Just returned on April 4/04, had a great time. The diving and snorkeling was amazing. Eagle rays a high point. Completed my open water certification at "The Dive House" attached to the hotel, my instructor was Alphonso.....super guy, hope to see him again next time.
Rented a jeep and toured the island, lot's to see....especially Coconuts beach bar!!!! Good shopping in town..prepare to haggle, and check out Carlos and Charlies for an interesting "twist" on drinking tequila. Only draw back was the buffet food served at the hotel. All inclusive is definetely the way to go but the food needs work.

We just returned from the Fiesta Americana and spent the week there from 3/27 to 4/03. We were concerned even though we have stayed there before due to the negative reviews. First, we did receive an oceanview room as requested. The staff was helpful and polite, except for the bar staff, who were probably overworked and tired of dealing with drunk Americans on the all-inclusive plan. We did not use the all-inclusive plan because we prefer to visit the many great restaurants in Cozumel.
We did eat one night at the upstairs ala carte restaurant which was quite good. The service and food were excellent. We only ate one other meal at the FA and that was a breakfast, which was pretty expensive for the quality/quantity of food and mediocre service. For people who do not use the AI plan, the drinks are annoyingly expensive. $3.80 for a short beer (maybe 8 or 10 ounces) and $7.50 for a mixed drink. My wife asked for a Kahlua and milk, but was given a cheaper version of Kahlua with no explanation. The room was fine and the housekeeping staff also did a good job, cleaning the room twice per day. We had no sewer smell.
The hotel did not tell us about the safe fee until I asked. When told that we did not use the safe, they removed it from our bill without argument. Some outstanding restaurants: LaVeranda, La Coquay, Chen Rio.
Good restaurants: Guido's, Primo's, LaChoza, Pancho's Backyard, Jeannie's Waffle House, and Rock and Java. Also, you should try Zermatt for breakfast pastries. Also, the Dzul Ha has great simple Mexican food and tremendous snorkeling. The FA has a great location and the snorkeling there is outstanding. If you don't mind eating the same food over and over and don't want to sample the great restaurants, then the all-inclusive is the way to go. If you don't do all-inclusive, plan on buying your own booze, instead of drinking at the hotel. Overall, the place is okay, but if you think you are getting an five star US hotel, you may be disappointed.

Our stay at the Fiesta Americana could have been better. They were paving the street right between the hotel and the beach so the sounds of the heavy equipment mingled with the smell of fresh tar did not equal a relaxing atmosphere. Luckily, the road crew quit from Friday afternoon 'til Monday morning so we got 2 out of 5 days of peace. Make sure you know that the check-in time is roughly 3:00 p.m.. Our travel agent failed to inform us of this so even though we arrived at 1:45 p.m. after traveling since 5:00 a.m., we forced to sit poolside and listen to loud rap music and were not allowed into our room until after 3:10 p.m. and then only when I begged the desk clerk to 'let us in a room, any room that was empty ' and threatened to make a loud commotion about being told that check-in time was 3:00 p.m. and it was now later than that. The food ranged from really good (i.e. the freshly prepared fajitas at the pool side snack bar, the meals in the restaurant) to recycled (some sausages from breakfast made an appearence on a lunch time buffet, and some dinner buffet items were served with breakfast) The service on the beach varied as well; some crabby waiters, some great waiters. (Thanks Jose!) This was not an excellent experience.

Stayed at the Fiesta Americana in Cozumel March 15-22. Once I got past how incredibly ORANGE the place is, I liked it. My room was clean, well-kept, spacious, quiet. The public areas were clean and well-kept. I was on the all-inclusive plan and the food was okay, not bad but nothing special, except in the restaurant. (A surprising lack of Mexican food!) And the drinks were uneven. Some were good and strong and a lot were watered down. But I didn't go down for the food, I went for the diving. The Dive House dive shop is located on the premises and I can't say enough good about my experience with them. I was traveling and diving solo and they accommodated me in every way, whether it was more challenging dives, Nitrox, underwater photography. It was a great trip, the hotel was lovely and the diving was outstanding. I'd probably use this dive shop hotel again (but maybe make more trips to Carlos and Charlies and Senor Frogs!)