Just got back from another fantastic stay at the El Cozumeleno. We stayed from May 23-26. This was our 2nd time and the 3rd for our other couple that was with us.
First off, if you have to have gourmet 5star food then it might not be for you. If you like buffett style average to good food for a great price, then this place is it. Plenty of choices and if you are a little picky, you can always have nachos or they will cook you a hamburger. Breakfast is awesome. Made to order omlets and the great waffles. The drinks are what you make of it. If you need an extra shot in yours, just ask and throw a dollar tip every now and then to help the bartender. The wait staff was constantly coming by the pool or even on the beach while we were laying out and refilling our drinks. Out of 30-40 waitstaff, I can only remember 2 of them that were a little rude. Cant ask for more than that. The pool area and the pool was kept spotless. Great snorkling right off the beach and the equip. is free. The rooms were large,spotless and the A/C was ice cold. Always had hot water. We stayed in the new tower on the 5th floor. The only downside I found was the nitelife. The karaoke bar was it and it was a little lame. If you want nitetime entertainment, you will go to town. Other than that, you cant beat it for the price.

We are a senior aged couple who just returmed from an incredibly memorable vacation at the El Cozumeleno. Having stayed at a number of all inclusive resorts both in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, this was our favorite experience, and we cannot wait to return. Despite some shortcomings this was a fantastic vacation for the money spent.
Most outstanding features were the beautifully appointed rooms, the consistently outstanding service and friendliness of the staff, and the beach setting. We tend to agree with many who have commented on the food. Breakfasts and lunches in the Cocal Restaurant are good, especially when lunch is ordered from the menu. The dinner buffet was not quite as appealling, but we ate 4 out of 7 nights in the La Veranda, which was wonderful. Be sure to make a reservation early on the days you wish to dine in the restaurant to get first choice of seating times.
Snorkeling just off the beach and near the pier was amazing; toss in bread which the restaurant provides generously and you will be surrounded by throngs of fish. If you are not a snorkeler, you can toss bread from the pier and still see a large variety of fish who will swim near the surface.
Entertainment was provided with theme nights three times during the week; movie nights were appealing for kids, nightly entertainment was somewhat deficient, unless you enjoyed the karaoke from 10-2.
We enjoyed a drink in the comfortable lobby while people watching before retiring early after a long day in the surf and sun. Walking the beach toward the north is quite enjoyable, as there are no crowds of people.
The guests at this resort were largely young people, many groups of young women, young couples, and families. Everyone appeared to have a good time, but there was a welcome absence of "spring break" misbehavior and rowdiness.
There are a number of excursions you can book in the hotel lobby; since we were there for total rest and relaxation and had visited Cozumel before, we only opted for one day trip. I strongly recommend renting a car to drive around the island. The views are spectacular on the east side, and a visit to the unique Coconuts bar/restaurant is great fun.

Recently on april 26th-may3rd my wife and I spent a week at the El Coz. Had a really nice time there as this place is a little smaller than most all-inclusive resorts we usually stay at. It was really laid back and relaxing! There are 2 pools, 1 being a bigger pool with a swimup bar and a little more activity going on around it. The other was a quiet pool in the older part of resort. We spent most of our time there because for about 3 days we almost had it to ourselves and we could float on our blowup rings that we brought with us and nobody would bother you. And you could read with just a quiet music in the backround. A pool bar was right there also and someone(Ricardo) would always come around to fill our beer mugs up!
Check in was simple and easy. About a week before we left home I E-mailed and asked for an ocean view room in the new section and that is what we had.
The rooms were nice and modern! Beds were very comfortable!We stayed in the south tower which is the newer part on the 7th floor with a great view of the ocean and the big pool out of balcony. No refridgerator, but there was always a couple bottles water in the room. If you prefer an ocean view, these rooms would be hard to beat for that!
Being a small resort, they only had 2 restaurants. The buffet and the ala cart. Never did eat at the ala cart since you had to make reservations early in the morning and never seemed to make it up in time to make them. The buffet was not great food but good and could always find something good to eat! The worst part about the food was it was too hot! They needed to cool the water down that the food pans sat in. Sometimes it would be a little burnt or a little soggy from the heat. Not a major problem though.
During the week they had 3 dinner theme shows which were pretty good! On mon. it was international night which was set up outside by the quiet pool. On wed. it was Mexican night at the big pool, and on fri it was caribbean night out on the beach. Food was really good at these buffets. The only thing I thought on Mexican night there would be more Mexican food.
The beach was nice, but never spent much time there since we like the pools better.
We went into town 2 times. Cab fare is $5 one way. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and a local place called Poncho's Backyard, both very good food. Shopped a little bit, but like any other resort town alot of the same stuff and didn't really buy anything worth while. There was always 1-3 cruise ships in town every day and then would leave late afternoon as we could watch them leave from our room or pools.
After shows or anytime at night we spent alot of time at the lobby bar and did hit the disco a couple of times after lobby closed at midnight. The waitress (Abigail) kept our glasses full of beer and would have another ready before we were done with the last one. We met a couple from Rockford,Ill and Alberta, Canada and partied with them alot and had a fun time, sometimes too much fun as the mornings were a little shaky!
As always a couple of tips for a great all-inclusive vacation.
1-Bring your own plastic beer mugs as the cups they have there are a little small.
2- Bring plenty of sunscreen as the sun is very intense!
3-Bring a hat!
4-Bring about $100 of one dollar bills for tips!
Overall this was a real nice resort. It was only 10 mins. from airport and about the same to downtown. Airport was small and easy to get through. That was really nice compared to Riveria Maya which is about an hour trip from airport. If you like the ocean view room and not all the hassle of the bigger resorts this might be a place you. It sure was for us!

