We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The TripAdvisor website may not display properly.
We support the following browsers: Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox. Mac: Safari.
Free Newsletter

Interested in El Cozumeleno Beach Resort and Cozumel?

We'll send you updates with the latest deals, reviews and articles for El Cozumeleno Beach Resort and Cozumel each week.

  • Save El Cozumeleno Beach Resort
  • E-mail this page
BOOK NOW!

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort: Traveler Reviews


El Cozumeleno Beach Resort
Playa Santa Pilar Km 4.5, Cozumel 77600, Mexico
Check Rates and Availability
mm/dd/yyyy mm/dd/yyyy
Check Rates
Find Cheap Flights to Cozumel

Traveler Reviews

81% Recommend
4.0 of 5 stars 1,028 reviews
Excellent
Very good
Average
Poor
Terrible
By trip type
All (1,028)
[ Date ] [ Rating ]
Best week of my life! (Got engaged on the beach)

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort

Save Review
5 of 5 stars
ltl_leah 3 contributions
Wisconsin
Apr 16, 2008 | Trip type: Couples
4/4 found this review helpful

My boyfriend(now my fiancee) and I stayed at the El Cozumeleno from April 5-12, 2008. Our flight was a bit delayed getting into Cozumel and we arrived at the airport around 5:30pm.

Check in was quick and effortless. They passed out tropical drinks which were great after a day of flying. We had made reservations for a deluxe room because we wanted the mini fridge in our room. That is exactly was we received. Our room was located on the ground floor in the north tower(the older tower) and the furthest from the lobby. When we arrived in our room, we noticed that it was located directly in front of the putt putt course. We groaned because we really wanted our privacy that week. It was a romantic getaway.

After settling in, we went to the front desk to request a room change when they had another deluxe room available. I knew that the resort was booked up at least that evening. The front desk people were always very nice. He said the check back in the morning. We did and they still didn't have one available that day. Check back the next morning. We did again before our deep sea fishing trip and they had one available, but we had to move all of our luggage immediately out of our room in order to get the new room. We obviously did not have the time to get our things packed up again because we had an appointment to be at the fishing charter. After getting back to the resort, by fiancee and I agreed that we would stay in our room for the week because it was very convenient and close to many things. We were very close to the lobby to get to the pool, dining, and beach. Plus, we could just walk out our patio door and the beach and pools were just yards away.

We left our patio door unlocked a lot because we'd go sit on the beach and could come and go as we please. We never had a problem where we thought that someone would come and steal our things out of our room. It was nice in the morning to have the room right on the beach because we tried to reserve a palapa and beach chairs. My biggest complaint was the way that people would hoard the palapas. There were only 2 occasions where we ended up getting a palapa. We noticed that people would wake up at 5:30am or so and put their towels and books on quite a few chairs. By 6:30am, they were all taken. 6:30!!! The 2 times that we were lucky enough to get a spot, we would pretty much sit there all morning and afternoon, with the exception of eating and the occasional swim. We noticed that almost ALL of the people who claim the chairs with towels and clothing do not even sit down in the chairs until 1100 or after noon!! This really isn't a resort problem, just rude and inconsiderate people. There was a time where the chairs next to us sat with magazines and towels on them. They claimed 3 chairs total and 2 people finally came at 1100. They proceeded to pull the chairs out from under the palapa and lay out in the sun!! I like the palapa because it's really the only way to sit on the beach and have some shade. I sunburn easily. I was appalled by these women. The 3rd person in their group never even came and sat their butt in the other reserved chair. I know that the unoccupied chair was their's because they threw all of their books and magazines on the empty chair. That really just made me mad for other people who were always walking by to look for an empty chair.

We thought that the service at the resort was above surperior. Everyone was beyond nice and helpful. We ate at La Veranda 3 times during the week and had great service and food all three times. Our favorite waiter at La Veranda was Ricardo. What a sweetie. We every morning at the buffet and were always pleased with the food and selection. Lunch at the buffet was my least favorite. I didn't care for the selection of food, but I later discovered that they have menus that you can order from on the tables. They had things on there such as Club Sandwiches and Enchiladas. I wished I had ordered from there at least once. We never got around to ordering free room service. We only ate at the buffet for dinner once and we liked it. We ate out for dinner near town 3 times. I think by the end of the week, we were getting tired of the food. I think they need to get a better variey of food. I would strongly recommend Guido's on the main downtown street. It's located near the shops. Great italian food.

We rented a jeep for one day and explored the island. The eastern side is breathtaking. I would strongly recommend it.

I loved how large the rooms were. We had a deluxe room, with mini fridge, 2 sofas, and king size bed. The bathroom was huge with a large shower and a bathtub. Lots of closet space. Housekeeping was excellent. We always had enough purified water.

