We stayed at the El Coz from Feb 10 until Feb 16, 2007.

We arrived at the airport around 1:00pm on Feb 10. After coming through customs, we were immediately accosted by a man wanting to offer us a rental car. He represented a tour agency of some sort. He was very professional in demeanor and dress but he was a little pushy. He wanted to rent the car for $100 for five days. Part of the deal required that we travel to Cancun for one day. I refused and began to walk away. The price was dropped to $50 for the car. I still said “no” and left.

We had booked our tour through American Airlines and they used Olympic (Go Go) Travel. A driver was waiting outside to pick us up and take us to El Coz. After loading our luggage, we were off to the resort.

Twenty five years ago, I had taken my wife to El Cozumeleno for her birthday. After reading the reviews I decided to return. Driving up, I immediately noticed that the entrance had changed—much improved. The hotel staff immediately took charge of our luggage as we were given a pineapple-orange juice drink and escorted to the front desk. The check-in process was simple and straightforward. We had already prepaid, however, as is common for all hotels, they required a credit card to swipe for incidental expenses (for us, there was never a charge made as we had no extra expenses). You have the option of getting a key to a security box in your room. There is no charge unless you lose the key. Then you will have a $100 charge for the lost key. Also, you have the option of getting a plastic card (with your room number stamped on it) which you use to exchange for a beach towel. There is no charge for this, but like the security box key, if you lose it, there is a $25 charge. We took the security key and the towel cards.

There was a desk across from the main desk where tours could be purchased. My “Go Go” representative warned me to ignore that person that she would be trying to book me on a Timeshare trip. So, I managed to escape dealing with her. In retrospect, I think I may have had a little con job done on me. He was competing with the other company for business. He wanted me to ignore them. We did, and that was probably OK.

The receptionist said we would have to wait because our room was not ready, but a moment later she informed us that one had just come available and we were off to see our new home! We had purchased an Ocenview room and it turned out to be in the new section of the Coz. We had a nice roomy balcony with two chairs and a small table. The view was beautiful. The room was nice, with two double beds. The bathroom was also very upscale with hair dryer, a large swing-away mirror with a magnifier on one side. There was no bathtub, but a very nice shower. Hot water was available immediately on command.

The beds were not Marriott quality. They were a little hard and the pillows were as well. Since I have spent over 60 days sleeping on the ground with my scouts in the last 2.5 years, I was able to tolerate the beds. You might want to bring your own pillow if you want to mess with the extra baggage. But, you will survive nicely on what they provide. The hotel provides a bottle of purified water every day. I think it is a 1-liter bottle. Other purified water is available on the hotel grounds, so use this for in-room consumption (brushing teeth, etc.) only.

We unloaded our gear, donned our suits, and headed for the ocean! Wow, simply amazing. We immediatly observed beautiful, colorful, tropical fish just off the shore within the hotel swimming area. They have a roped off region for “safe” swimming. The safety issue is related to boats that travel just off shore. The hotel must provide a safe environment to all so they go the extra mile. The reality is that not many boats travel back and forth in front of the hotel. I will cover the snorkeling topic later.

The hotel offers many activities for their guests. On the first day (evening) we played miniature golf and a few games of pool (billiards). The miniature golf course is extremely well kept as are the entire grounds of the hotel! We had lots of fun playing golf and we observed that others were enjoying this small sport as well.

Food and Drink
We ate dinner at the buffet the first night. Here is the only knock I have on the hotel. The food is good, but not great. The beef is not all that tasty. There is enormous variety. No matter when or where, the chicken served is very good. My theory on this is that the chickens are grown locally, so you are actually eating fresh chicken. That is a good theory, but just a theory. Armed with this, I consistently chose chicken over any other meat. Alcohol is part of the package deal and you can drink yourself to death if you wish. It will take a long time because the drinks are not mixed that strong. Maybe I am comparing to my own Margaritas which I tend to mix pretty strong—If you drink two of my Margaritas, you will be on the floor. It would probably take ten El Coz Margaritas to get close. There is a dress code when eating at the dining buffet. You have to have a shirt, shorts and shoes—all very casual. It is just one step above beach wear. At lunchtime, you have the option of eating at the poolside buffet which requires no dress code. They offer hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, nachos, chicken, etc. Go for the nachos and chicken! Wash it down with Cerveza!

An upscale restaurant is available inside the hotel, but you must reserve a table in the morning. We discovered this on the second day and ate there each evening for the remaining three days. The food in the restaurant is several notches above what is available outside. You must wear nice clothes to be seated! We ate filet mignon, duck, fetuccini alfredo, and other fine dishes. I encourage you to get to the lobby by 8am and reserve your spot for the evening!!

