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Cozumel Palace: Traveler Reviews


Cozumel Palace
Av Rafael | (formerly Plaza Las Glorias Cozumel), Cozumel 77600, Mexico
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long winded but hopefully helpfull

Cozumel Palace

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4 of 5 stars
echohumpingmonkey 1 contribution
campbell, ca
Jul 15, 2008 | Trip type: Couples
1/2 found this review helpful

I will try not to go on forever here but at the same token, I hope that all of our notes help some one else in the future. My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon. We started out at the Cozumel Palace in Cancun. This is an all-inclusive resort that was given many good reviews both on trip advisor and other sites. We arrived at about noon on June 30th. Our first impression was very good. The staff are very friendly and the hotel is not only really clean but beautiful. We were able to check in right away and were given a couple of t-shirts for being honeymooners. What we didn't know was how very small this resort is. There are 3 restaurants with only 1 open during breakfast and lunch. There is also a poolside grill that we did not try as we had read that it wasn't very good. Well, overall none of the food was very good. It will definately sustain life but good is not a word I would use. We were not expecting gourmet food knowing that it was an all-inclusive but it definately could have been better. We ate at the sushi restaurant the first night. The portions were pretty disappointing as all the rolls were mainly rice with a very small amount of fish. We understand that they need to cut corners somewhere to make money but we thought the salmon sashimi was actually ginger, it was sliced so thin. We were both trained as chefs and try not to be to judgemental but at the same time we do know little ways to make things better without huge cost. It was just a bit suprising. We ate breakfast the next day at the buffet and it was again, mediocre. Since the hotel is so small, we got bored by midway through the first day and ended up leaving the hotel to wander around town. This would not have been bad if we had stayed in a non all-inclusive but as we had paid to be eating and drinking at our hotel and were bored enough to leave for the day, we ended up spending $500 on the town in 4 days just to get out and do something. We had our honeymoon dinner the third night, it was borderline bad. The salads had canned fruit. In this tropical area, we sort expected to get fresh fruits at least. The stuffed chicken was really really dry. We ended up renting a Jeep for two days and driving around the island. It was really fun. We stopped at the ruins, some random bar on the beach and had amazing ceviche with conch, and ate shrimp quesadillas at Coconuts. All in all, that was the best part. The third evening another patron suggested we take the ferry and check out the Aventura Spa Palace, another Palace resort. It is an adult only resort. No nudity but also no small children running and screaming. (the kids at Cozumel Palace were actually really well behaved while we were there). We decided to go check Aventura out. The ferry ride is $12 / person one way. A cab to Aventura from the ferry dock is about $15, $20 with tip. When we arrived, we were amazed. It is a truly beautiful resort. It is massive in comparison to Cozumel. There are 12 (?) restaurants, two giant pool areas with two swim up bars, two lobbys, a midget hedge maze, an obstacle course, an area with native sweat huts, a huge spa, an indoor pool, gym, extensive grounds with iguanas everywhere, and so much more. We immediately went to the front desk to ask if we could transfer the rest of our stay (we still had 6 nights left). They were very accomodating and we managed to do with a small charge. ($250). The charge was worth it as we were planning to no longer go out on the town. (The nearest town is a 15 min cab ride not walking distance) We took the ferry back and packed our things.
Here are some notes we made:
The south pool at Aventura is definately the party pool. People tend to be a bit louder and lots of hooting and hollering. This is good or bad depending on what you want. I found the water to be pretty cloudy in this pool the whole time we were there which was kind of gross. The north pool is much quieter with the water being super clean.
Bring your own insulated drink mug, they will fill up whatever you have. Saves trips back to the bar.
Cozumel Palace allows smoking inside at the bar while Aventura is nonsmoking in all interior spaces.
The rooms were kind of noisy at both hotels. They don't seem to have much sound proofing for the entry doors and you can hear people in the halls at all hours.
Casino night was a lot of fun. You play for fake money as there is no gambling in Mexico but then you can bid at the auction at the end of the night.
The snorkeling at Cozumel is natural while the lagoon at Aventura appeared to be man made but still beautiful.
We tried to go fishing in Cozumel but were told it would be almost $500 for four hours while in Aventura my husband went for $90 / four hours through the hotel.
The spa at Aventura is really, really expensive. This is coming from some one who lives in California. I am used to seeing $110-$120 for 80 min. massage at upscale places here, at Aventura it was $189. We decided to sit through the time share sales pitch and got a $200 spa credit for it. It was worth it ultimately. We did not end up buying the time share, we knew that going into it. The massage was great!
The amenities in the room were really really nice. The jacuzzi tubs in both rooms were fantastic. The rooms were clean, the beds really comfortable, and again, the service throughout both hotels was fantastic.
Dont take the tours through the hotels, it is usually cheaper and much shorter to rent a vehicle and go yourself. You aren't bound to other peoples' paces / bathroom breaks.
There is a taco lady outside on the patio at Mundaca restaurant (Aventura). Find her. The tacos are amazing! She makes fresh tortillas and cooks them right in front of you. There is a great selection of toppings and fillings. We ate the 5 days in a row. She is only there for lunch.
I would recommend sticking to fish, chicken or pork. The quality of the steaks are not what we are used to getting even at the grocery store in the U.S. I had a ribeye, a filet and a skirt steak. The skirt stead was actually really good but the other two were just not that great. All the fish we had at both hotels and all over the island of Cozumel was wonderful.
In Cozumel, find a restaurant call La Canalla. It is on the town square, upstairs, right across from the ferry. We had the most amazing meal there. Our waiter, Andy, found out we had both been chefs and told their chef. We got this huge seafood platter with calamari, octopus, whitefish, huge shrimp all cooked in this amazing herbed garlic butter sauce. It really blew us away. I wish we could find that here at home. Andy also gave us some advice that we did not get to follow. He suggested that we go the the mainland and rent a car to take us to a town called Merida (a five hour drive). He said that for approx. $40 / night we could stay in a 4 star hotel (the best they have) and that there is a lot of local culture to see there. He also said that buying souveniers in Valladolio on the way is significantly cheaper than anywhere else. If we had not spent so much money going out in Cozumel, we would have taken that trip. There is a cigar bar downstairs, ask for Luis, he is really funny and friendly and will give you a great deal on a cuban. It was fantastic!
We did eat a lobster ravioli at a restaurant called Pepe's in Cozumel. It was really good and we meant to go back for dinner one night but we transferred to Aventura.

