are spending their days there), but were all very friendly. The thrice weekly drop in yoga classes were great!

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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South Bend, Indiana
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“great party place but not for us”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 February 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We checked in, nice enough staff. Rooms were old but ok. Pool was old and the surface very slick. Our kids still enjoyed their time at the pool. My wife went to the bar to order drinks and was was back after 15mins without drinks. Simply could not get the bartender to serve her. I watched and realized he was busy with the "regulars". That night the party started and sounded like it was right outside our room. We have no problems with people enjoying themselves but by 2am we knew this was not our place. Staff wanted to help but their money is made with the gringos who party late and sleep in late. We checked out the next day.

  • Stayed March 2010, travelled with family
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Senior Contributor
27 reviews 27 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
23 helpful votes 23 helpful votes
“Very Affordable, convenient, clean but not luxurious by any stretch”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 April 2010
1
person found this review helpful

We love Barra and one of the reasons is how lovely and inexpensive it is. We have stayed at the Bungalows Marvida before and I would say they were a little bit nicer. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath "suite". The rooms were very clean and tidy with kitchenette, dishes, etc. Towels were very old as were the mattresses, sheets, pillows, etc. The price was soooo good (approx. $75 US/night) that it was worth it. The location is awesome....right in town and close to the panga dock. They have a great bar and for the single rooms apparently, the room fee includes breakfast. Pool is old but apparently super fun.
If you stay here (or anywhere in Barra for that matter), bring your own pillow and if you can afford the suitcase space, a thermarest or similiar mattress. These beds are HARD, the pillows are OLD and the sheets are THIN. If you are picky, stay at the Grand Bay. If you are comfortable with shabby chic and have a high tolerance for noise, the price is right at the Hotel Sands.
The staff was friendly, trustworthy and accommodating...warning that the rooms here are not secure at all so don't bring expensive equipment that you can't carry on you. They do have free wifi for guests.

Stayed February 2010, travelled with friends
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Queretaro
“terrible experience the place is falling down”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 21 February 2010

the made took our toiletries the rooms were in ruins nobody help you there at least the shoud give you some nails and a hammer to repair your room, the photos in their page are 50 years old .

  • Stayed January 2010, travelled with family
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Hotel Sands Also Known As

  • Sands Hotel Barra De Navidad
Address: Morelos 24, Barra de Navidad 48987, Mexico

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