I'm currently researching vacation options for next year. It's bringing back memories of our 9 day stay at the El Cozumeleno. We are a family of 7: mom, dad, son 11, daughter 5, son 2, niece and nanny.

ROOMS: We occupied two standard size rooms. Initially, we had difficulty with the adjoining door, but the maid unlocked it and it made for a nice "suite". We stayed on the far end of the hotel on the 3rd floor. Our view of the ocean was obstructed by the dome covering the indoor pool. Initially, this was an issue for us, but after we settled in, we gave up the quest for two adjoining rooms with a better view. The other parts to our vacation more than compensated for the lack of oceanview. This property is immaculately clean. The rooms are open and airy, very nice! Plenty of room for lots of dive equipment.

STAFF: The staff is helpful & friendly. Most everyone speaks english very well. There are plenty of tour operators in the large front lobby; some are timeshare representatives. I actually ended up doing one of them: took my 5 year old with me and we had a great time with the guy. Didn't buy a timeshsare but I did get to view the Reef Club and it made me glad to be at our property. Theirs was nice, but ours was fabulous. The thrice-a-week theme parties were so much fun. All three of the kids enjoyed them, even the little ones. The costumes were beautiful. Rule of thumb here (or anywhere else) treat someone the way you want to be treated and you'll have a pleasant time.

POOLS: The pools were beyond words. My husband and I were in Cozumel to dive; the rest of our family was there to relax and swim. This is the PERFECT vacation spot for our needs. We got to spend some days (and nights) diving while everyone back "home" was taken care of. The depth of one of the pools is knee-high....absolutely perfect for little ones learning to swim. This pool cascades into two deeper pools on either side. The mushroom umbrella at the side of this pool was very fun, too. I recommend getting up early to get your loungechair if you're there during busy season. Getting a seat on the little "island" with ten loungers that you can see from the balcony view on your websites. I'm an early riser: I was up by 6:00 each morning. I'd put out our belongings and we practically had the island to ourselves. There was no worry of anyone taking our things and the foot traffic was non-existent. Even on the days when we awoke late, there were plenty of chairs (granted, we were there at the end of the schoolyear (May 25-June 3) and this was not yet high-season). The pools were clean and warm. We never swam in the pool over at the original part of the property where the 18 hold miniature golf course was. It was a "traditional" style pool....very deep and not much character. I certainly liked the newer style mexican pools that had multilevels and free form styles. I believe more adults hung out over there and it was a much quieter place. It rained one day and we took advantage of the covered pool: nice option for those who may visit during the stormy season. Bring flip flops. Always wear your footwear while walking around the pools unless you have highly calloused feet. The terra cotta gets very, very hot. I burned the bottoms of my feet and that made for a miserable walk in the airport on the way home. Definitely bring shoes for the little ones; they won't realize their feet are getting burned and you'll have a rough time making them feel better.

SUNSCREEN: Bring more than you think you'll need. It's expensive here!

BEACH: The beach was clean. There were two guys with wheelbarrows moving the sand each and every day to the long pier; I guess the sand washes away there each night. What a chore! We took a long stroll down the beach one evening and it was fun to see the other places. Made us appreciate ours all the more. The public beaches cost money. Stay at the El Coz to go on the beach. It's less rocky and it's clean and it's empty.

BUGS: If you're going to venture out at night make sure to have BUG SPRAY. Eeghads, those mosquitos are happy to see humans! I had over 50 bites from our two hour walk.

DIVING: The diving is incredible; nothing needs to be said there. If you've been to Cozumel to dive, you know what it's like. If you haven't been, then go! Use the tour operator that leaves right from your own pier. If you can, ask for your dive master to be ABRAHAM. He was beyond compare. Has lived there his entire life, knows the underwater topography inside and out. If he's able, he'll spot a splendid toadfish for you! His pre-dive service is incredible, too. He's right there with weights for your belt, helping you put on your gear and take it off at the end. Your tanks are changed and ready for the next dive by the time you get to the seats on the boat! Don't forget to tip these guys; they're very helpful. Definitely do a night dive. It's extremely peaceful. And different diving than day dives; you look at different things.

FOOD: The food was typical buffet style food. I've read reviews knocking the food choice, the food taste, etc. I've been in the restaurant industry for years and I realize there is only so much that can be done with buffet-style food. So for those who criticize it, perhaps you should stay at a property with sit-down restaurants and order off a menu. You'll have to pay more, and you'll have to wait for your meal to be delivered, but perhaps you'll be happier in the long run. For me, the convenience of eating whenever we wanted far outweighed any shortcomings of the food. The cooks and chefs and waiters were extremely friendly! We ate at the sit-down restaurant three nights and it was exquisite. Our 12 year old actually tried adult food like escargot, calamari and grouper, it was presented so well.

WATER: They have plenty of bottled water on the premises, despite having potable water. We had ice in our drinks and used the tap water to brush our teeth, none of us got sick.

ANTIBIOTICS: Let your doctor know you're going to Mexico and ask him/her to send you with some antibiotics. Fill the prescription in the states. At the first sign of upset tummy or diarrhea, start taking them. Make sure the kids have theirs, too. There's nothing like being on vacation with sick little ones.

TIPPING: We brought Sacagawea Dollar Coins (MUCH easier than carrying around dollar bills that get wet) and we were sought after, by the end of our vacation. Once the staff realized these were indeed dollar bills we were using for tips, they remembered us and actually sought us out when we went to sit for breakfast or lunch or dinner.

HIGH-SEASON: During the last weekend of our stay, the property was crowded with sunworshippers and drinkers. That was fine; it was a nice change.

KIDS' CLUB: Claudia at the Kids' Club is fantastic with the children. We didn't take advantage of it because our three were the only ones there for the first 6 days. If you do wish to have your kids stay there, the activities are varied and entertaining. The kids come back to you for lunch, but are with the professionally staffed club the remainder of the time. You can lounge at the pool yet keep an eye on them; the Kids' Club is in the building off to the side next to the *small* gym and dive shop. The upstairs of the building housing these things has things to keep the older kids busy at night: a foosball table, ping pong and a couple of other things. We didn't take advantage of these, though. By 9:00 we were all pretty tired from our days of diving or swimming.

TRANSPORTATION: We rented a scooter for nearly our entire trip. It was the perfect vehicle. The traffic is congested downtown. The parking is terrible! But with a scooter, two people can share a day together, zipping in and out of places. We were able to go to the ruins and also go to the southernmost part of the island, just to say we did. The scooters ran around $34 per day, but we negotiated the entire week for $25 per day. Wear your helmets! Driving a car is nice, but then everyone has to agree on the place to go to shop or eat and that's difficult. This way, there were two people on the scooter, to do as they wished and they didn't have to take a long, drawn-out vote to decide where to go. We simply alternated turns at the scooter and had a great time. As far as transportation to and from the airport....you'll probably be given the option of purchasing round trip transfers. Don't do it. It costs $6 per person to get you to the El Coz. You're faced with no options there. But getting back to the airport? We were able to negotiate a rate with a mini-van taxi driver that was outside the hotel. I think we paid thirty bucks for the seven of us to get back to the airport. Do the math: $42 to the hotel and $30 back to the airport. The tour operators charge you $60 RT per person? Wow. They're making some money! Definitely go into town for shopping. Go off the beaten path by a street or two. You'll get better deals. As I'm sure you're aware, nearly every price is up for negotiation in Mexico. If you've never cruised before, stopping to look at these behemoths is worthwhile, they're floating cities!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. This was Heaven on earth for us. Even considering the view, this was 100% perfect from start to finish. It's going to be difficult to top. If you go to the El Coz, you won't forget it.