This was our second stay at the el Cozumeleno resort and we loved it just as much this time as we did last time!

Many people have complaints about the food at the resort, but for an all-inclusive it is exactly what you should expect. The breakfast at the resort is AWESOME and definitely our favorite part about the food at the resort. Get a fresh omelette made!

The bed and shower in the room are also fantastic! We stayed in an ocean view room on the 8th floor of the newer tower this time.

I also recommend taking a cab to La Mission restaurant downtown and ordering the coconut shrimp...they are to die for! The fajitas were great too! You will not be disappointed!

Breakfast at Palmera's restaurant is really good as well.

The El Coz was perfect. We were there from January 15 - 21. We had two 5th floor rooms in the South Tower next door to each other. What views!! Every room is ocean front, but from what I understand, the garden rooms are the first floor rooms, but it is still ocean front. The rooms were spacious enough, but the next time I think we'll try the North Tower, simply because, while we were there, we spent most of our time on the beach at the North Tower because that was where we snorkeled. I also understand that the North Tower rooms were very large, unfortunately I never did get to see them. The snorkeling was pretty good there, but I did need water shoes to go into the water. Too many little rocks for me, but for some people, they didn't seem to mind. The pool water was too cold for me, but I wasn't there for the pool anyway, I was there for the beach, ocean and snorkeling. This is a beautiful hotel and everyone working there was very friendly and helpful.

The food at the hotel was pretty good. Breakfast was great, a lot to choose from and the watermelon juice was delicious. They had a smoothie bar, made to order omelets, waffles, french toast, pancakes and a wide range of fruits to choose from. Excellent! Lunch was OK for a buffet, and they had a lot to choose from. They even have hambergers, hot dogs, pizza, etc. that is available all day long, so there is no need to go hungry. There was always something there that everyone would be interested in. The dinner buffet was pretty good also a large variety to choose from but my favorite was the Veranda Restaurant. Everything we ordered there was delicious. We ate there most nights, but you have to make a reservation for this restaurant. Well worth it. Drinks were also good. They had top shelf liquor, but if you wanted it, you need to ask for it. They would also give you double shots if requested. They made excellent Pina Coladas at the bar at the North Pool and also inside in the lobby.

They kept this hotel very clean. There were always people cleaning. For me, I don't need to look elsewhere for a hotel in Cozumel, because the El Coz is where I will be staying on my next trip and all future trips to Cozumel. I found my home away from home there.

While your in Coz you definitely need to rent a car and see the island. Rent from Isis, only $35 a day with full insurance and drive along the coast. The east side is beautiful.

I fell in love with Cozumel. I knew that I would too. When I got there I felt I knew exactly where every place was. I studied this island so much that I felt that I was there before. Even driving along, I knew what was coming up next. I can't wait till I'm in Coz again!

Just returned from the El Coz on January 27th. The customer reviews are one of the many values of this site, so I have broken the basics into categories from our experiences. Vacations are investments in life experiences, so I am hopeful that this review may help you align your preferences in the right direction and get the best “bang” for your buck.

Food
The main restaurant is called El Cocal. It is an open-air restaurant (meaning that birds fly through) centrally located at the resort along the shoreline. This is where you will eat the majority of your meals.

Breakfast was very good including anything you would want from made-to-order omelets to your favorite style egg. We enjoyed breakfast everyday.

For lunch each day, we typically headed to the same grill that made the omelets for tasty chicken or beef fajitas. The fajitas were excellent. Other options for lunch were different buffet style dishes that were served each day and become “blah” very quickly. The other option is the snack bar that is located by the pool. The snack bar served hamburgers/hotdogs etc. The snack bar was not good and I would not advise anyone to eat there. I tried a snack-bar hamburger that was “interesting” to say the least.

The evening meal each night provided a few options. As with any resort the buffets become very mundane after eating there more than twice. The theme nights are ok, but again more buffet food. If you do choose to stay at the El Coz, do yourself a favor and get yourself down to the lobby every morning at 8:00 sharp to make dinner reservations at the a la carte restaurant. Reservations begin at 5:30 p.m. to 8:30p.m; they only give out a certain number of reservations. You can eat at this place every night and the menu changes so you can try something different each day. The a la carte is by far the best food at the resort. Also, they are serious about the dress code. People attempting to wear nice shorts were turned away, but strangely they do allow jeans as long pants.

