Enjoyed a laid-back family holiday here over Christmas. This is a smaller resort, which adds to its charm, and makes it less busy than a larger resort. Also, since it is a scuba destination, we found the divers cleared out in the morning so only a few other guests were relaxing at the pool with us. Plenty of chairs, and lots of choice of shady or sunny spots. Pool is very kid-friendly. Hot tubs not always the cleanest but when are hotel hot-tubs ever all that clean? Food was excellent. The fact there was no a-la-carte restaurant made no difference, as the variety and quality at the 2 restaurants (1 off the lobby for breakfast and dinner, 1 at the beach for lunch) and the snack bar (open 11am to 5-ish?) provided us with more than enough choices. In fact, maybe too many because I gained 6 lbs. while there, athough it could also be blamed on the beer and pina coladas. We ate a ton of guacamole and pico de gallo every day.
We had no issues (ie: tummy troubles) at all. We were cautious to only drink bottled water (there are plenty of water coolers all over the resort, which makes it easy to refill a bottle) and we brushed our teeth with bottled water only. Ice cubes in drinks were purified ice cubes, so no worries.
Drinks were great. My 5 year old worked his way through the virgin cocktails drinks list and found a favourite, the Mexican Dolphin (pina colada mix with grenadine.) Drinks were not watered down which was new to me, having been able to down 10 cocktails before lunch at any other resort we've ever visited. Beer was good (Dos Equis.)
The beach had mixed reviews in our family. First of all, we knew what to expect. No surprise. It's a pier, with ladders to swim off and there is a retaining wall with a sandy-beach patio. I had a fantastic time snorkling near the pier (free snorkling equipment rentals at the dive shop at the beach) however my husband never went in the ocean and my son went in, freaked out, and got out.
Town is close enough to walk (10 minute walk) and the grocery store (Cheduai?) is close to the resort for getting the best deals on booze (to take home) and anything else you might want. It's basically like a Mexican Wal-Mart.
We took a ferry to Playa Del Carmen ($11 per person, $6 for kids) and then found a local bus to take us to the ruins at Tulum. The local bus costs 25 pesos per person ($2.50 US), and Tulum is $4.50 for adults, free for kids. If we'd gone on a Tulum Tour (from the hotel or from Playa Del Carmen), it would have been $70 per person. The ruins are worth seeing and wear a swimsuit under your clothes as the beach there is spectacular.
There were a lot of activities at the hotel but most guests just wanted to hang out and chill instead. I enjoyed a rifle shooting contest - yes, seriously, hotel guests with rifles !!! (safely out back of the hotel, under supervision, of course) My son enjoyed whacking the pinata on Xmas eve - the little Mexican girls all dressed up like princesses, going to town on the pinata was absolutely hysterical to see. Activities staff were hilarious and very very helpful and interactive with the guests. A big shout-out to Francesco, who is a hit with all the kids.
Our room was nice and we had a view of the ocean as well. Wireless internet in the lobby was very handy. We went to Hotel Cozumel knowing it wasn't 5 stars and yes there were a few broken things (from the hurricane and/or disrepair) but there were no surprises nor disappointments. We had a wonderful time at Hotel Cozumel and would definately go back.