We arrived at El Coz on Sat before Em on Mon early am.The place was beautiful.The staff was friendly and helpful.The rooms were neat and clean and depending on what part of the hotel you were in, very large. We were moved several times after the hurricane due to no electricityand water supply to the older part of the hotel but the older part does have the larger rooms.We were moved to the convention rooms when Em started to kick up her heels.We were well protected and well cared for.The staff did their utmost to keep us informed of the storms progress.The hotel also had a generator so we didnt lack for much. It got stuffy in the center after the power went out.No AC .We only stayed in the "shelter" for about 16 hrs then allowed to go back to our rooms.In spite of the hurricane we very much enjoyed our stay and will go back.I think we will skip the hurricane next time though.When you go be sure to tallk to Antonio in the dive shop.He's a great source of information and has the best warter related activites.Do take bug spray and beach towels to avoid those hassles.Most of all take a good attitude.Those people work very hard to make you happy. Treat them with respect and yoou will get it in return.

My Husband, Brother and I stayed at El Cozumeleno from July 15 thru
July 22, 2005. Yes we stayed during Hurricane Emily. The hotel staff took
the best care of us. We did not have to go downtown to stay with 4,000
other people. El Cozumeleno has its own Convention Center that about
250 guest rode out the Hurricane in. We stayed in the Convetion Center
about 15 hours, it was pleasant, we had dinner, midnight snack and breakfast. Ice, soda's and water. Toilets that worked. The staff of the hotel stayed with us to make sure the guest were safe, leaving thier own families, a great sacrafice as far as I was concerned.

After the Hurricane the staff and management went to work on the beach to get it back into good shape, they all worked very hard. We have stayed at the El Cozumeleno many times, it is our favorite hotel in Cozumel, yes we will go back again. And we would have no problem in riding out an other Hurricane with them, altho I hope for the people of Cozumel and the Island they do not get another Hurricane.

