We stayed at the White Sands Holiday Village from 23rd August till 6th September 2008. We were very worried due to the negetive reviews we had read. but!!! on arrival our check in was quick and easy, our bags arrived a few mins after we had got to our room, which was large and roomy, we also had the kids den with an X-box. both rooms had air-con, bathroom & balcony with hammock. (and a resident geko, which we loved).

All three pools were open, the kids fun pool was great for my 7 & 12 year old who had a great time on it. There were two water guns not working though, but this did'nt spoil any fun. There is also a lifeguard at the pool when it is open.

Food was what you would expect from an all inclusive, always different every night. Queue for the room with air-con though as the main resturant gets very hot.

Evening entertainment was really good, the E4 team are great fun. I would have preffered something a little more Mexican but they had the kids up dancing and singing every night. Carlos and Penny are fantastic.

The grounds are very pretty with lots of wildlife, we saw loads of Iguwana's a very large crab, some teeny weeny hermit crabs, frogs, geko's and humming birds. Snorkeling off the beach is nice, lots of fish, some days the sea was a bit murky.

Excusions we went on were fab. The dolphin swim is a must, and Xel-ha is extreamly pretty. If you like to hire jet ski's then I would reconmend going on the Wave Runner Safari. much better than hiring from the beach. We went with the kids and all had a great time.

DON'T FORGET TO TAKE INSPECT REPELLENT WITH DEET ITS A MUST AS THE MOSSY'S ARE LETHAL.

We have just returned from 2 weeks in White Sands and after hearing people saying about the bad reviews on this site (which we didnt look at before we booked) I thought I would add mine!

In the taxi from the airport the other passengers were already complaining about the resort because of reviews they had read - we wondered what we had let ourselves in for!

The only complaint we have for the whole of the 2 weeks was the bed being too hard and were a little bit disappointed with the room!

We actually stayed in the 'Royal Suites' area and we thought it was quite a romantic getaway - no kids, constantly waited on by excellent waiters with drinks and snacks all day, even in the pool and the sea. Meals in the mediteranean restaurant were lovely (a la carte) and the cooked to order eggs for breakfast were second to none! The pool in this area was constantly tested and cleaned - although one day it did get a bit grubby. We were a bit disappointed with our room as we did expect more than a standard room after booking the upgrade to Royal Suite but we were hardly in there so it wasnt really a problem.

I can see why some people complain about the lack of shade around the pools and on the beach but being in the 'Royal Suites' area we didnt have those problems.

I agree with other reviews that the buffet restaurant was lacking in choice and quality at times but on the whole not bad! Didnt like the Mexican restaurant evening food at all so only went in once but the the food in the Oriental restaurant was lovely!

Luckily I wasnt bitten at all by the 'mossie's' my husband had a couple of bites but we didnt find them much of a problem. Didnt take long to get used to the Iguanas roaming around, but wasnt too keen on the Tarantula near the beach!!

We found the evening entertainment a bit boring/monotonous to be honest we expected more 'Mexican' entertainment, the team worked very hard at what they did and a lot of people were really enjoying themselves, especially the kids, but it just wasnt our thing! In the adults bar we had a few good karaoke nights in the first week as there were some very entertaining guests around, bit quieter in the 2nd week.

Drinks were watered down but plenty of choice available.

We loved our holiday but dont think we would have enjoyed it so much if we hadnt been staying in the Royal Suites area!

Just returned from one week’s holiday in Cozumel, only stayed one night in the White Sands Holiday Village, but believe me that was enough. I read the reviews on trip advisor after we booked the holiday (last minute) through first choice and was unable to change it without losing 95% of the holiday cost. So we decided to go, hoping that the bad reviews were exaggerated and it was people being over picky.

On arrival, check in went smoothly and we were shown to our room straight away. The rooms are very basic, which is what we expected however we did not expect the rooms to be shabby and need refurbishment/knocking down. The beds were rock hard which is not surprising since they are just a thin mattress on a concrete base. The bath/shower water came out yellow and the walls don’t meet the ceiling/roof.

The first choice reps were very friendly and helpful but the local staff were miserable and at times just plain rude. The food choice in the buffet was minimal and the food was either over or undercooked. The drinks were watered down (including soft) and the wine tasted like vinegar.

If you enjoy classic holiday camps I imagine you will enjoy the holiday village as you can play bingo every night and there’s plenty of cheesy entertainment with no culture what so ever.

I am amazed at what people can complain about. We had a really great time and would go back.

When we booked this holiday about 5 weeks before we were due to go we read a number of really bad reviews on Tripadviser and not many good ones. This is probably because people like to have a moan about the little things rather than concentrate on the whole package.

Flight
The FC flight was excellent, the seats were comfortable and plenty of leg room. You don't need to upgrade to premier class for £120 as it is not worth it. All you get is a larger TV screen, the ability to pause the films and free drinks and snacks. For £5 you can upgrade your TV so you get all the extra films and the ability to pause films and are you really going to eat and drink £115 worth. Just stick to the normal seats and save your money.

Arrival
Arrival at the airport was fine luggage took a while to come through but there was no rush. You were then met by the FC reps outside the airport who would load you into air conditioned taxis. When arriving at the hotel you are met with drinks and your luggage taken from you. It took about an hour for us to check in but there was plenty of hotel staff behind reception who were all working very hard. It just seemed everybody on the plane came to this hotel.

