Ok, here is the thing, for the last 2 month’s I read the review’s on the El Coz, I will be honest with you I paid a lot of attention to the negative ones so I went to El Coz not expecting much. We were there July 14th through July 17th, and I can honestly say, I can’t wait to go back. This place is AWESOME!!!!! It’s a beautiful resort, the people that work there are nice, and believe it or not the food is pretty good. My wife and daughter kept telling me how nice this place was. The food taste good we tried it all, we ate hamburgers and hot dogs by the pool, we ate at the nice restaurant one night, we had the Mexican buffet on Wednesday and Caribbean buffet on Friday night. Plus we had afternoon buffet everyday, and had room service twice. All the food was very good; believe me I know about food, I have a belly to prove it. Next the drinks, for the most part the drinks were not water down, I downed many, many drinks and I believe only 3 of them were water down. They were very tasty, and of course you can always ask for more alcohol. The resort is very clean, you always see people cleaning the place even the beach. The rooms are very nice. The only thing that I did not like was that the elevator will close on you even if you are still trying to get in. Other than that I can’t wait to go back to El Coz.

Just returned from 8 days here and these negative reviews are too funny. This resort, as is true for any Mexican resort, can be a ball if you treat the people with respect and TIP THEM. Bring 50 dollar bills and use them all week and you will be treated like a king or queen. I sat near the bar and counted tip activity one afternoon. The bartender poured 132 drinks before he got a 1 dollar tip. Would you be in a "customer service" mood after that? Tip houskeeping and don't be afraid to leave a note requesting extra towels, bottles of water, TP etc... for $3 a day they will impress you. Oh, and when you check in, tip the bellman. Oh, and when you go to the front desk - tip the person that checks you in.
It's clear where the impression of the "American tourist" comes from. I was embarassed for these folks.

Other tips:

1. Pool is cold? Don't fly to Mexico to go in a pool. There are plenty right in your neighborhood or possibly your own back yard. Your in the Mexican Riviera. Try going into the ocean where it's nice and warm.
2. Food is bad? Don't go to ANY all-inclusive if you want fine cuisine.
3. Staff is rude? Not if you tip. Tip tip tip (It's not that expensive and the R.O.I. is amazing)
4. No concerns about safety? Your in Mexico!! My 12 year old daughter split her face open in the Jacuzzi and the front desk gave me 2 band-aids and a roll of tape. Mexico doesn't do safe. Don't go there to be safe. Go to Orlando.
5. People steal the blue pool towels? Yes they do so don't use them. Use the bath towels from your room and since your tipping housekeeping they'll give you as many as you want-every day.
6. Too many kids? Absolutely. If you dislike kids go elsewhere. Personally I think having kids around is a blast.
7. Service is slow? Yep. Relax. Look at the ocean and enjoy being on vacation while you wait, stirring the ice in your frosty drink. Life is good.
8. Beds are too hard? The beds are very hard. Go diving/hiking/snorkeling/swimming/sailing and dancing. Then have several cocktails. By the time you hit the hay it'll feel like a featherbed. If that doesn't work the local Pharmacia can assist you.
9. Do not get a room on the 1st floor near the elevators? Absolutely true. Drunk Americans are really, really loud at 2:00AM
10. Drinks are watered down? Since you'll be tipping the bartenders, they'll make ANYTHING you want exactly how you want it.
11. Beach is rocky? Don't go to an island if a few rocks in the surf zone bother you - seriously.

This place is a blast if you make it happen. BTW, the PADI staff here is exceptional - go diving and some runny eggs won't seem as big of an issue......

The rooms were great in the newer section of the hotel with an awesome view from the balcony. most of the staff was good except for the bartenders who tended to be surly. The food was horrible. The hot food was cold and the cold food was hot. Same thing day after day. Several in my party, including myself got sick. There did not seem to be any sanitation procedures. The front desk said that the food was for the "tourist" palate. Yuk! The food in the reservations only restaurant was superb so this explanation doesn't fly. This was a Funjet all inclusive deal. I complained to Funjet that they should do a quality control check on these hotels. I do not want to go on another Funjet all inclusive vacation if I cannot be sure that the food will be edible. Look, I am not some ugly American making a baseless complaint about the food. It was honestly, truly, unrefutably horrible. It made an otherwise great hotel into one that I would not want to visit again!

We got back to the States the day before yesterday, and, after reading the negative reviews about El Coz, we wondered if we stayed at the same hotel. The room was excellent, with a great view, big bed, clean floors and bathrooms, and satellite TV. The service was good (maybe because we didn't act like ugly Americans and say "Bone-us Dee-as" to the staff). Actually, we saw an American get really bent out of shape because he couldn't get three drinks at a time. Nasty. The only people we met we didn't like were the visitors; the waiters, bartenders and other staff seemed to genuinely like us, and we only tipped on the first day. The restaurant at night (the one you make reservations at) only let us down once, and we ate there 6 out of 7 nights. Lunch was the same each day (grilled subs and pasta, burgers and fries), but I like burgers and fries, so no complaints there.

MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR BRAND NAME DRINKS. I payed dearly for drinking the well liquor the first night.
MAKE SURE YOU BRING AND USE PESOS. The official exchange rate is 11.50 to 1 but everyone on the island gives 10 pesos to the dollar. Save 10% and bring pesos.
MAKE SURE YOU BRING YOUR OWN SNORKEL GEAR. The free snorkel gear is only for use in one hour increments, which is great for snorkeling near the hotel but bad if you want to tour the island and snorkel someplace other than the hotel.
MAKE SURE YOU RENT YOUR OWN CAR. This saves a ton of money on cab fare and tours. A tour of the island for two people, booked through the hotel or a cab: $50 for a couple. Renting a car and going on your own: $40 for a couple (book from Aguilar on the main drag). Having a car for the rest of the day after the tour: priceless.
MAKE SURE YOU PUT UP YOUR STUFF. Don't leave expensive jewlery or money in plain sight, folks! This is common sense stuff.
MAKE SURE YOU BRING YOUR OWN BEACH TOWEL. Don't pay $50 for losing the hotel's.
MAKE SURE YOU DON"T EAT THE LETTUCE. Americans love salad. I like lettuce on my burgers. However, we suspect that the lettuce is not rinsed with the purified drinking water, but instead the tap water. The lettuce was the only item we could think of that gave us Montezuma's Revenge.
MAKE SURE TO BE NICE. The staff bent over backwards for us because we didn't act like conquering lords just because we were from the USA. Remember, you are a guest in their country, and anything you say or do reflects on America.