Fiesta America was a great place for a family vacation. The staff was very friendly and the grounds very clean and comfortable. We were very pleased with our ocean-view room. We went with the AI plan, which ended up working out well because we drink a LOT of beer and margaritas when on vacation. The food was good, just different from home. Go prepared to try new things, such as green enchiladas from the breakfast menu. They also had really good chips, guacamole and pico de gallo -- all of which were even more awesome when piled on a cheeseburger for lunch! We were a little disappointed with the indoor restaurant we were entitled to eat at twice during our stay. We only ate there once because we were happier with the buffet. Other guests we talked to raved about it , though. Complaints about flies and biting bugs rang true, but I don't know what they can do about it. If there was anything they could do, I know they would. We found the flies to be less of a bother outside of the buffet dining area (try sitting in the covered area close to the bar). Staff at the swim up bar and lobby bar were amazing -- very friendly and provided great service. We did tip throughout our stay, which they deserve and it will keep your cold drinks coming non-stop. The young lady who runs the Fiesta Kids Club was very sweet. We don't have kids ourselves, but all the kids there seemed to love her. FH had fun activities at the pool during the afternoon -- bingo, water volleyball, trivia -- and the poolside staff were quite entertaining in their own right, playing soccer next to the pool. The shore diving was a lot of fun. Not much coral in front of the hotel, but plenty of fish. If you walk up the street, north about 100 yards to Dzul Ha, there is easy access to the water and more coral and fish. Bring aqua socks! It's very easy to drift back to the hotel beach from there. I also recommend going on the snorkel catamaran tour with Morningstar. It was reasonably priced at $48 U.S. We went to three reefs and enjoyed an all day party on the boat (price included beer, punch, etc.). The guides were incredible. I can't say anything really bad about our whole experience at Fiesta Americana or Cozumel. If you're headed there soon, I'm jealous. I hope to go back next year. Adios!

Before I went on my vacation, I frequented this site quite often to investigate about FA. I must say I agree with what people are saying overall about the resort.
If you are planning to go to FA, two things I stress highly to bring with you are (1) BUG SPRAY (there are bugs in the sand as well as at the restaurant where you eat [the Reef]) (2) WATER SHOES (this is another must and made my boyfriend and I at ease when going in the water).
Now for the review: Hence the title of the review, we did opt for the all inclusive plan. We found this to have a pro and cons: PRO: never had to worry about paying (obviously), CONS: there is only one restaurant (the Reef) besides the more fancier restaurant (you get to eat in this restaurant twice if you stay seven days). The Reef has buffet food that sits out and because of the ventilation system they have, flies are constantly all over the food. I didn't even eat anything sweet while I was there because you can see the flies literally sitting on the food. We opted for the menu choices which stayed the same the entire time we were there, and I think it is safe to say, they never change. The food is decent, but a variety would have been nice. So basically with the all inclusive plan (for lunch and dinner) you have one restaurant and one menu...
As for tipping, I, personally, did not notice anyone tip. Everytime we ate though, we gave a couple of bucks to our waiter. Even though we had the all inclusive plan, I still felt giving a few dollars to someone who is working so hard for not much, is a nice gesture. It turned out that the waiter we began to tip, kept seating us in his area (of course because we tipped him!) but his service was exceptional.
Two day while we were at FA, we rented Scooters. **BIG ADVICE: do not rent scooters from the man right outside FA! His scooters are very old, odometers are broke and they are literally P.O.S.!** We rented from him once and did not do it again. Rather we rented from CP Rentals. Great service for about 35 a day (they try to charge you tax but you can talk them out of it).
For taxis, to get into town the charge is 6 bucks but you can talk them down as well. When we went into town it was usually later in the day aroung 4/5ish... The reason for this being all the cruise lines dock and there are SWARMS of people in town during the day. I mean if you like the crowdedness, go for it. But we're from NYC and thats just what we wanted to get away from.
The hotel itself was OK. The rooms were BARE. We were actually surprised when we walked in. No pictures, decorations etc... There wasn't much to it but its not a biggie.
What is a biggie, I feel, is the timing of everything. Yes, we had an all inclusive but if it was 5:30, we couldn't get anything to eat, or if it was after 10... The ONE restaurant has specific hours it is opened. So if your not on their schedule your screwed. BRing snacks or buy them at a local supermercado because the "candy baskets" in your room make Pringles $4.00.... which is a bit insane as well as the fact there is no refrigerator in the room, a bit surprising...
Also there is no entertainment at night on the resort. You must go into town, which we did a few nights to Senor Frogs/ Carlos and Charlies- a very mixed crowd where you can find 2 for 1 drinks and a good time.
If you are ever in doubt where to go to eat ask a taxi driver, they know best!
**Make note of this before you go: When we checked out, they had meticulously charged us for using the safe for 5 days... $5.00.... and it was labeled "room habituation"... WE NEVER USED THE SAFE... so beware when you check out... people are probably so eager to get in the taxi and catch the plane they don't look over the bill, so just make sure you do.
Overall, according to books and what you hear around town, FA is a "luxury" resort. Cozumel is a very poor area and a hotel like FA is considered to be grand. For us, I would say it is average.
Would we go back, probably not. I would try La Cieba or stay in another area of Mexico and visit back.
We can't complain though because it was a great getaway for a really good price (which is hard to find these days). Enjoy!

