We arrived at the "resort" Feb 10 we knew something was wrong when there were'nt many guests at the hotel. There were more construction workers there than guests. The lobby was turned into a makeshift dinning room, since the two dining rooms were under construction. The villas, which we paid extra for, were still under construction. The lunch & dinner menus were the same. We lost electricity for 21/2 days, but the lobby & workman still kept working off the hotel generators. All of the amenities we were promised did not exist. It wasn't a vacation, it was an adventure to remember.

My wife and I stayed at Fiesta Americana for six days beginning February 16th. We stayed there during the same time last year and while it was not as nice as 2005, the Fiesta Americana is still a good experience. We are divers and travel to Cozumel once or twice per year. After the hurricane, it requires more patience than normal for travel in Mexico. Example: It took 3 hours for our room to be ready at check-in.

The hotel opened February 1st. They normally have three restaurants. The beach restaurant only opened the day before our visit. The "specialty" restaurant in the main building is open every evening for dinner. The third restaurant by the pool is down to concrete and bare walls and is being totally rebuilt. The food quality is still good and the service is excellent.

The hotel continues to have work going on to repair damages. I don't know the occupancy but it didn't seem very busy which makes sense if they only opened February 1st. The workers arrive and begin by 7 AM and they work under the lights until at least 9 PM. They are trying very hard to get everything back to normal. We heard that several of the hotels have not reopened yet.

The Dive House dive shop was great. Eddie was our dive master for all three days and was excellent. We have dove with many shops and they were as good as any we've used. If planning to stay and dive here my advice would be to email or call the dive shop to make reservations. Their boats do fill up because they have a number of large dive groups that stay here.

Overall, we'll stay here again and that's the best endorsement I can give. The value for the price, the food (We usually do All-inclusive) and the location make Fiesta Americana an excellent choice. It's a $6 cab ride into town. If I were taking family, I'd probably stay at Iberostar or Occidental because the facilities are nicer and because of the beaches further south.

We just got back 2/16/06. They are still working sunrise to sundown to finish everything. The beach restaurant opened 2/16. The rooms are very nice and the breakfast buffet excellent. The specialty restaurant wasn't open so we went downtown for dinner and shopping every nite. (spread out the money a little). Everyone in Cozumel is putting in great efforts to please. Hotel staff extremely accomodating.

OK, it's taken nearly a year to post my review. WE stayed at Fiesta Americana for 2 weeks over New Year 2005. 1st, thing. If you go all inclusive you miss out on all the fab restaurants in the town. There are many and varied styles definitely worth checking out. It’s easy to get a cab from the hotel into town and it seems a waste to go all that way and then stay in just one place.
The Casita we had was fine. roomy, the aircon was a little noisy, but hey.. It’s Mexico! at least we had aircon. Food at the hotel is passable. Service is Mexican/American. ie slow and sullen. If you speak Spanish things tend to get a whole load friendlier!
The whole tipping thing gets very confusing.. do you tip someone for refilling your mini bar? Apparently yes.. In the end we ended up tipping for good service, which in the end is what the whole gratuity thing is supposed to be about.
As Cozumel gets a daily invasion from cruise ships, it can be good to spend the day at sea. We used Aqua Safari for diving and we cannot praise them highly enough for their fantastic service and courses. The dive shop and the Americana seemed pretty uninterested in taking our money (Even Spanish didn't help here) so it was a good thing we went elsewhere.
The pool area is quite small and can easily get taken over. The beach front is also quite small, but if you can get a spot, it’s lovely.
All in all, the Americana is a 3 star hotel, designed for families. It makes a good base for getting out and about on the island, which for us was the best thing to do. If you like to travel, then leave the hotel and explore. Go to restaurants and bars, take trips, take in the island, put some moeny back into the economy to help rebuild.
if you don't like to travel, you may be happier with Florida.