I visited Cozumel with a group of 3 girlfriends in mid-August. I had never been to Mexico before, so this was my first experience. I found the hotel to be pretty average in all aspects, but totally worth what we paid. We stayed 3 nights and 4 days and paid aproximately $530 each including our flight from Dallas. The rooms were clean and we had a wonderful ocean and pool view. The pools were large, clean and very inviting. We didn't bother renting the snorkel gear because there wasn't a very good area to snorkel around the hotel. We did, however, do the 1/2 day snorkel trip purchased from the dive shop for $45 and it was totally worth the money. You might want to bring your own underwater camera if you do plan to snorkel. They had an on-board photographer, but he charged $5 per picture. The drinks are o.k. I wouldn't say they were very strong because we drank them all day long and I never was buzzed. Make sure you wear sunscreen all day even if it's downcast. My sister and I fell asleep at the pool on a cloudy afternoon and she ended up with a 3rd degree sunburn (blisters and all). Because of the humidity, the floor in the rooms can get a little slick. Our air conditioner wasn't working right one evening and our floor got very slippery due to the extra humidity. I slipped down and had a nasty bruise for about two weeks. The only real downside to this hotel is the food. It is buffet style and sits out for hours. Flys swarm around the desserts. Everything is just kind-of bland. Don't expect to get good Mexican food here. The food is more Americanized. The only exception to the bland was breakfast which was always great. They have a large selection and make omelets to order. I would not recommend this hotel to couples seeking romance. There were mostly families with older children when we stayed there. If you are seeking romance and have the funds, stay at a Sandals. Overall, I thought this was a great hotel for a quick and inexpensive get-a-way with friends or family.

My family of 5 (3 boys) and my in-laws spent a week between the 19th and 26th of August at El Coz. We had carefully read the reviews and were cautiously excited. My boys had never experienced the Carib. waters and looked forward to snorkling. The place was pretty empty as the local schools in MX had just started as had many in the states.

Lodging- we requested and received two adjoining rooms on the second floor of the new section. They are spacious and very clean. We were nervous about being right above the stage for the evening shows on Mon., Wed. and Fridays, but they were all in the ballroom across the hall due to the threat of rain each night. We enjoyed the rooms and even ordered room service one night and were pleasantly pleased at the quality of food. The front desk was wonderful, especially Oscar...

Pools-My boys spent 75% of their days in the two pools...so much to explore! The pool in front of the older section seemed a lot quieter (and warmer). We played volleyball every afternoon. Do be cautious of running with bare feet as the tiles are quite slippery! We brought our own towels and it worked out well.

Beach/water- Depending on how much wind we had, most days you could snorkle right off the beach and see TONS of fish. Spend more time near the docks as they like to hide (and be fed) there. Wind and an occasional Thunderstrom would churn up the water and make snorkling difficult. The water was best in the AM. For a better/rustic experience, spent a few hours exploring the coral reefs just outside and South of the Dive shop. We saw more life and fish there than at Chankanaab (and it was free!). Take care of the current further out though. Stay close to the coral at the shoreline and you'll be fine. You can ride the current back to the Dive Shop when you're done. Wear beach shoes!!! The coral can be sharp!

Trips- We took the Manta trip with Antonio. The crew was wonderful. We had a truly rough day with wind and waves and a strong current. My boys enjoyed it regardless (even the 7 yr. old), though they each sat out one of the 4 dives to rest. Honestly, some of the coral outside the dive shop was just as good though, as we were in pretty deep water.
We took a $7 taxi ride (for 5 people) into town to shop. If you are inclined, you can find some of the least expensive diamonds in the world in town!! Finding transportation is easy. Every taxi driver understood English and was willing to come to a reasonable price. The jet-skis were also a blast! $50 for a 1/2 hour.