Overall we had a great time but would we do it again....?
Ok, I think that covers all our notes. I hoped this was helpful in some way to at least one person. Thanks for reading!

  • Liked — It was really clean and the people who worked there were wonderful.
  • Disliked — The food
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Honeymoon
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since October 17, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Great food / Wine, Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $358 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Best Vacation Ever!!!

Cozumel Palace

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5 of 5 stars
TexasRonden 1 contribution
Texas
Jul 14, 2008 | Trip type: Family
0/1 found this review helpful

This was our best family vacation ever. The rooms were very nice, the food was good and the service was outstanding. There is always something to do there and daily activities were a blast! My teenagers made many friends and had the time of their life! I highly recommend the Cozumel Palace to everyone. We have only been home a few days but would go back tomorrow if we could!!!

  • Liked — The service and the Staff were amazing!!
  • Disliked — There was nothing to dislike
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with teenagers
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since July 14, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Outdoor / Adventure, Great food / Wine, Spa
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $358 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Service with a Smile

Cozumel Palace

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5 of 5 stars
IndySusie 6 contributions
Indianapolis
Jul 14, 2008 | Trip type: Couples
1/1 found this review helpful

We visited Cozumel Palace from July 5-12. The check-in process went pretty smoothly - although we arrived a bit prior to check-in time and had to wait a while for our room. The person who brought the bracelets and the information could have done a better job of explaining all that was available. At other all inclusive resorts, we've been given a short tour, and an overview of activities and tours available. We went to the tour desk while waiting and asked for a list of tours available. We were given a book to leaf through - but a paper or brochure with tour descriptions and prices would have been more helpful.
The rooms are very nice. They have beautiful views and the bathroom was nice and roomy. It was mostly clean - I'm very picky about cleanliness so I could be considered 'high maintenance' in this area. I don't like to see hair on anything in the bathroom and there were a few that I saw that I knew weren't mine but everything else was kept very nicely. The walls were banged up a bit in our room - probably due to luggage - not a big deal either. Overall though, the room was very nice.
The resort itself is one of the smaller ones and at first I didn't think I would like it as much. There are advantages though! We didn't have any children so the lack of great activities for the kids didn't matter much to us. Every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. in the morning until late afternoon, a different activity is available. You can make yarn bracelets, take cooking classes, learn how to make towel animals, play volleyball, basketball, and bocce ball, or do water aerobics, and even play both Mexican or American bingo. There's always something you can do OR you can just hang at the pool bar or in your beach chair. There are palapas on a small sand beach. If you want a long stretch of white beach, you won't want to go here. The resort is nestled on a rocky shore. Snorkeling equipment is provided for free and there is a blocked off area to snorkel right off of the resort. There's also a huge round trampoline in the ocean. The water was colder than I like but I got used to it pretty quickly. The view is beautiful - you can face the pool or face the ocean from the same chair! The spa area is very nice and lots of services are offered for reasonable prices. I had a manicure but wished I had the time to book a massage! Prices for shampoo and products were very reasonable. Products I buy in the states were twice the price of the same products for sale in the salon so stock up!
