We have been to the El Coz three times now and we want be coming back. The food was horrible and uneventful. My biggest problem was with the management staff in the hotel. We had family members who bought a bottle of wine in the town and wanted to drink on their balcony. They took the bottle downstairs to the bar to have them open it. The bartender told our family members that they had to talk to the restaurant manager. He told them he would have to charge them 10 dollars to open the bottle. The hotel has one restaurant on site and have very specific rules for you to eat at the restaurant. It was virtually empty everynight (I believe they do this on purpose to push people to the nasty buffett) The beds were hard and uncomfortable. After three times, we will not return to the EL Coz. Stay away and maybe lack of business will bring some quality back to the hotel. I blame most of our frustration on the restaurant manager (Employee's were making fun of him behind his back) Beware of this hotel!!!

We stayed three nights beginning the 14th and left on the 17th. I had actually done research through expedia, mlt vacations, and funjet. I found the best price through funjet (atusa.com) and then called my travel agent to see if she could beat the price. She was able to match it but got a better accomodating flight schedule for us. So it worked out nicely. The hotel was highly recommended by close friends who visit yearly and are avid divers. This was our third trip to Cozumel. However, the first two were via cruise ship so we were interested in getting to know the island a bit better.

Upon our arrival we were greated promptly by the bellhops. These guys go above and beyond. They are amazing. I didn't have to touch my luggage, they pulled it to the side, stored it for us, and delivered it to our rooms. There were four in our party and two bellhops jumped on our luggage for us. I tipped each of them three bucks. The rest of the week, they remembered me and were friendly and always jumped at the chance to get a cab for us.

Our first experience with the front desk staff could have been a lot worse. The reservations were lost but, Martha at the front desk kept saying, "I don't have reservations but, no worry". We were given our fruit punch drinks and they were great. Martha got our wristbands and told us "No worry, go eat lunch." I wasn't worried, I knew it would be taken care of. So we went to each lunch at the buffett and then came back. We filled out some paperwork, checked in, got our keys and headed up to our room. Bellhops in tow with our luggage. Yes, they waited a good thirty minutes for us to get our room and then took our luggage up. We were in two rooms on the fourth floor of the old tower. 401 & 409. Upon entering our room, I figured there had to have been a mistake somewhere. We were booked for an oceanview room with king sized beds. We walked into a 700sqft room with a couch, tv, coffee table and king sized bed. The room was enormous! More room than what is actually reasonable. It took the sting off of having the tense moment at the desk during check in. Martha took care of us. She's such a sweetheart.

The food was above average. We ate the buffet for each meal except dinner one evening downtown at Palmera's. The breakfast was great each morning. Lunch was pretty good, and dinner as well. The buffet changed a few things through our visit but, was mostly the same "type" of food. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and nacho fixings were always available by the south pool. We kept a fluid schedule so we didn't tie ourselves down to reservations in the main dinning hall. Besides, the buffet was good enough that we didn't care that we didn't get to eat at the main.

I read several reviews about the beds being hard. They are. We had an egg crate on ours and it was still hard as a rock. I personally was so tired/tipsy by the end of the night that I still slept like a baby.

I had read some complaints about the drinks being weak. I ordered a margarita on the rocks at lunch upon arrival and the bartender filled a glass with ice, tequila, tripple sec, and had enough room for a little more than a splash of lime juice. I knew that if I drank like this the whole week I was going to be worthless. So, I switched to beer for the week. They serve dos xx on tap and that made me happy.

We booked our excursions through lomas travel at the hotel. Juan was great. He did more for us than just book excursions. He spent extra time with us answering questions and even helped us with the front desk during check out. Juan Kuk is his name. Go see him to book your excursions. He's very very helpful and not there just to sell you something. He's a good guy. We did the royal swim with the dolphins at Chakuunaab. Highly recommended. I'm no small man by any stretch and was glad to see the dolphins actually get me out of the water during the "foot push". We also did the helmet dive at Jeannie's next to the Barracuda hotel. Those guys were excellent as well. Great dive. We were the last group of the day (3pm) so it was just the four of us and they really took thier time with us. I'm not sure how long we were down but, it was a long time.

I ordered room service one morning while the rest of our group went on the canopy tour at Sky High. They loved the tour and I loved breakfast despite it was twenty minutes late. It was still hot and good and the waiter was vary appologetic for his tardiness. I tipped him a few bucks and I got more thank you's and sorry's.