There were four of us that stayed at the El Cozumeleno from May 10th - May 18th. This is the second time my wife and I have stayed at an all inclusive. The first experience was Dreams Resort in Puerto Vallarta.
Hotel - Check in was a breeze. My wife had called ahead and requested rooms in the South Tower. This is the newer tower and definately is better. The room was very nice. The only down side was unlike Dreams which had a fridge in every room, there was no fridge. You can pay extra for one though.
Beach - Simply amazing. We had read the reviews on this website before and took our own beach chairs to be safe. We never had to take them out of our luggage. My wife and I were up every morning around 8 a.m. and easily found four chairs with a palapas on the beach. If you are a morning person then you should not have a problem. The entry into the water was not as rocky as I expected. My wife and mother in law both brought rafts and drifted out on the ocean with ease. The snorkeling is amazing and I saw hundreds of fish, a couple of eels, a stingray, a tiny jelly fish, and other sea creatures. There is also a statue that is down at the bottom which makes for a good photo op. The tide pools are neat to look at if you take a walk down the beach in the morning as well.
Swimming Pools - The pools were nice and warm. The smaller pool needed more attention as it was usually dirty in the afternoon. The jacuzzi's were not warm and were basically the same temperature as the pool water.
Scuba - My brother in law and I both did the intro scuba dive course in the hotel pool. We then paid the $65 for an intro shore dive at paradise beach with the instructor. Definatly worth every penny. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Food- The food is the only area that was lacking but we knew this from previous reviews. Dreams had five restaurants to chose from and the limited menu at El Cozumeleno got old. After day five we all were rather bored with the menu. My brother in law and I both got sick and narrowed the likely culpret down to the milk. But its vacation, so I made the best of it. The reservations restaurant is nicer and the menu changes every two days. Fernando is an excellent waiter and worked hard. We woke at 8 a.m. and never had a problem getting a reservation.
Downtown - I liked downtown Cozumel better than Puerto Vallarta. Stay on the side streets as much as possible. The prices are better. At least two cruise ships were in port every day but it was suprising not that crowded. If you have never bartered with prices here are some tips. One shop was trying to sell my brother in law a bag for $45. I laughed and said $10. Needless to say we got the bag for $10. They will always say a high price so think of it as a used car dealership and have some fun with it. My wife also got a bracelet originally quoted as $70 for $30. Its fun if you arent afraid to walk away. Alot of the shops have the same items so if you cant get it for the price you want walk down the street and try another shop. The locals are all rather friendly.
Food Downtown - We ate at Pizza hut (to get a break from the hotel food) and enjoyed it. We also went out to dinner at Carlos and Charlies, unless you have money to throw around stay clear. A "yard" drink which is basically a skinny plastic bottle filled with soda was $5. (NO free refill) A margarita costs $15 in the same skinny bottle. For four of us the total bill was $131. And the food wasn't anything special.

Overall El Cozumeleno was well worth the money .The staff was very friendly and tried there best. The staff is always trying to maintain the hotel and it shows. We had a wonderful time and would recommend going. The only con is the food which gets old after a few days.