Food- We were cautious at the start, but became more bold as the week went on. We had my oldest sick for a day, but we couldn't figure what he ate any differently than the rest of us, other than some eggs that he requested "over-easy" and weren't quite done. We should have just had them cooked more...By the end of the week we were eating whatever we wanted and had not trouble. The food is typical all-inclusive buffet-style. They tried to mix up the dishes, though some were there every day. We ate at the Rest. 4 nights and had no trouble with reservations as the place was empty. The piano player was wonderful. Tip him well!
My in-laws (yes, I actually do enjoy their company) have done several cruises and Carib. stops and were genuinely impressed with the value at El-Coz. They will probably come back on there own. We will too!

We have stayed here 3 different times and have been VERY pleased each time. The resort is beautiful and very clean. Food - buffets are wonderful. Bars - GREAT especially the pool bar. Hotel service has been fine, no complaints.

Cozumel - very safe. I have never felt insecure or nervous in town or on the opposite side of the island. We rent a jeep for the week and go anywhere/everywhere.

Take time to go visit the lighthouse - the view is unbelieveable.
Snorkeling in front of the resort is excellent. Especially in front of the pier. (take bread to the end and feed the fish)

This was our fifth trip to Cozumel and the third resort that we stayed at and it was by far the worst of them all. The new part of the facilities that we stayed in are fairly nice; however, the repair and maintenance is severely lacking. The TV was spotty at best and only worked about half of the time. We called the front desk to get it fixed but never saw anyone and had trouble to whole time we were there. The phone quit working on the third day and never did get fixed. We figure they turned it off so we would stop asking them to fix the TV.

The beds were very hard and very uncomfortable. The cleaning service was adequate but nothing over the top.

The pools themselves are very nice but the grounds are paved with red tile that is very slippery when wet and too hot to walk on barefoot. My son almost fell numerouse times and I almost fell twice myself. There is some white trim tile that I had to teach my son to walk on anytime he got out of the pool so that he wouldn't burn his feet.

The beach is awfull with an old concrete pier that needs to be demolished right in the middle and an obnoxious yellow and black pier on the North end. Most of the sand is full of rock and broken sea shells that make it nearly impossible to walk on in bare feet. The rest of the beach is solid rock. There is only one section of about 100' of beach that is nice sand but the entrance to the water is all rock again. We found out that the beach is man made and I watched them hauling wheelbarrows full of sand down to the beach every morning. We eventually went down to Mr. Sanchos to get some quality beach time. If you are going for the beach, pick another resort.

The food was awfull most of the time. Obviously prepared in mass quantity with no attention to quality or taste. The only exception was breakfast where you could get omlets and eggs cooked to order; however, the chef could only manage one order at a time so it took forever most of the time. He had a good sized cook surface but even if all he was cooking was two eggs he would not start another order until those eggs were on the guests plate.

The dive shop operation is a disaster and some of the rudest people on the premisis. They will provide you with snokel gear but only for 1 hour at a time. I kept a pair of fins for my son for 2 hours and got the third degree when I took them back. And heaven forbid should there be any waves in the ocean, they will shut down the beach for all activities...for your own safety of course...but will be happy to take you on their $norkeling trip$. They will not take you diving either if you haven't been diving in the last 6 months. They want to take you on a "tune up" dive for nearly the same price but one tank instead of two. They are so busy trying to suck the money out of your wallet that they forget their manners. Every day the dive shop operator would stand out by the pool for 15 to 20 minutes and use the PA system to tell you how you should schedule all of your activities through him. It was like listening to a circus barker.

On top of all of that we found the staff to be aloof at best and down right rude in some cases. In all the other places we've stayed the staff seemed eager to engage the guests with conversation and generally seemed concerned that were were happy and being taken care of...not the case at el Cozumeleno. We began to feel like were were an imposition to the resort and eventually ended up spending most of our time away from the hotel. The people outside of the hotel were like a breath of fresh air. Trying out our broken Spanish with the cab drivers and talking with the people in town was what we have come to expect from Cozumel. I'm not sure what is up with the staff at this hotel but they will spoil your opinion of the people of Cozumel if you don't get away from the resort.

If you are thinking of staying at this resort, think again.