As our title said, this is THE place to stay while enjoying Cozumel!! From the minute you drive up to the palm lined entrance ending with the fountains in front of the resort, it just keeps getting better. The service was great and very helpful/friendly. Our room was a deluxe oceanview and had an incredible view of the beach. The food at the restaurant there was superior and very tasty. If you do decide to go into town, we suggest Pepe's grill for a really nice dinner. Request Pedro as your waiter and you won't be dissapointed. Also La Mission has great atmosphere and excellent food. There is also a new restaurant at the resort that is Italian food, called Fettucini's, but it requires men to wear slacks. We wish we had brought some because we heard the food is fantastic. The snorkeling at this resort is wonderful-no need to go to Chankanuub to do that. We have snorkeled at both and they are equal. While there you must rent a car and go to the far side of the island and have a drink at Coconuts or Mezcalito's. They are both really fun little beachside bars. Trust us, we have been to Cozumel many times and this is the resort to stay at. A little more expensive, but worth every penny. The best advice we can give is-Remember, you are in Mexico. Not everything will go as planned. Just sit back, enjoy, and have a great time. If you have any questions about the resort or Cozumel in general, feel free to email us. Gene and Ashlie

Hotel is lovely for mexico. The open air lobby is just right for the carribean. Our room was nice but nothing to brag about. I can understand the philosophy behind only having a shower in the guestrooms but it was closet like and very dark. I always felt like I was going to flood the area each time I took a shower. Food was great and yes the service is very slow. That is at times frustrating and at others fine. Alfredo's, the "nice" italian restaurant on property is just okay. Ate better meals in town. Casa Mission was nice although I felt sorry for the spider monkeys and lions displayed in thier chain link cages for all us tourists.

Diving cannot be missed. Used Scuba Du and for a first time diver - just got certified - they were great. Eduardo was the best Dive Master! He found sea life I never would have seen including a sea turtle who was very shy, several eels, and a sea horse no larger than an inch! Skip the shore dive to the "barge" and stick to the other side. Saw more sea life including the resident eel.

Our stay was from 7/25/04 to 7/30/04 and we had a great time. We received a complimentry breakfast with our stay and it was fabulous. The grounds are beautiful and the staff is very friendly. The rooms were nice. The hotel is an older one but well maintained. The beach is one of the nicest on the island. The snorkelling is good too.
From the hotel to town is a $5.00 cab ride. I understand that it is more expensive ($20.00 one way) if you stay on the lower tip of the island. We ate at several good resturants in town. You must try the Casa Mission. It is just beautiful. The prices are reasonable too.

We stayed here July 2004.

Yes the hotel is above average for Cozumel. In the States, I would say below average for the costs. Considering they bill themselves as a 5 or 6 star facility, I would hope they would rate at least above average for the Third World. We had an upgraded ocean view room at the south end of the hotel, and it was a fabulous view. No complaints with the hotel's beach and views. They do seem to have one of the best snorkeling beaches on the Island, and what a sunset. The room was spacious enough, but like most hotels in Cozumel, the beds are hard. Interior maintenance was an issue, however. The door to the bathroom was falling off of its hinges, and one of the chairs in the room was severly gouged on the arm to the point of causing splinters if you pressed against the damaged areas. To get items for the room, such as extra pillows, iron etc., it would take at least 2 calls, or maybe it just takes them an hour to have these items sent up.

The pool area is very nice, but the water was much too warm. Not a refreshing dip at all. More like a giant bathtub. The kids program was very small, and they did not do much with them. If you are planning on using this service regularly, maybe you should stay at a place that is much more kid friendly such as the Iberostar.

The hotel also seems to nickel and dime. $3.00 waters (only 1.5 liter gratis per day per room), the restaurants have a surcharge of 20 pesos on top of the food charges, don't return a towel and they may charge you $45.00, not pesos!

If you are looking for good air conditioning, decent, but expensive food, an average room with a fabulous view and beach area, and want to afford this place, go for it. If you want less exclusivity and more of a cruise ship atomosphere (all inclusive of course) with food that surpassed my expectations (read excellent to at worst well above average for a large kitchen operation, on par with Royal Caribbean, though much better than Carnival), check out Iberostar. We stayed there for the first 5 nights of our 8 night stay on the Island, and would stay again. El Presidente will likely not get our traveling dollars again.

Hope this was helpful.