We just returned from a week long stay at the Fiesta Americana. This is our fifth all-inclusive trip and we truly enjoyed our experience in Cozumel. Even though we are not divers, we enjoy snorkeling and were not disappointed. We snorkeled right in front of the hotel and saw an abudance of colorful fish every day. I saw a sting ray one day, but no barracuda (which is fine with me)! The current is a little strong but not unmanagable and be sure to take bread down to the pier to feed the fish. I was lucky enough to be snorkeling by the pier one day when someone was feeding the fish and there were tons of them! Entry into the water is not too difficult, but I would definately recommend water shoes, as there is really no sand, only rocks. There are steps going down to the water and a ladder by the pier.

The food at FA is good, but the buffet does lack variety. It's fairly small and the selection of salads and fresh vegetables could be better. The quality of the food is good though, and we were able to find something we liked each night. As always in Mexico, the desserts were disappointing. We ate at the specialty restaurant once (The Miramar) and it was good. The ice cream was especially tasty and the service was excellent. You can order from a menu for lunch, which I did several times, and this helps with the monotony of the buffet every day. Take other reviewers advice--try the chips and guacamole. It's fantastic!!

We had a regular room, which was ocean view and it was decent. It was clean and spacious with a nice balcony. The bed was rock hard so beware. I did notice a sewer smell a few times, but only once in the room and certainly not enough to affect my vacation. You must keep in mind, however, that this is Mexico and things are not nearly as modern as they are at home. Also, they are still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Wilma and I'm sure that's a factor.

It's true that there is no night life at the resort, which is really fine with us. By the evening we were tired of the heat anyway, and spent time in our air conditioned room watching tv. We are not really pool people, I spend all my time on the beach, but the pools were nice and kept very clean. I did spend a little time at the pool since it was fairly quiet. The beach is nice with plenty of chairs. Since we are not divers, the resort was fairly quiet during the day, which was nice, and this is the first time I have not had to get up at the crack of dawn to save a decent spot on the beach under a palapa, also very nice!

The staff at the FA are by far the warmest, friendliest people I have ever encountered at a resort. Service was very good overall and the people were very accomodating. It does help to tip, even if you're all-inclusive. We didn't at first but decided to start after a couple of days and there was a noticable difference in the level of service. But that was fine as they really did deserve to be tipped!

Even if you are not a diver, I would recommend this hotel. If you have never snorkeled, this would be a great place to learn. The food is decent and the grounds and hotel are well maintained. Overall, I have no real complaints and I would definately go back to the Fiesta Americana.

Before anyone really knocks the Fiesta Americana, they should remember the devastation caused by Hurricane Wilma to the whole island of Cozumel in October of last year. It was only after we arrived and started driving around that we became aware of the true extent of the destruction. The inland and coastal tropical forest was stripped bare of foliage, killing most of the trees. The creeping vines and some of the more hearty varieties of softwoods are beginning to make a return, but the natural landscape still looks like its been through a blender, with the bleached and naked branches of dead trees eerily pointing skyward as the local buzzards wheel overhead.

Hotels along the battered west coast of Cozumel are working at a furious pace to rebuild in time for the coming winter high season so they can recoup some of their tremendous losses. As we motored south from San Miguel, we noticed that some hotel properties were so badly damaged that they have been abandoned. The concrete skeletons are all that remain of former happy places with palapa roofs and brightly colored awnings. Some will be rebuilt, but it's obvious that only the places with deep pockets are recovering quickly from the worst hurricane this place has seen in many decades.

The Fiesta Americana is one of those fortunate places where reconstruction was underway quickly. If you look at the private photos posted here of what the Fiesta Americana looked like in the days after Wilma and visit there today, you can't help but be impressed that somebody wanted this place up and running again as fast as possible. So any legitimate criticism must be tempered with mercy here. They've been through a rough time.