Snorkeling at the Hotel
Initially, we stayed in the roped-off region. If you have young kids, you are probably safest to do the same. Yes there are a few boats that travel back and forth. There is also a fairly swift current just beyond the ropes. Small children or weak swimmers could be swept down the coast. I am adventurous, so I went up-current with my 14-yr old son (Life scout, 6’, not a wimp!). What we did was to snorkel upstream very close to the shore where the current was minimal. Then we would turn around and go farther away from shore where the current would carry us back effortlessly. If you are a good swimmer, I would suggest you choose this method to enjoy a great snorkeling experience.

Snorkeling Elsewhere
We decided to take one of the catamaran snorkeling trips. Fury offers a trip that takes you to two different reefs. You leave about midday, go to the first reef where you snorkel, go to the second reef for more snorkeling. Then you go to Fury’s on beach outpost where you get a hamburger meal. It is the “real deal.” A hamburger to die for! It is the only beef you will remember from the island. You can rent jet skis, play volley ball, or just sit on your butt. We did the latter. After that, the Cat took us back to the hotel as the sun set. The crew were great entertainers. We had great music, danced, and enjoyed all the international beers you can imagine (all served in the same bottle!). Do not miss this opportunity!

Scuba
As part of the package, a free scuba lesson can be taken in the pool. My son and I took advantage of this. The instructors from the dive shop were great! After the pool lesson, we decided to take the next step—a beach dive. It cost us $65/person to do this. We took a cab to Sunset Beach to do the beach dive. The cab costs $8 for two people, $10 for three and $12 for four to go from the El Coz to Sunset Beach. The dive was great and took us down about 30 ft. We decided to venture on to the next step, a boat dive. To do this, we had to travel to El Presidente Hotel where “Scuba Du” is headquartered. It was even better! This time, we went down to about 42 ft exploring one of the reefs.

Hotel Activities
The hotel offers many other activities. Daily they have a bingo game near the middle of the day. I only played one time but was lucky enough to win a necklace for my wife. There is a children activities center but I did not experience it. Several nights per week (three I think) there are evening events. We participated in a Mayan celebration. It was great fun and the performers were quite good. They had a kind-of newly wed game where they drew participants from the audience. I saw Karaoke on the schedule of events but never participated (my contribution to Cozumel!!).

Connected?
There was no wireless internet available at El Coz. I brought my computer but fortunately for me, could not use it to connect home. My Cingular and T-Mobile phone both were able to connect back home. Because my T-Mobile phone is a Blackberry, I did do a little business while on vacation :-(

Misc
There are two hot tubs on the grounds. Both were a nice respite in the cool evenings. They have a beautiful tennis court in front of the hotel—we did not use it. In the activity center, they have exercise equipment, ping pong, and a pool table. We used the pool table on several occasions.

We (husband & I) stayed at the El coz...feb 21-26 and had an excellent time...of course reading the other reviews I was sceptic....we never got sick or bug bites....yes the beds are hard , but we were in the south tower 9th floor...could'nt beat the views....really we were not there much at all The food was okay...it is an average AI...you get what you pay for....we never did eat at the Main restaurant...we ate at a couple themed nights, buffet and in town 2x....the beach and pool were great...water in pool was cool ...but refreshing...my husband saw more fish snorkeling at our place then on our snorkel excursion......I think that is it...yes we would go back again!

My wife and I stayed at the El Coz from 2/11 to 2/16, escaping the midwest blizzard. Overall our experience was very positive with just a couple of minor negatives. The resort is not 5 star, nor does it pretend to be, hence why I gave it a 4 plus.
We are frequent visitors to Cancun and we wanted to try someplace different this time around. We had stopped on Cozumel on numerous cruises but never spent the night there. I found the El Coz from reading the TA forum.
Upon arrival at the airport, we were through customs and immigration in a half hour. I had to use the restroom and when I went looking for my wife afterwards, she had allready been corralled by a time share shark by the airport exit. Hint; just keep on walking until you get outside. We then found our transfer and were at the resort in 10 minutes.
Check in was easy and we went to our fourth floor room in the south tower. The view of the ocean from our balconey was breathtaking. The room was large, modern, and VERY clean. We still had time for the lunch buffet and were soon enjoying fajitas and ice cold XX within 25 feet of the ocean. The weather was sunny and 85, completely opposite of the mess we left at home.
During our stay, the one quality that stands out the most is the help. Everyone was so kind and helpful. And I mean EVERYONE. Housekeeping, waiters, bartenders, front desk staff, entertainment staff, etc. We did not have one negative experience the whole time there. The one difference I noticed between Cozumel and Cancun are the locals are so much more laid back.
Because we both have such high stress jobs, my wife and I vegged out around the resort all week. We never had a problem finding beach chairs. The waiters were constantly filling my beer glass. We also played miniture golf everyday and had a blast. I had not played since high school.
There were two negatives though. I am not being picky, but I speak as an experience traveller.
The first; The buffet started getting repetitive after the second day. Yes, there was always something to eat but I wish there were more selections. From the second evening on, we ate at the sit down restaurant for dinner (which requires a reservation). The food and service were excellant. Try the filet mignon. It was one of tthe best I ever ate. The piano player was a nice touch during dinner.
The second negative was the fitness room. Before going, I emailed the resort and they assured me they had a fully equipped fitness room. When I went there there, I found two broken treadmills, three broken stationary bikes, and a broken universal-type machine. I know very few people go on vacation to work out but I do for health reasons. However, we did partake in the daily morning stretching sessions with Angel and went on the group bike rides twice during the week which was fun.
Overall our trip was great. I would recommend the EL Coz for families with kids and anyone seeking peace and quiet. It is not a wild party place like some Cancun resorts but I did not meet one guest who was not having a great time while we were there.
PS. Bring plenty of tip money. ALL the help deserves it.
Email me at jfredquigley@hotmail.com if you are thinking of going to the El Coz.

