My friend and I just spent 4 days at the Cozumel Hotel and Resort. I have been fortunate in the fact that I do get to travel to some of the fun places in the Carribean and the United States. With that experience and all the factors considered we enjoyed our stay in Cozumel very much and would stay there again if winds take us there. We found the hotel to be clean, the service excellant and the property a nice place to be. The pool area was exceptional and very relaxing. Yes the beach is almost non existant but the man made area was nice and there are areas only a short cab ride away with great snorkling etc. The food in our all inclusive package was more than adequate but if it is cruise ship quality you are looking for it is not. The nightlife is tame but the town is only a hop, skip and jump away. You can find plenty of late night activity there. In a posted review someone complained that the floors were always wet. Yes at times they were but that is because of the open hallways and some very heavy showers. The staff were always working on it when it happened, just do't run. Speaking of rain, we were there just prior to the big storms in July and have heard several resorts took a hit. I do not know if it affected the CHR. Also shop around on different web sites we found a great price on a lesser known service that saved us over $130.

Sales dept and the front desk was very helpful
However the service at the restaurant was very poor.
yes, it was all-inclusive but when you wait most of times for 1-2 hours for your food ordering from the menu is bad. The buffet is where they want you to go. The service at the bar was no different when they saw you had a braclet on your arm they became slower and then they wanted a tip as well. We have stayed there for 2 different times and this time was the worst. It became very aparent that the tourist where there to pay and to get every penny from you, regardless what service you would encounter. I would suggest checking all the reviews and see what you are expecting, before investing your TIME and MONEY on slow service.

Beach: We were very disappointed in the beach area. It is not the relaxing picture one has in his/her head when one thinks of sitting on the beach of an island. It is a VERY SMALL man made beach set up on rocks with rows of beach chairs and a loud restaurant behind. Not tranquil at all.

Room: The a/c worked great, but it leaked badly in the vanity area creating water puddles on the floor. The ceiling there was starting to fall in. The rest of the room was in decent condition. The beds were comfortable, and the balcony area was spacious and had a nice view of the pool area.

Pool: Beautiful, but not deep enough. It is 4' all over. It needs to be cleaned more often. Water volleyball games were continuous (even in the rain.) There were lots of comfortable beach chairs under palm trees which made it relaxing. The bad thing was the music. It was too much and too loud for such a relaxing area.

Food: We chose not to do the all inclusive deal and we are glad we did not. We ate out alot and found much better food than what was being offered at the hotel. We did eat breakfast at the buffet every morning. It was so-so and not worth $10 per person by a long shot. We also had snacks at the pool bar that were OK for fast food. The drinks were made of cheap liquor which was probably watered down. It's a good thing we are not big drinkers. We ate out most of the time and enjoyed that much more than the all inclusive thing. We recommend getting soft tacos with fresh guacomole at any of the little places a block or two back off the main road. They seem to be open 24hours a day. There are some excellent seafood restaurants in San Miguel as well, such as El Capitan Navigado. Prices are much more reasonable if you get away from the main plaza and ocean front area.

Water: We did not have a problem with it like we have had in the past. I think they have improved their filtration systems on Cozumel. It still tastes a little funny, but we did not get sick. From previous experience, and as a precaution, we tried to use bottled water as much as possible.

Snorkeling: Excellent, large snorkel area, lots of fish and nice depth. The water was fabulous, just like a big bathtub - with fish!

Diving: Dive store and reservation desk on site. Dive lockers available at no charge. Small, fast boats were great. No crowding, 8 people max! Plenty big enough for 2 peoples dive equipment. The dive masters and boat captains were very nice and knew the area well. They were also very patient with beginners, yet accomodated the more experienced divers wonderfully. It helps to know a few spanish phrases for use on the boat though. The captains and assistants are not as fluent in english as are the dive masters. One does not need a dive skin in June. It was 84 degrees at 60 feet and 92 degrees at the surface.

Hotel Facilities: The elevators are VERY small and not safe. The doors will close right on you if you are not careful. There is also only one set of elevators in the main lobby, although it is only a three story hotel, if you use the elevator, you have to walk a long ways to get to your room if it not in the main area. The grounds are nicely groomed and kept clean for the most part. The store has a very bad stench in it that doesn't seem to be getting addressed. Entertainment was lacking. The shows were not good. The childrens area was very nice, lots to do for a kid. Taxi's were always available and only a few dollars to get to the main plaza and back. One could walk, but the sidewalks are not maintained and trashy, making it a little scary having to walk in the road at certain spots.

The staff was cordial, but I wouldn't call them friendly. They did what they had to do and that was it.

The weather was OK, it rained alot the day before we left, but it was kind of nice. Bugs and mosquitos were expected, it is the tropics.

Overall we will probably not stay at this resort again. It is a different culture and certain differences are expected, but there is no excuse for poor service or quality when you are paying a price for what should be better. Especially when that price is very comparible to what one would pay for a similarly rated resort in, say, Florida. We enjoy Cozumel very much and have been there several times, so we are not speaking as stuck-up Americans, we are speaking as seasoned Cozumel visitors. We know that better is offered there for the same price, this resort just did not seem to have that standard. We do not feel that we got our money's worth.

Our third year here and this was like a dream come true. My husband dives with a bunch and that was fabulous. I snorkel out front and that's fabulous too. Food was great and a different array for picky eaters too. Loved the sunset dinners best. Something I won't forget for a mighty long time. The personal that worked there are very friendly and the rooms was just fine too.
Took a jeep one day around the island and that was fun and easy. Spent time in town and you can walk from the hotel if you prefer. One problem and that was I didn't spend a longer time there. I will be back. :-)