I could see how some people complain about the pools. I'm sure that the majority of the people who swim in them are kids. I'm fairly certain that the kids don't rinse off their feet after getting off the beach and into the pools. There can be a lot of sand and other floaters in the pools. I didn't find that the pools were too cold either, like others had written. The staff at the resort I feel worked very hard to keep the resort clean. I saw someone cleaning the pool at least 2 times a day. The rest of the resort was well cleaned.

We loved our vacation and would definately go back. I think that we would either stay were again or next door at the Melia. We walked there one day to check it out and ended up getting massages seaside. They have a nice beach too, but I really enjoyed the fish at the El Coz. We had the best snorkeling around. Lots of fish. I would recommend this resort to anyone who is carefree and not incredibly picky. I know it's hard to please everyone, but they pleased us.

  • Liked — Service, cleanliness, size of rooms, snorkeling opportunities
  • Disliked — Hoarding of the palapas, variety of food.
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay April 2008
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since April 16, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Great pool scene, Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Great food / Wine, Shopping
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $294 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Nice resort

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort

Save Review
4 of 5 stars
prusteeby 30 contributions
St.Paul, Minn
Apr 15, 2008
3/3 found this review helpful

We got back on the 5th of April. We had a great time. It is a small quiet resort. Clean and the service was great! The bartenders and servers were very nice! They would even serve you on the beach!
Our room was on the fourth floor in the North tower ( the older building) I asked for the south tower but they said there was no room? Which was surprising because the resort didn't look crowded? But we were so happy with our room- we had the best most beautiful view of the ocean and the room was huge. The bathroom could have used some updating. It was ok, everything worked!
The buffet was a typical all inclusive,ok .The reservation restaurant was great! The piano player was good but he played so fast, sometimes it was hard to pick out the songs that he was playing! He was pretty cute!!! Service was great!
I loved the palapas (sp?) they sure need more of them there isn't alot to go around. And you have to get up around 4:00 am to put a towel on them to mark your territory! ( No kidding) The snorkling was great! We had a great time and we met a very nice couple from our state. I would rate the resort a 3.5 red apples Not 4 gold Like Apple rated it. I would reccomend this resort for people who want a fairly quiet resort and to sit in the sun and relax and enjoy the ocean

  • Date of stay April 2008
  • Member since February 25, 2006
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $294 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Loved the sun vacation

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort

Save Review
5 of 5 stars
New_to_Travel_8 1 contribution
Saline, MI
Apr 15, 2008 | Trip type: Family
4/4 found this review helpful

We very much enjoyed our stay at the Cozumelino.

The sun, blue waters of the area and relaxed ambiance of the hotel were what made it for us. My husband and myself went with our two teenage daughters aged 15 and 17. They had a great time also, and didn't want to come home.

The service was excellent.

We had a "deluxe" ocean view room in the older North Tower. The room was very spacious, view amazing, and outdoor scene quiet at night. We thought the beds were very comfortable. As noted in a previous review, the balconies on this side are open with a couple of hand railings. I am not a terribly safety conscious person, but there is a large enough gap for someone to conceivably slip and fall off the edge. I had noted in the literature on the hotel that children are not allowed in the Deluxe rooms and wondered if it was because of this safety issue with the balconies in this tower. One afternoon it rained and I mentioned to my girls not to walk close to the edge of the balcony because it was slippery when wet and I didn't want them slipping off the edge. (We were on the 5th floor.) I must say that this was not a big issue to us at all. You just had to be careful, and I would not advise small children to be on the balconies. We loved our room in the North Tower. The only thing to note is that the North Tower is older and some areas could use renovation, on the stairs and in the bathrooms in particular, but everything worked well, and we overall loved it.

We loved the open air eating area. The ambiance was so relaxing. We kept mentioning to one another, "Did you know you were going to be enjoying a leisurely meal basically on the beach a few feet from the ocean?" It was incredible. The indoor formal restaurant was nice also, but we enjoyed the ambiance of the outdoor restaurant best. We especially enjoyed the night we were serenaded by a group of musicians right at our table. We didn't mind the birds. You just had to watch your food, and the waiters were very quick to pick up any dishes when guests were finished with them. We thought all the food was delicious, and especially enjoyed the omelettes made to order by the hard working gentleman at the grill every morning. My girls lived for the desserts!

The activities staff were tremendous. They were very hard working and a brought a real joy to the stay. Thanks to Irwin, Mildred, Kania, Geronimo, and the other gentleman who helped with all the shows and activities.

The most helpful person on the main floor was the time share salesperson, which we didn't figure out right away. There were also lots of travel agents ready to set up any trips you wanted to take away from the hotel.

There is a car rental across the street, a little to the south. It's a lot cheaper to reserve it online (Executive rental) and just pick the car up over there.

