Arrived Aug. 2-6
Clean resort except for flies swarming buffet and lots of mosquitos. After about 10:00PM, nothing to do except sit in smoke filled karaoke bar unless you leave the resort. Had four children with us and total of four adults, kids hungry at night and nothing to eat at the resort after dinner. Have stayed at many other resorts throughout caribbean and this was a disappointment. AC not working in one room.... Staff not very friendly in general and did nothing quickly...Scuba class was great and a great dive for family, Chaakanab Park well worth the visit (go on your own by taxi).

My wife and I stayed at the El Cozumeleno for our honeymoon July 12 through July 16. Before booking our trip and up until the day before our wedding we did our research and read as many reviews as we could find. We paid close attention to the bad ones and left Texas not expecting the best. I must say that the bad reviews that we read were misleading and when you are at the resort and observe the way some Americans treat the staff you realize exactly the type of people who wrote them. This hotel is beautiful. The beach is supreme to any we saw at any other resort on the island. The food was more than we expected, not the worst I have eaten but not the best either, but to be fair I don't figure we paid an outstanding amount for it. The staff is wonderful. If you tip, which should be common courtesy knowing what the staff is making per day, they will treat you like kings. We never waited more than 30 minutes for room service and ordered it 6 times. The drinks are great if you tip and get to know the bar staff. I am not saying you should drop hundreds tipping but we went through about $50 in ones and they were the nicest people ever, especially considering the long hours they work. Overall we had the time of our lives and are planning to go back very soon.

We just recently went to Cancun and Cozumel for our honeymoon for two weeks - 1 week in Cancun and then 1 week in Cozumel. We stayed at the El Coz and were so disgusted we almost changed hotels.

They were completely overbooked and put us up in a private room about 1/4 mile down the beach from the hotel. (The only decent part of the trip).

After numerous tears I decided to buck up and check out the rest of the hotel....to my horror it only got worse. The buffet was set up with flies completely covering the food - it was so disgusting we decided to go downtown and eat...we ended up doing this all week and wasted money what we had hoped would be a decent all-inclusive resort.

The staff - completely disrespectful and rude....they acted as if they were completely put off by doing their job...it was very frustrating.

The pool - nothing like it looks online....so incredibly deceiving we had to laugh!!!

The only decent thing was Antonio the guy in the dive shop...he made coming over to the resort worthwhile!!

We are planning to go back to Cozumel next year, but there is not freaking way we are going to come close to the El Cozumelano!!!

We stayed at El Coz 4 nights from July 25 through the 28th. There were 6 of us in total (3 couples, all in our early 40's). I read many reviews before getting there and most were great so we had pretty good expectations. We had reserved 3 rooms and requested adjoining ones. When the lady at the front desk said that was unavailable, we were approached by Cesar, the front office manager, who said "have i got a deal for you!" I was quite skeptical at first, but he reassured me and us that this was our lucky day. Wow, was he right. We were given the Presidential Suite for all of us to stay in together. This suite was in a word, "AWESOME". Basically, we had the entire top of the hotel (new section). It was unbelievable that they gave this to us for no extra charge; we heard what this suite goes for, and it's no wonder only celebrities stay there! I know that we hit the lottery this trip with our accomodations and that won't happen every time, but, I know we'd have been happy in the ocean view rooms too, although we really enjoyed having: our own private staircase, 7 private balconies, 3 beds and 2 pullouts, 3 baths, plus a sunken jacuzzi tub, a full kitchen, 4 tv's including a stereo entertainment center, our own full kitchen and laundry, countless sofas and living areas, and the veranda deck/terrace with it's own hot tub jacuzzi - (the views from there were breathtaking!), and......maybe i better stop there. Thanks again Cesar!!!
Some notes about the place:
The resort is very clean, and the staff is very professional and helpful. Yes, we tipped quite often, and I know this is reflectful on the service you may expect, so what. (also, when we mentioned our room number - many of the staff stood at attention and began to mutter "el presidente", maybe they thought we were celebrities?)
The beach out front is beautiful, and it is amazing how the water is green on the other side, but crystal clear on el coz's side. Definitely make reservations (early - about 7:00 a.m.) for dinner at La Veranda restaurant. Best food at the resort; order Baked Alaska for desert and watch the preparation display; you should be impressed. Breakfast at the buffet was very good, lunches were typical lunch buffet food. Hey, you are in Mexico, so don't expect all American foods. Dos Equis (XX) is the only beer at the resort, but is cold and very good. We did not notice any watered down drinks; all were good and so was our service (except maybe for "old gold tooth" at the bar by the buffet - but maybe he was having a bad week).
We rented scooters one day and had a blast. Take the loop around the island and definitely stop at the Coconut Bar for lunch. This place is not a 5star restaurant, but has a 5 star view from atop the coral cliffs, and the food was very good. The beaches on the east side of the island are very private, as you can have one all to yourselves if you want, and won't see anyone in either direction as far as you can see! Definitely plan on doing some snorkeling. You can do this right out front of the resort or go on a snorkeling trip for some additional sites. If you need help, just ask someone.
Yes, there are a lot of people from Texas there, but hey, if I lived in Texas, I'd be going there more often too. We met a lot of nice people there, and congrats to the young couple from Michigan on their honeymoon who shared some champagne with us up in "el presidente" suite.
I would definitely recommend this resort to anyone. There's something to do for all ages, and I think their family type atmosphere keeps it that way.
Great place, we'll be back someday.
"El Presidente", well, i was for awhile anyways...