Rooms
We had an upstairs room which was small but clean and tidy with a nice thatched roof. You can hear people in the adjoining room’s sometime but rarely. I guess it depends on what sort of neighbours you have and ours were quite and respectful. The beds do have a concrete base with a mattress but I didn't have a problem nor did my family. The bathroom let the room down for me the mosaic tiling was poor and looked shabby but everything worked fine. Plenty of hot and cold water but sometimes in the morning it took a while for the hot water to come through, but just run the tap for a few minutes it's not the end of the world. You had air con in the room as well as a ceiling fan. You need the air con on all day as it gets very hot but we found if you turned it off at night and just used the ceiling fan when in bed this kept the room at a nice temperature. I'm used to staying in 4 or 5 star hotels and I would class this room as 3 star.

Food & Drinks
I have read so many reviews where people have complained about the food at White Sands. I'm not a fussy eater but I know what is good and bad and the food here is quite good. You have themed food nights every night i.E. Italian, Mexican, Caribbean etc plus a grill, fresh pasta bar and a kids section. I found that if there was anything I fancied that night I would go to the fresh pasta bar where a chef would cook you something while you wait.
Try the ice cream it was lovely..!!! They also had an oriental restaurant and a Mexican where you need to book and you are only allowed one free meal at each restaurant per week. The oriental was really good not your normal Chinese more a selection of Thai, Japanese & Chinese don't expect it to be your local Chinese take away. The Mexican was ok but very similar to what you could get in the main restaurant. There was a good selection at breakfast, continental, fruit, fry up or pancakes if you were American. A good selection of food at lunch time with salads, fresh grilled meats, pizza, burgers etc.

All the drinks were good yes cocktails used to vary from bar to bar but so what. The staff were 99% of the time really pleasant and again if you tipped a $ now and again you would notice an even better service. We all eat well and never suffered with any sickness or diarrhoea.

Hotel Grounds & Swimming Pools
All the grounds were kept well and there was always staff tending them. We knew at the time of booking that one of the pools was being repaired so we knew what to expect. You still had the kid’s water park which was great for the little ones and another pool nearer the beach. Yes they did get a little dirty at times but that is down to us the tourist. If you drink in the pool or let your kids drink in the pool you are going to get spillage. This is hardly the hotels fault it's ours!! The pools were always being cleaned by staff and tested twice a day. The day before we left (21st Aug) the other pool opened.

Beach & Sea
The beach was lovely and after exploring other hotels up and down the coast we had the best strip of beach. The water most of the time was crystal clear and full of tropical fish. The beach was generally kept clean with plenty of sun beds. The only downside was there were only a dozen or so umbrellas so if you wanted shade you had to get yourself down to the beach at 6.30am to get a bed or do what the rest of the Brits did and reserved a bed with towels. But there were always other sun beds to use just not in the shade. The hotel could put a stop to this quite easily and should. You have a waitress walking up and down the beach all day serving drinks and collecting plastic cups people leave around. She worked really long hours and a $ tip now and again goes alone way.

Activities & Entertainment
The evening entertainment was not my cup of tea but then how do you keep everybody happy. The two or three times I did see it, it was OK. The entertainers worked so hard and it's probably the best I have seen. There was daily pool activities, water polo, kids swimming lessons, quiz etc. The reps didn't pester you to join in; you did if you wanted to do.

On the activities front we went on two trips quad bike safari and whale sharks. The 4 hour quad bike safari was great you spent about 1.5 hours on quads and you get absolutely filthy so wear old cloths you don't mind throwing away. After the quads you are taken to Chakanba reef for a guided snorkel tour which was superb. For $86 each well worth the money but try and go on the 9am tour its cooler and you get more time after the snorkelling.

If you can afford it do the Whale shark tour. It costs $260 per person and you have to get a 5am ferry from Cozumel to the main land but it was AMAZING. You really swim so close to these fish which are about 30 feet long it's something we will never forget and words can not explain. This is cheap for the experience!!!

There is a dive shop on our beach where you can go scuba diving. As a family we had never thought about this prior to the holiday but we all did our PADI Open Water Course. It cost about £600 for all three of us which are about half the price of the UK but diving down and seeing the wonders in the sea was fantastic. We saw all sorts of tropical fish, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, eels etc it really made this holiday.

Location & Eating Out
The location of the hotel was OK; if you were closer to San Miguel you would have lost the great beach. San Miguel was about 20min by taxi and cost around £9. Yes it would have been nice to be able to walk somewhere but again we knew this when we booked the holiday so no complaints there. We found Cozumel expensive to eat or drink out. We eat out once at a beach restaurant called Alberto's, setting was nice had a table right on the beach but it cost us £75 for two adults and a child which was very expensive for what we had. We also had a few drinks in bars in town again not cheap at all. This would be a very expensive destination if you didn't go all inclusive.

Mosquitoes and Others
I can't believe people complained about the mosquitoes, you are not going to Southend you are off to Mexico in the Caribbean Sea. Everybody is warned about the mosquitoes and if you use the right protection you don't have a problem. Yes there are lots around and they will bite but let’s use a little common sense here..!! Also I have read about other people being bitten by large flee type insects. These are sand flies and if you stay on the beach till dusk they start to come out and guess what they will bite you. There are lots of Iguanas and small lizards which add to the holiday didn't see any spiders or anything else. But there are snakes and scorpions.

General
There seemed to be quite a lot of thefts but I was lead to believe that this was a holiday maker and not staff but who knows. You get a safe deposit box in your room use it and you should be ok.

They had obviously spent some money on a nice new gym and spa area which was nicely air conditioned.

Staff and service was really good and they all worked very long hours. A $ tip hear and there works and they are appreciative.

I really think for £3100 for two weeks all inclusive in the Caribbean was good value for money better than Spain.

I would rate this hotel as a 3 star but the beach and activities made it worth while.

We would go back again..!!