My girlfriend and I stayed at the Cozumel Palace from August 10th to 14th. When we arrived at about 2:30pm they said our room would be ready in an hour. After hearing reports about others getting moved to other Palace resorts we were happy to have a room. After having some drinks by the pool we went back to get our room. We were given room 116 which was just down an open hallway from the lobby. The room was just as pictured, but due to it being on the first floor there wasn't really a balcony. Outside the sliding doors there was just about a foot of space that looked right at the hot tub. Due to the foot traffic there we realized we could never really have our curtains open. Due to this we went back to request a new room. We were told they were totally booked and to check back the next day. That night we realized another bigger problem with the room. Due to its proximity to the lobby we could hear and feel the band playing in our room. It would have been very difficult to sleep before the band finished at midnight. While this probably would be fine for some people we weren't looking to party all night. After a few trips to the front desk the next day we were given a new room around 1pm. We agreed to take a room with double beds in order to move. We were given room 406. It was like being in a completely different hotel. We had a great balcony with a amazing view. We could barely hear the music and activities at the pool during the day.

The pool area was very nice. Even though the hotel was full there was always plenty of chairs available. There was no need to get there early to save a chair for the day. My complaint with the pool area was the atmosphere. It seemed like parents were just letting their kids run wild. You couldn't relax in the pool as there were always kids jumping in and splashing around. Unfortunately the pool probably isn't big enough to make an adults-only area. The drink service was hit or miss. Sometimes we would get offered fresh drinks right as we were finishing sometimes we would need to go to the bar after not having anyone come by for a while.

The restaurants were okay. The presentation of all of the dinners was very nice, but the food often didn't live up to the presentation. The Italian restaurant couldn't seem to decide if it was Italian or seafood. We ony ate there one night. It wasn't that great. The Oriential restaurant was better. I don't eat sushi much, but what we had was good. I liked my main dish there where as my girlfriend wasn't impressed with hers. The Mexican place was hit or miss. The fajitas were good, other dishes were disappointing. The service was very hit or miss. Some waiters were great, others were bad. It took us about 5 requests to get bottles of water at the Italian place and they never asked if we wanted more wine. For lunch and dinner the buffet was fine, nothing too exciting. They say they have a dress code for dinner, but it was never enforced. One night I heard someone ask the host about it, but I couldn't hear his response. I would have preferred they actually enforce this.

The service in the lobby bar, especially at night was bad. The bartenders just didn't seem to care. The bands in the lobby at night were ok, nothing too great.

We ordered dessert off the room service menu once and it took almost 45 minutes. We tried to call to cancel it so we could go to bed and they said it was already on its way. When it finally arrived my chocolate cake had a divot in the top where someone's finger had pressed into it through the hole on the cover.

Overall the rooms were very nice, just as advertized (except for the bad rooms on the first floor with no balcony.) The pool area could be very nice if the kids were more in control. The drinks and food were about what I expected for an AI. I would give this a 3.5 if it were an option, but I decided to round down.