The food was good - for us personally, the all-inclusive food option gets a little old. We went to town to eat at Hard Rock one night - 2 hamburgers and 2 cokes was $43 w/tip so it is pricey to eat at other places. We tried all of the restaurants - the Asian, Italian, and Mexican ones and they had a grill buffet every night by the pool. We didn't have a bad experience in any of them - all were good. When we returned home though, my husband said he felt sick. Just be careful to stay away from salads or mayonnaise, or meat that spends much time outside - just the same as you would do at home - and you should be fine. Also, ask for bottled water - to ensure water quality. Every night there is a show - someone mentioned that the entertainment is a little cheesy - and some of it is I agree - but the people try SO hard to make it fun and entertaining, that I overlooked that part of it. We got to know the entertainment staff (Daniel, Suguei, Teresa and Ricky) and they were all super people who knew our names and we knew all about them by the time we left. The fire show is amazing - don't miss this one!
Others have mentioned - and it is TRUE that these people truly love their jobs, they love their customers, and it shows! They are eager to please, never a cross word or attitude - like you sometimes find at home. That is truly one of the best parts of vacationing in the Yucatan! Service is paramount and they will do whatever it takes to please you. Very refreshing! There is a shop in the resort too - a bit limited, but easily accessible for whatever you need. You also pay for the convenience. I wouldn't buy t-shirts or gifts there unless you just have no other option because you will pay more.
Cozumel is a beautiful place to visit. If you go, don't miss the Mystic Snorkeling tour (reviewed on Trip Advisor) and consider taking a tour over to Cancun - Playa Del Carmen to Xel-Ha - a beautiful ecological park where the snorkeling is wonderful and there are tons of activities. Macaws and parrots roam freely and they are beautiful birds to watch. Very well maintained considering the volume of people that go through there daily. If you are shopping in Cozumel, avoid days/times when the cruise ships are in port - you'll be able to see the ships come and go from the resort as it is very close to the ship docks - because there will be a lot of people moving around, and lots of lines. Don't shop on the main street - that is where all of the cruise ship tourists go - and the prices are definitely higher. Shop the back streets - it is safe and you'll get much better deals there. We did.
My advice would be NOT to plan to rent a scooter. We thought we would but then reconsidered when we saw a number of people that had some pretty serious injuries from accidents. Part of it is because tourists don't know where they are going or are careless and the other part of it is that the locals don't give scooters any room or consideration - at least not the amount needed - and this results in LOTS of accidents. We saw a lot of people who had wrecked and were experiencing some serious road rash - very painful, and disruptive to your vacation! We would definitely return to this beautiful resort - in beautiful Cozumel! If you want a mega resort, visit one of the others recommended here on TripAdvisor. But, if you want great service, personal attention, and a beautiful ocean view, visit here.

  • Liked — Service and Location of Resort
  • Disliked — Tour Information
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Hobbies / interest / culture
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since October 06, 2006
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Outdoor / Adventure, Shopping, Spa
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $358 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
The Best of the Best

Cozumel Palace

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5 of 5 stars
TexasCoast 12 contributions
Corpus Christi
Jul 13, 2008
1/2 found this review helpful

My family and I first visited Cozumel Palace for 1 day in 2005. We liked what we saw, so we went back for a week in 2007. That trip was fabulous so we decided to go back in 2008. I was a little worried this time that my expectations were so high, that I was going to be disappointed but once again, everything was just great.

The entire place is always clean and well kept from the rooms to the lobby to the pool area. The staff is always very friendly and helpful and after a few days many of them will know your name. And as others have said, whenever you ask for something, the staff always responds with "It is my pleasure". The bartenders learned my favorite drink and sometimes brought me one without me even having to ask. The rotate the bartenders around, but the ones I got to know best at the lobby bar were Augustin and Jorge. If they are not too busy ask them to show you some of their "bar tricks", they are very entertaining.

The restaurants are all good, but the Italian is by far my favorite. The soups and appetizers are some of the best things on the menu so don't pass them up. My daughter really loves the Affogato al cafe for dessert. Sometimes there is live music in the Italian restaurant and there is also live music in the lobby bar.