Facilities & Grounds
The facilities are decent but not lavish by any means. The north tower is 5 stories and has very large rooms. The south tower is 9 or 10 stories with smaller rooms and better views the higher up the floor. Some of the rooms in the south tower are adjoining which make it noisy because there is only a small door between you and the next room. We had an issue with our room in the north tower with a terrible smell that engulfed our room in the middle of the night causing us to move to a new room. I thought it was sewer gas but the maintenance crew thought it was an air conditioner problem. It was nasty! Air conditioner problems were very common with other guests that I met. Air conditioning is a must if you don’t want a wet floor and the feeling of wet sheets at night. People said that when they turned the AC on, it made the room very cold. The Air Conditioning and Sewer Gas problems definitely need to be addressed. The sewer gas was a major issue for us.

The resort is not a typical beach resort where the beaches are big and you can walk for miles. So if you are planning on frolicking in the water along the beach all day, you’re headed to the wrong place. Cozumel is not like Cancun or Playa del Carmen. The shoreline is rocky and is perfect for people who like to snorkel or dive. The water is beautiful and the fish in front of the El Coz are plentiful. We saw different types of fish everyday. Snorkeling was excellent. You can walk north of the property, but get ready to dodge garbage that has drifted to shore from cruise ships etc. The shorelines are filled with garbage (old flip flops, bottles, glass) outside the resort grounds. Shoreline walks are limited and undesirable.

Location
The El Coz is located approximately 5 miles north of town and is about a 10-minute drive from the airport. The resort is not located in a busy area and is across the street from a beautiful golf course. A taxi ride to the downtown area is $6 to $8, depending on how many people you have. The sunsets are amazing from this place!

Service
Service at the hotel was adequate. The housekeeping was great. They kept the rooms swept and tidy each day. Check in and out at the front desk was swift and easy. The front desk manager was excellent.

Beverages
Beverages play an important part of the all-inclusive experience. We found that the beverages were very good. Top shelf liquor is available upon request. The bar tenders were pretty good, some better than others. They serve dosXX beer in addition to whatever beverage you want.

Overall, the El Coz resort is adequate. My wife and I enjoy the large white sandy beaches where you can play in the water and take long walks. In the future, we’ll stick with our preferences (beaches) and go back the Cancun/Rivera Maya/Playa Del Carmen areas.

Make sure this resort aligns with what you want before you take this vacation. If you are looking to snorkel or dive, this may be your place; but I would advise you to explore other properties before making your final decision. Only choose this place if you get a really good price.

We stayed at El Coz December 26 - 31. We had a few problems checking in - booked an King/pullout, oceanview South tower, were brought to a double in the North tower directly in front of the restaurant with no ocean in site. After words with Guest Services, we got a King on the 4th floor. Also in the North tower, but the room was HUGE, easily twice the size of a standard hotel room. The view was great, and the room clean and comfortable. Seems that they even heard the complaints about hard beds, we ours had a new non-down pillowtop cover. The walls are tissue-paper thin, so we ended up listening to our neighbors' TV, which they left on all night. Not a hotel problem, but be aware of thin walls. Net net, the North side was on a quieter side of the hotel, the south side is above hte pool and outdoor entertainment area, so maybe it evened out.

The complaints about the food are pretty accurate. We ate twice in the Veranda restaurant, which was pretty good. We literally lined up at Guest Services at 7:55 each morning, with dozens of others booking tables for large groups, to make a reservation, but still only got the time we wanted once. We tried two of the outdoor buffet theme nights, mostly for the kids' entertainment. Real mediocre food, but fun for the kids and one could rationalize eating less since we had to put on bathing suits :) Breakfast was probably the most edible. The service was otherwise pretty good. Lots of watersports and activities, a great snorkeling area. We did volleyball, badminton, putt putt, kayaking, table tennis, all of it. We did tip for beverages and some other services, not sure this was noticed, but glad to do it anyway.

We had a car for the whole week, and are glad we got a chance to explore other areas - Punta Sur was so worth every second getting there - the best snorkeling on the island, best beach. Absolutely beautiful. We explored the east side - rough but nice. It's a little bit disturbing to see some of the trash on the beach on the east side beaches. Just not expected. We did a Dolphin excrusion, and were mostly accompanied by cruise people, but our 9-year old thought it was great. The beach and snorkeling there was good also. One of the best lunches and drinks we had was at a little restaurant there.

Compared to other resorts we've stayed at in Aruba, St. John, Cayman, Cancun/Riviera Maya, Puerto Rico, and many more, this was a great value, especially for the week after Christmas. It's shocking that places charge double for that week, it's often hard to justify the expense. This was a good value, with a very comfortable laid back setting, just relaxing.