First let me say that I am so thankful that all the people of Cozumel are safe after Emily. If you are reading this because you have the opportunity to go there, especially stay at El Coz, you will love the people and the town. I don't think I can put into words how you feel after you have experienced being there. The people all work very hard to make your stay memorable. Long entry, get a cup of coffee and read on.
SERVICE:
Like everywhere else in the world, you will meet very helpful friendly people and you will meet people who are not. 9 out of 10, the people you meet at El Coz will bend over backwards to get you whatever you need and do it with a smile. I was embarrassed at times how they pick up after your plates, cups etc that are laying next to your chair and would offer to get my children drinks when I was doing Enrique's Water Aerobics. When we play pool and ping pong upstairs in the game room, they even came up there to see if anything was needed. The airline lost 4 of our 6 bags that had basically everything we needed, including my daughters Nebulizer. The lady in the gift shop at the hotel offered to go get her Neb(breathing machine) if we needed it and help us get to a pharmacy to get my daughter meds. The gift shop was out of toothbrushes and Antonio in the Dive Shop had someone to go get us 4 toothbrushes and deoderant. Our only trouble was with the front desk people but with polite persistance we were able to be moved from our original room to a room near our friends we had traveled with. And no, we did not have to pay/tip them, we were just persistant and kind, please and thank you will go a long way. The place is spotless, the drinks are free flowing, and everyone will work very hard. Tips are very much appreciated but you will still get nice service without them.
ACTIVITIES:
Where do I begin, you will be as busy or not as you want. There is something to do almost every hour of the day and we tried just about it all. Bingo, water aerobics, pool games, beach VB, scuba lesson, ping pong and pool, snorkeling, putt putt(keep up with your ball!!!or it will cost $3), kayak, teen kareoke, theme dinners on MWF etc. YOU MUST GO TO THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEXICAN SHOW AT DINNER, no this isn't vegas but the shows are great and Willy will take a group picture that is worth buying as a souvenir. They all work hard days and still entertain at night. If you have kids, definetly bring them, they have games for them that are great. Yes, there are adult games too, hilarious!! I laughed till I almost cried. The pool is the best on the island,as well as the beach area, you have to see it to believe it. The pool is great! Go in town, it is a $7 taxi ride in town for 4 people~well worth it. shop in town, get your hair braided but be very careful about eating and don't drink anything unless you open the bottle yourself. We ate in town, my son got very sick, just because they bring you a bottle with a straw does not mean it was not cleaned and reused~we found that out the hard way. yes, there is a burger king and Mc D's in town.
FOOD:
Keep in mind, this is not your mama's cooking it is a Mexican country and in the same way Taco Bell is american mexican food, don't go expecting your homes food. It is different but if you are open to it, try it all it is good. We ate at the reservation rest twice and it was great. The man playing the piano is worth at least one vistit. Go early in the am to get your reservation for that day and there is a dress code. Men, collard shirts close toe shoes, long pants, ladies and kids dress nice, no shorts. It is worth it! You must order the BAKED ALASKA~wow it is so cool!!! There is room service, a snack bar with Amercan hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and cheese my kids loved it. Breakfast is great, get an omelet and waffle :). EAT THE ICECREAM~it is the best. Food is only fuel after that, you will have a dining experience that is different but memorable. Yes, there are birds flying around and at times there were flies but you are eating outside in a hut. I live in TN and I have had many picnics outside and been bugged by bugs. They try very hard to control it~someone told us to use a fabric softener sheet on the table and that would help keep flies away and yes, I think it helped. I can only say that the view is worth whatever reservation you would have for the different cuisine you are eating. It is amazing to sit at your table, drink a cup of great coffee, and look out your window to see a crystal blue sea, Cancun in the distance, a sea turtle poking his head up in the water, people walking on a beautiful beach and every now and then a massive cruise ship go by. Food~doable, view~priceless~
ROOMS:
Wow!!! We stayed in both towers. We got moved after the first day to be near our friends,since we had no luggage to speak of it was a piece of cake. Both towers have their pluses. The older tower rooms are massive. Ours was clean and very quiet and peaceful. The view is just amazing! New tower rooms are updated but not near as big and to say they are noisy is an understatement. They are beautiful and plenty large enough.Get as high up as you can and that may help with the loud people walking around at night. Sure the beds/pillows are hard but my kids didn't complain and I prefer that over soft anyway. Water would come when you asked within 5-10 minutes, iron came quicker than that. We got a roll away bed for our son and it was there within 15 minutes. My husband owns his own business and has many employees who could learn a thing or two about their work attitudes, the people of Cozumel should feel very proud of their service attitude.
The things I think I would want to know:
If you need anything to do with activities that are not included in the hotel, GO STRAIGHT TO THE DIVE SHOP AND ASK FOR ANTONIO. Do not be fooled by the people in the lobby. Our friends did one of the "90minute talk deals for a trip to Cancun". It was 3 hours instead of 90 minutes and all very high pressured. It was a 45 minute drive to the "water park" that turned out to be a joke and they couldn't leave when they wanted because another bus wasn't coming for 2 hours. Thank God we did not go with them because they said it was awful. DO THE MANTA TRIP it was great!! We also parasailed my 9 year old son and I did it together and it was amazing. Don't do the one in town, when we were in town we saw the boat that was supposed to be doing it broke down. The snorkeling right outside the hotel is amazing, do it. BRING WATER SHOES the black spikey things that are everywhere, on the rocks, in the water are a beast. My husband stepped on one and his foot was sore for 3 days. My son was the only one with water shoes and if they would have fit on my feet I would have worn them. Flip flops don't cut it in the water. There are lots of rocks everywhere, bring water shoes.
MUST HAVES FOR THE TRIP:
A good attitude, a smile, small bills for tips, BUG SPRAY(they are bad at dusk), WATER SHOES, camera, SUNBLOCK the sun is soooo intense!, sunglasses and a hat to get out of the sun, if you can bring snorkel stuff so you can keep it as long as you want. Keep up with your papers and vouchers given to you by your travel company. Patience for your airport trip back home. Pack a toothbrush, meds,contact stuff, swim suit etc in a carry on just in case your stuff takes a day or two to get to you. Do not pack valuable or neccessities in your luggage. Not accusing amyone but our daughter packed her new purse from in town in her suitcase. It did not make it on our plane back home so it spent the night in the airport, when it made it home 2 days later her purse with money etc was gone. The agent at US Air said that was not uncommon for things to get "lost". And yes, we had our luggage lost coming and going :(.
We will go back, we will stay at the El Coz. I CAN'T WAIT!!
Thanks to Antonio and everyone else at El Coz, see you soon. Michelle Guinn

We travel to Mexico several times each year. We have stayed at several all-inclusive resorts. We have come to expect mediocre food and drinks. El Cozumeleno was no exception in this regard. However, the nice restaurant did a very fine job. We even went fishing, and they did a wonderful job of preparing our fresh Mahi-mahi. The staff was quite friendly and helpful. The highlight of the entire trip was Antonio with Ocean Tours. He did a splendid job of seeing to our every want in fishing, diving, and snorkeling. He was very helpful with any information that we asked about anything. The Kay-Kib is a very nice vessel to fish out of. The captain and crew worked very hard to help us find fish. Even our room at the resort was quite satisfactory.
We will come back to El Cozumeleno often in the future.