On this trip, we did 3 of the Palace's free excursions. We went to the Mayan ruins at Coba, which was an all day trip to the mainland. It was very interesting and our guide was funny and entertaining. On the way back, we decided we wanted to hang out at Playacar Palace for awhile so our guide gave us our ferry tickets and told us we could go back whenever we wanted. We also went to Chankanaab. Chankanaab is a National Park with some beautiful grounds and some pretty good snorkeling. Try to go snorkeling as early as possible, as more people arrive and get in the water, it seems to scare off some of the fish. We also went to Playa Mia, which is a big beach club that mainly caters to people from the cruise ships. The Palace transportation leaves at about 9 AM but we had our own car so we decided to wait and go later in the day. We went around 2 PM and by 3 most of the cruise ship people had left to head back to their ships and we had the place mostly to ourselves.

If you can, try to book your stay at Cozumel Palace through a member. You will save some money plus you get some "extras" like free massages and manicures.

I have stayed at two other Palace Resorts and I have visited two others, but in my opinion, Cozumel Palace is the "best of the best".

  • Liked — The wonderful staff
  • Disliked — Having to go home
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay June 2008
  • Member since May 01, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Outdoor / Adventure, Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $358 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Perfect room at the Cozumel Palace

Cozumel Palace

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4 of 5 stars
milena6766 39 contributions
edmonton, ab. canada
Jul 12, 2008 | Trip type: Couples
6/6 found this review helpful

I am 27 and my bf is 29, we chose the Cozumel palace as we have recently gotten into diving and were told Cozumel was the place to go. Came on Tripadvisor and saw that the Palace was the highest rated all inclusive (now it has changed and the Presidente has passed it) so we chose it. We paid about $1600 CDN each for 7 days. I'll start by saying that I was not AS impressed as most of the other reviewers have been. Yes, the service was good and so was the food but neither were excellent or out of this world. Upon arriving in the hotel, which only took 10 minutes from the airport which was a highlight, we were greeted warmly and given a cool towel. The receptionist told us to take a seat in the lobby and that someone would be by to check us in as we relaxed after our flight. Right away we were offered some fruit drinks and a waiter came by to offer us whatever else we needed. A good start. I found out we got the room we had requested (#527 which I had gotten the tip from a previous visitor who has posted in tripadvisor) which made me veryyyy happy as I knew we had the biggest balcony with the best view of the whole resort. The room was gorgeous although the pictures do make it look bigger than it is, although it was definitely big enough either way. The jacuzzi was large and great, we used it after almost every dive. the bed was big and comfortable and it sucked to get out of it every morning at 630 to be on time for our dives haha but it was by choice and the dives were also amazing. We did not try the Mexican or Italian restaurants for supper as other guests had told us not to bother and stuck to the asian and outdoor bbq which were fantastic. The breakfast buffet was no different from any other youve tried. Fruit, made to order omelletts and a variety of other hot and cold dished that were a bit bland i found. Lovely dessert tray but didnt even try it, dont know why maybe cuz they looked too pretty haha. The maid service was just ok, the room was cleaned daily but nothing special, no towel art or chocolates on the pillow... maybe they expected bigger tips. The bathrooms were beautiful at first glance but upon inspection quite run down with the grout changing colors etc, could use some touchups. Really it is a great hotel that just needs to pay a bit more attention to detail. what not to miss: THE FIRE SHOW, be sure to see it, it was awesome. Besides that nothing out of this world with the entertainment, the dancers were not great but they tried to get you into it which is what its all about I guess. The snorkelling area was fun, not A lot to see, especially since we are divers and expect to see more than a few small fish. But definitely do some diving in cozumel, we were amazed by the beautful reefs and the amount of sealife we saw, the best one was the night dive, scary?? yes... most amazing thing ive ever done?? YES!! We only arrived last week from Cozumel and the diving sticks out way mor ein my mind than the hotel does. It was a nice place but was lacking a little something. Would I stay there again, probably as it was very well located being only 10 minutes walking from the downtown area and the pier is well situated for getting picked up by your dive operator. Will I be looking forward to the food and entertainment, not as much. But teh jacuzzi and bedroom were really amazing, hammock and views also off the charts! If you go i am sure youll enjoy it, just know that there are a few details youll notice and think, why dont they just fix these things and it would be perfect! Higher standard of food and room maintenance could be suggested but all in all a lovely place.

  • Liked — Room, Spa and Asian resto and bbq.
  • Disliked — small imperfections that could easily be brought up to standrad by management
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since July 08, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, Families with young children
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Outdoor / Adventure, Shopping, Spa
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $358 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
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Cozumel Palace Also Known As

Address: Av Rafael | (formerly Plaza Las Glorias Cozumel), Cozumel 77600, Mexico