We were originally booked for Melia but sent over to El Coz from lack of occupancy at Melia. I had never stayed at either one so no biggy. I traveled with friends and we were looking for a party! We had a great time but way to many children. The hotel was nice, pool was great, beach was fabulous. Drinks were way watered down (took me about 15 drinks to get a buzzzz) and the bartenders were very unfriendly and ignored us most of the time. (in their defense... I heard this was not the regular staff and lack of occupancy from the swine flu was putting stress on many of the staff) The food in the nice restaurant was AWSOME (except the steak... very tough but gave us a good laugh), the breakfast was spectacular, the lunch fajitas were great but the outdoor snack bar was the worst food I ever ate, sometimes the lunch buffet was pretty bad too. The deserts were ,how do I put it, yuck! But the self serve ice cream made up for that 2 fold. The bad food didn't bother me, we went in town to eat and that was a lot of fun! I had a great time snorkeling right off the shore from the hotel and recovering in the hammocks was heaven. The view was to die for. The nightclub.... would have been a lot more fun if the DJ wasn't such a jerk, but oh well... we didn't let him get us down. To sum it up. If your looking for a good party spot with friends.... go to Playa Del Carmen. If your looking for a good place to bring young kids... go to El Cozumeleno! I'm going back with my kids just 3 months after I returned from there. I don't recommend this place for groups of partiers.

My husband and I stayed at the El Cozumeleno from July 1 - 6, 2009, and we had a delightful time! I contacted Elva Martinez ahead of time to ask that we have a room on one of the upper levels. When we arrived at 10:30 A.M., our room was ready. It was on the 8th floor and had a spectacular view of the beach. (By the way, despite the complaints in earlier reviews, our elevators DID go all the way to the top--no need to climb stairs! I'm not sure where those folks were staying, but they must not have been at the El Coz!) Furthermore, Elva had already made reservations for us to have dinner that evening at the a la carte restaurant, The Veranda. The meal was delicious, and the service was superb! In fact, we booked another reservation there and were not disappointed. The rest of our time we spent on the beach, swimming, snorkeling, and what we wanted to do most--relaxing! We had no trouble finding an open palapa on the beach, whether we went down early or late. Wait staff even came out to bring us drinks! Some people complained of watered-down drinks, but I never noticed that. I got just as giggly as I would have otherwise! At any rate, all you have to do is ask the bartenders to add a little extra, and they are more than happy to oblige! We would often tip a couple of dollars, but doing so is not necessary. However, these people work hard for very little, yet they try very hard to make you happy, so that little extra makes their smiles even brighter! For those people who have complained in previous reviews that all the staff were rude or unhelpful, perhaps a kinder approach on their part might have evoked a more positive response from the service staff.

All in all, my husband and I were more than pleased with our stay at El Cozumeleno and will schedule another trip there in the future! We had a great time!

Just got back fromour 6th stay at this resort. It is such an awesome place. We love it more each year!! Yes the beds are hard and the food, besides breakfast can be bad. You still get a lot for your money there! See you next July!!!

This was the best resort ever!!

Where to start?? Well the food.......wonderful! In the morning there was an omlet bar where a chef would prepare it in front of you! There was french toast(delicious), and toast, fruit, sugary fritters, and a smoothie bar. My favorite was the Cozumel! Yum! In the afternoon there was a fajita bar! Delicious! The bars had amazing service! The Le Verdenada had great food!!!

The pools were awesome!!

Rooms were very good! Housekeeping, always there!!


Best place ever!!