I must say that we found this hotel online. We are used to fairly upscale places to park our "hats", so after reading all of the negative reviews about "all-inclusives" we had already decided that this would be our first and last encounter with said "wonder".

Man...were we wrong! We were picked up at the airport with a very well kept and (thankfully airconditioned) van, and then swept into one of the most impressive lobbies that we have ever seen! The moment that they placed a cool fresh fruit drink into our hands and we saw that breathtakingly beautiful view of the ocean just steps off the lobby, we knew that we were "home". The staff was all smiles and had the kindness and efficiency that we used to see in the U.S. years ago. (Sorry to have to say that. :( )

Don't, necessarily, believe all that about the time-share people harrassing you all the time. Not once were we approached. We rarely did see others approached, but a serioius "NO THANK YOU" and a turn away from them was all it took. In fact, my husband had to call down to the front desk to try to line up an appointment and they were "BUSY" ...of all things! Haha!

What you want to do, is to go straight to your room and unpack, and then take a tour of the incredible facilities with the MOST important stop on that tour being that of stopping at the beach shop of "Antonio". This is an ABSOLUTE must!!! He is the gatekeeper to paradise. (Just kidden.:) But dern close!) He is always cheerful, there is no such thing as a "stupid question" with him, and there is NO arrangement that he can not make. (Within the law of course.:))

We did parasailing, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, lobster boat dinner tours, submarine dives off the coral reef, and all sorts of lifetime memory making events. Our son was amazed at the scuba diving lessons. The deep sea fishing was our favorite. We have fished all over the world, but this one is very special! The crew is fun, efficient, caring, extremely knowledgable, and the boat is just immaculate and new. My husband and I had that huge boat all to ourselves, and we caught 19,... yes 19, fish! We prefer the rod and reel in hand technique to trolling and boy did they keep us busy. It was even the "off season". My best catch was a good 4 foot barracuda and he gave me a good "run for my money"! But Antonio is extremely knowledgable, trustworthy, saved us some serious cash, and is the BEST OF THE BEST!!!!!

The food was incredible. Some of the reviews had said, "So-so" food and I don't know where they eat, but filet mignon and other special dishes have never been "so-so" in my book! We especially enjoyed the "dress restaurant", but the outdoor one with the shows was incomparable too. Guacamole for the win! And they had a very nice wine list in the "Dress restaurant" with what we thought were fairly reasonable prices.

The shows were much better than we had expected, and to be able to have your morning coffee on a verandah where you could just step out the full length window type of opening and you are literally 10 feet from the water..ooo la la! (By the way, they solved the friendly bird prob. )

The rooms in the new tower were gorgeous! The maid service is great, the rooms, immaculate, and for waitstaff and services we had brought $100 in one dollar bills for tips, and we got the impression that it was very appreciated but definitely NOT necessary. The beds are hard and I always pack my pillow from home. This helped and I slepted like a baby with all of the outdoor activities. We brought our own beach towels from home to try to avoid the $50 lost towel fee.

The drinks were WONDERFUL! We were drinking Johnny Walker Red anytime that we wanted and as much as we wanted. We saw absolutely NO evidence of this "weak drink" theory whatsoever.

The water in front of the hotel is kind of protected, calm and crystal clear. There were constantly families that were snorkeling with the free hotel gear right down to even the little ones, for hours on end. It's so funny, because the water for the resort right next door is totally muddy looking and then there is this pier that seperates them and it's like magic, the difference is like night and day! One quick tip: Bring a big baggie of puppie chow. The kids, (and big "little kids"), will love walking down that pier and feeding the fish. They come up and there are so many that the water just boils with intensely beautiful color.

We had great TV, but we brought our portable DVD player and a few movies and placed it in the middle of the bed so we could call for a free room service appitizer "treat" or whatever suited our fancy, sip on a nice after dinner refreshment, and watch our favorite movie after a great day at the beach. Paradise!

All in all, don't believe all that you read in other reviews and we plan on going back every chance that we can! It was BETTER than first class all the way!!!

Thanks all Cozumeleno staff, you are wonderful!!!
Barb G.....,
Mpls, Minnesota