I learned a few things on this trip that I actually was prepared for and was glad that I did. I've learned that the opinion of Americans in general is very low in countries like Mexico and Jamaica. Calling anyone "sir, ma'am, senior, or seniorita" goes a long way in earning respect. You get a better price when shopping the smaller stores when you are courteous. Also, take lots of one dollar bills with you. Tip your bellhops, waiters, bartenders, housekeepers, and cab drivers. You get better service across the board. A few dollars certainly can make your trip much much better. Also, you will find that you take at least two showers a day. It is hard on your skin. Take lots of lotion to rehydrate. (this was a recommendation from my wife that she wanted me to throw in). I also learned that if you attempt to speak the language or use as much of it as you know, they are much more receptive. I took the approach that I expect them to speak my language when they are in my country, I should be respectful and make an attempt at theirs when in their country. It makes them laugh and they help you along when you try to communicate. Again, it makes the mood better for everyone.

Go shopping when the cruise ships leave. The prices magically come down at the "mom & pop" stores and haggling prices is much more well received. I bought a pair of silver earrings for my mother with (fake) tanzinite. I liked them and new my mother would like them so I don't care that they are fake tanzinite. The store owner started at $90. By the time it was all said and done, I had the earrings for $35.

For the ladies wanting to get their hair braided: go downtown. There is a street on the north side of Palmera's that runs east and west. Go down the street just a 1/2 block. On the southside of the street is a lady who has a stand on the side of the street. She does an amazing job braiding hair. She's fast, has a great price, and sings the whole time she does hair and has a smile on her face. My girls have their har braded each time we go to Mexico. This, by far, was the best job they had had done on their hair.

Back in Oct 2005, my My boyfriend and I stayed at El Cozumeleno Resort. We had a great time, they treated us like royalty, it was like staying a 5 star hotel. It was our first time visiting the Island and we was very impressed by the hospitality. The hotel staff was wonderful, "Ana" in the front desk was very helpful. I became ill during our stay and the front desk staff called for a taxi driver they were familiar with. The driver me to the doctor, sat with me, then drove around to different pharmaciesuntil he found the medications I needed, he then took me back to the hotel and delivered me to the staff. The staff followed up with me to make sure I was feeling better. The food was excellent, the beach was so pretty. I we would go snorkle on the beach and feed fish. In this section (next to the sea wall) the water was crystal clear and you could see everything. We had the cleanest, prettiest beach in the area. We went scuba diving twice and our first dive guide "Pablo" was awesome. He really looked after us. Down town was very nice, no one hounded tourists or harrassed anyone to buy stuff. There was plenty of police presence and everyone was friendly. We really didn't have a need to eat outside of the hotel (since it was all inclusive), but we gave it a try. Downtown restaurants were all right in quality and for a regular mexican dinner it was about $35.00 for the two of us, but the hotel food was better. The bars were WAY over priced though. I am definately returning. I was very pleased with the trip and highly recommend this resort. I hope nothing has changed since.

Wow! What can I say that others have not? We stayed at the El Coz July 5-July 12 and had the most amazing time. The food at the buffet restaurant wasn't that bad as people might have suggested in previous reviews. There was definately always something great to eat. Breakfast was probally the best meal of the day. Always a wide range of drinks, fantastic omelets and various other great eats. The service either in the snack bar,buffet,by the pool or on the beach was awesome. There was always someone to pick up the trash or empty cups or to offer to get you anything. There is a waitress Noemi (big smile) who was always around to chat with you or to get you whatever you needed. In the buffet a waiter Alejandro who was superb as well. We never ate at the restaurant where reservations where needed. Why should we have? The service and food at the buffet were just fine. The room was awesome. Don't believe your travel agent when they tell you the El Coz doesn't have roll away beds, they do. We got 2 of them. The housekeeping service was great. Always new towels, mopped floor etc. The entertainment on sight was fantastic as well. Kenia who is part of the entertainment staff really goes out of her way to make sure that all the kids feel special and have a great time. She also runs the aerobic classes as well. It seems she is there 24-7 to take care of all the entertainment needs. As for water sports, Ocean Adventures and Scuba Du know how to take care of your needs with style. If you scuba, they will take you to all the awsome reefs around the island. There staff is 100% professional and are great people to deal with. From all the divemasters,boat help,Shannon from Studio Nox that not only is great to talk to while hanging on the boat but also does a fantastic job taking photos of the diver while under water. The $75 fee that you are charged for a cd of your pictures is definately worth it. The general manager of Scuba Du, Antonio worked with me every step of the way. He answered all of our questions with alot of patience and professionalism. He was awsome.
2 years ago we stayed across the water at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya, look it up, compare the costs of the El Coz to that. Also last year we stayed at a dump in Curacao, Breezes that is a total waste of time and money, a truely horrible resort from A to Z. The El Coz ran circles around them in all aspects. It amazes me how proud and hardworking the Mexican people on the Yucatan are.
They are truely a pleasure to work with. Other than the resort, we spent about 6 hours out and about. Punta Sur, Coconuts and driving around the Island. It's all good, food,drink,scenery and all the rest. If you have any questions, feel free to email me brookeschriedel@sbcglobal.net And no, I was not paid to write this review...