Our travel agent mistakenly told us to not bring much cash, and to put everything on our credit card. Mistake!! Most businesses we needed to purchase things from took only cash -- American or Mexican, it didn't matter -- but they wanted cash. If they did take a credit card at all, there was a 10% "tax." Luckily, the hotel to the north had an ATM machine, so we were in luck.

The people in Cozumel are very friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed our treks into town, bartering and going to Church. We also enjoyed the beautiful beaches on the other side of the island. We were told to watch for safety flags. Swimming is dangerous on this side in certain conditions. Unfamiliar tourists can run into trouble -- so look for flags before swimming on east side of island.

My girls were conditioning for distance track and went out running every day early in the morning. It worked well for them. As mentioned in other reviews the hotel exercise equipment seriously needs to be replaced, or the hotel needs to tell guests there isn't any. What is there is unusable.

The only major downside was that my husband got sick on the last day. The hotel called a doctor in the middle of the night because we didn't think he was going to be able to fly home the next day. She came to the hotel at 1:00 am, drove him into town to get medicine and went above the call of duty to take care of him. (And of course she took him to the ATM next door to get money, too.) Thank you to Dr. Rodriguez. One of my daughters and I also got sick the day after we got home with the same bug. We are all well now.

Overall, it was a very memorable and enjoyable vacation.

  • Liked — Great location, great service.
  • Disliked — Getting sick.
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay March 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with teenagers
  • Age group 50-64
  • Member since February 14, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Golf
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $294 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Never Again

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort

Save Review
2 of 5 stars
XRAYColorado 1 contribution
Colorado
Apr 14, 2008 | Trip type: Family
0/4 found this review helpful

This was our 2nd and last visit. After our first visit we knew to request specific floors or rooms, in advance. This time we did and still got the shuffle. All the rooms here are not equal. They have 2 wings, one old and the other newer by far. The new wing has better bathrooms and furnishings. The food is cafeteria at best. Without the golf discount, this place is not worth your trouble. It took 2 days of a 5 day stay to get the rooms we paid for, Deluxe ocean view.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay April 2008
  • Visit was for Hobbies / interest / culture
  • Traveled with Family (extended)
  • Age group 50-64
  • Member since April 14, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
  • I recommend this hotel for Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Golf
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $294 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Great Time at The El Coz'

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort

Save Review
5 of 5 stars
HolababyMinnesota 1 contribution
Minnesota
Apr 13, 2008 | Trip type: Family
4/4 found this review helpful

WOW... what a great time we had!! I must mention first and foremost.... the staff was superb!! Hard working and always going out of their way to insure you have a great time. When we 1st arrived we were greeted with a tropical drink and warm friendly greetings. Check in was a breeze. Our adult children arrived a few hours later and were quickly checked in as well. We have stayed at other resorts in the mainland... this by far was the easiest check in we've experienced. Such friendly front desk staff.
There is enough variety at the buffet's that can satisfy most anyone. The breakfast buffet was awesome!
Excellent omellets made to order and fresh papaya, pineapple and melons. Loved the french toast!!
Smoothies made to order are the best. We ordered off the menu for lunch every day. Club sandwiches were our favorites. Theme night buffets were pretty good. I am a picky eater and didn't have any qualms with the food. La Veranda Restaurant was great every night. (( 4 nights )) We enjoyed the fantastic service and the food.
Snorkeling in front of the hotel was impressive. I recommend you book the reef tour.
My kids spent a lot of time in the hot tub each evening and the disco at night. My hubby and I went to the disco one night with them and had a great time. ( we aren't night owls)
We enjoyed the entertainment on theme nights. We love the Mexican Culture and the people! Thats what keeps us coming back.
The Hotel has so many excellent staff members that we can't possibly name them all. They truly added to the enjoyment of our trip. If you have small children, the activity people will take good care of them. This is a great family friendly resort. I would like to bring my grand children on our next family trip.

  • Liked — Very Clean
  • Disliked — Having to go back home
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay April 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family (extended)
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since December 22, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Outdoor / Adventure, Shopping, Golf
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $294 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Travelers Who Viewed This Property Also Viewed
Location: Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula
$252*
Check Rates
Location: Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula
$260*
Check Rates
Location: Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula
$305*
Check Rates
*Average price
Write Your Own Hotel Review
Been to El Cozumeleno Beach Resort? Share your experiences!
Write a Review
Add Photos
Add Videos

Do You Own El Cozumeleno Beach Resort?

TripAdvisor has free and easy resources to help you enhance your listing and promote your property.

  • Start Here - Visit Your Owner's Page
  • Add Photo
  • Add Video

El Cozumeleno Beach Resort Also Known As

Address: Playa Santa Pilar Km 4.5, Cozumel 77600, Mexico