My wife and I just returned from a trip to playa del carmen and then a two night stay in cozumel. We had a chance to see a fair amount of cozumel's hotel's by taxi and by dive boat. The Presidente has by far the best beach frontage of any of the resorts we saw.
Service at the resort was excellent, our ocean view room was well taken care of and had a great view. The Italian restaurant "Alfredos" at the resort is first class.
Scuba Du, the dive shop at the resort is well managed and the dive masters are as professional as they come. They have a great protected area for snorkeling or a shallow scuba dive(15-20 feet). They sank a small barge just offshore that has quite a bit of life around it. It's almost as nice as diving Paradise reef which is located just north of the resort.
We had a great experience at the Presidente and plan on returning the next time we go to Cozumel.

What a lovely stay at El Presidente in April 2007. This is the best service I have had at a hotel in a very long time, maybe ever. The staff is amazingly responsive and they go out of their way to make your stay pleasant.

The grounds and rooms are not overly fancy, but offer wonderful views of the ocean, and are very clean. The food at the outdoor restaurant was great (guac was to die for).

This time of the year (April), the hotel was not crowded at all, so it was very quiet and relaxing (maybe too quiet if you like a little more activity). For divers, the onsite dive shop is very convenient. Also, most dive shops in town will pick you up here if you prefer to dive through one of them. The hotel is a quick and cheap ($6) cab ride to town.

Feel free to see my review on the Cozumel Forum. I'm very glad to see that the hotel is back up to 100%. We spent two weeks this trip and as always such a wonderful place to stay. We love it here and love all of the staff. Just what a vacation is supposed to be. Thanks to everyone here.

My wife and I spent a week at the Presidente as our last vacation before our firstborn arrives. The hotel puts up with start rating and price. It has been completely renewed after being struck by 2005 Wilma hurricane. We had a very clean poolside room which looked brand new and included flat screen TV and Ipod radio. The oceanview rooms are the best, with direct access to the beach. The resort has direct access to the sea and does not sit next to the main road as many others on the island do. There are sandy beaches all around. One is pretty small and goes straight to the sea with a gently slope (good for kids to play); the others are built on rock formations, with access into the sea via stairs. The seaside restaurant is excellent, with good food and great atmosphere/ views. There is also an upscale italian restaurant we did not try. The small town of San Miguel is at 10 minutes by taxi ($5) and offers plenty of dining options. Service is excellent, personnel is helpful and with a cheerful attitude (we were never bothered with attempts to sell a resort contract by the way). There is a Padi diving operation on site, which is professional and efficient. Overall we were happy with our choice. I believe we have been lucky as there were few guests during our stay, I wonder if some areas like the main beach could get too busy during peak season.