First off, you must understand that the FA is a scuba diving resort. If you don't dive, there are many other better places to stay on Cozumel offering more variety. For one thing, there is no nightlife whatsoever at the FA. If you like a little bar hopping and nighttime stroll around downtown San Miguel, it's a $7 US cab ride each way. Same with shopping. The little "tobacco shop" store on premises is sad, overpriced and under-stocked. You need to have your own rental jeep ($100 per day) or catch a cab just to hit the local supermercado, just south of the downtown square. Guests at the FA hit the sack early because most of them will be meeting the dive boats coming to pick them up at around 9 a.m. to take them south to the most popular reefs.

My son completed his open water diver training through Dive House, on premises, while we rented tanks and tooled around just off the pier in about 25 feet of water. Even that close in, there are rays, barracuda, eels, grouper and plenty of sea life to make our wait interesting. His instructor, Alfonso, was a first rate teacher, especially for youth, as he has kids of his own. The only thing bad about shore diving off the FA pier is that the current is a real smoker.

The Dive House rents up-to-date and very well maintained BCs and regulators. Because they are so popular, you should reserve ahead because their boat trips fill up fast. We had some shockingly unprofessional behavior and equipment malfunctions with our second choice "Dive with Martin," but I'll save the details for a different report. My advice: Go with Dive House.

A hotel is just a building, it's the people who make the property. The FA staff bend over backwards to please you -- even though when I see the behavior of a few ignorant, foul-mouthed Americans I wonder how the Mexican people can tolerate us at all. In the nearly two weeks we spent on Cozumel, each and every Mexican person we met, cab drivers, everyone, were helpful and kind. The FA maid staff and maintenance crew were at the door in just minutes if fresh towels were needed or any problems with drains or air conditioners arose.

So you've chosen the FA. Now should you get the All Inclusive? Actually, you're pretty much money ahead by doing so, even though you may buy a few meals elsewhere. FA is pretty far from anywhere. It's too far to go somewhere else for breakfast before diving and you are probably going to be too tired after diving to want to do much besides relax and have the buffet dinner and retire early in anticipation of the next reef exploration come morning. If there is one little gripe, it's the buffet food. You begin to see the same rotation after your third day. By day six, you can get downright depressed as you approach the serving line and see pretty much the same thing for dinner, over and over again. They need to work on that. Given the fact that they try so hard in other areas, I wonder why they don't pay more attention to the quality and variety of the food. Maybe it's because they have a captive clientele. In any case, someone needs to bring this to the attention of the management.

Some people tip regularly at all-inclusive places, others don't. I did see some evidence that some of the waiters treated people a little better if they routinely slipped them a few bucks a day, even though it's not required. But remember this: you have no idea how low their base wages actually are. So if your bus boy doesn't come around with the coffee as often as he might, you should think about sending a greenback his way now and again. Your cup will runeth over!

If you compare pre-hurricane photos of the front of the FA to the more recent ones, you'll notice that the arched pedestrian walkway over the road has vanished. So have the palapa-roofed eating areas. They've been replaced with concrete structures with terracotta tile roofs.

As a previous visitor just remarked, these are open areas dependent totally upon the sea breezes to keep you cool. During these mid-summer visits, it's quite frankly just too danged hot. July and August temperatures make dining outdoors less appetizing, especially with flies occasionally swarming about the tables. I'm hoping the FA management has budgeted for some dinning room air conditioning. The only place to really cool off is to go back to your room. Even the swimming pools have water too warm to actually cool you off. While there are palapas for shade, the hotel could sure use some umbrellas around the pool lounge chairs. The unrelenting sun is brutal without some shade.

Kids? Outside of letting children make their fun around the pool all day, there is little else for them to do. We noticed a sort of kids' activities center in the lobby, but it mostly remained closed and dark. At around 2:30 every afternoon, a recreation director starts up some games around the main pool, including a horse race game and bingo, but they encourage knocking back shots of tequila -- not exactly what you want your teenagers to be doing on a hot afternoon in Mexico or anywhere else.

Beds. Mexico is blessed in so many ways, but not its beds. One good thing about the hurricane was that it blew in most of the windows, saturating the 4-inch mattresses with sea water so they had to be thrown away. You may be lucky enough to get a room with almost new, American-style box springs mattresses. If so, hang on to that room. You may not be so lucky if you switch. Some people like sleeping on a concrete platform with four inches of foam rubber. I'm not one of them.

Would I go back to the FA? Yes and no. It's probably the best in class down on the southwest end of the island. It's a shorter boat ride to Palancar for divers than any of the resorts near town. If all you are going to do is dive, dive, dive and go home, I'd say yes it's a great deal. But we felt that the food was just too monotonous and there was absolutely nothing to do there at night that didn't involve swilling liquor. We spent enough on taxis that it might have come out the same if we'd have rented a jeep for the week or ten days of our stay.

In the end, I'd say we had a very positive experience overall and it was well-worth the price, even with the boring food fare. If they fix that, and it gets reported here that the food has improved, we'll be back again soon, I'm sure.