I have been going to the Coral Princess for about 12 years and always enjoy the beach, snorkeling and diving. It's geared towards families rather than a big party crowd - it's relatively quiet and generally settles down early, allowing us to leave the windows open and hear the sound of the surf at night. We like that about it. We also love that there is excellent snorkeling on the reef right off the back beach and that they have invested in improvements recently, notably hooking up to a new sewer line. I agree with some of the other comments that the Coral Princess needs some updating. It's an older, smaller property and doesn't have some of the amenities that the newer big all-inclusives have. No fancy gym, no massive upscale buffets and some of the bathrooms need work. There is an on-site dive operator, a restaurant and 3 bars, and some concierge services such as setting up day trips or car rentals. There is food service on the beach, as well as a massage service that offers a variety of massage styles (relaxation, sports, etc.) at tables set up under a tented canopy on the beach. They have a small childrens' playroom and some arts & crafts offerings for kids.

We rarely eat at the hotel restaurants since we have a timeshare with kitchen and typically make our own breakfasts and lunches, then eat dinner at the wonderful restaurants in town. We like to attend the weekly fiesta, hosted on the beach and with lively local entertainment. It's usually a fun evening and the food is good and nicely presented. There is a happy hour with 2-for-1 drinks at the Palapa bar on the beach.

I have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful *within limits*... I've noticed that staff in many countries outside the US are not necessarily empowered to "do whatever it takes" to make the customer happy. They sometimes don't understand the request or don't always have sufficient English language skills to explain. This can be frustrating, but I have to say that in most cases they do try to understand and accommodate (eventually and sometimes after several reminders).

We normally stay there in the spring and we have found, as others have noted, that the number of guests seems to have declined over the past couple of years. Perhaps this is due to the specific dates we visit, or perhaps people are more attracted to larger properties with more extravagant amenities. I hope that the CP survives - we enjoy the location, ambiance and staff and look forward to many more visits.

In january it is going to be our 5 th trip there and I have to say for someone like me who always say that he would not be back twice to the same place;it is quite funny :)
Staff is great:most of the same people for the last 8-9 years and they will recognise you;Isidor is a fantastic bar tender! We scuba dive so we love "Scuba Pepe" and Abdias great dive master;food is really good,incredible happy hour twice a day,very clean hotel in fact having a share time there is not a stupid idea....I have been back-packing in India,Indonesia,Laos etc..for years but have to say:The Coral princess hotel has a very special place for me and my wife Diane:we always relax there 100% and the day of the departure;we have our little tradition:feeding the fish in the ocean which is next to the hotel like the scuba dive club (inside the hotel) so the departure day is always a sad day!

My husband and I, along with our 16 year-old daughter stayed at the CP July 23-30. This was our 5th trip to Coz in a little over 2 years. Prior to our trip I had been reading tripadvisor reviews stating that there were a lot of renovations being done at the hotel and that it was causing a lot of problems for guests. I tried messaging the CP prior to our visit to ensure that the renovations were nearing completion, but was never able to get a straight answer. Upon our arrival it appeared their occupancy was extremely low, as it had been on all our prior stays. We actually love the quiet, uncrowded atmosphere. We had already booked and paid for an ocean-view room. When we were taken to our room there was no mini refrigerator in it. They explained that since we'd requested a room with 2 double beds, rather than a single king bed, there was no mini fridge ???? Since there were 3 of us, we had to have 2 beds, so we asked to look at a suite with 2 double beds and a kitchen. When we asked if we could upgrade our reservation to the suite, we were told it would be around $250USD for the upgrade. We tried negotiating with the front desk clerk, who then called the manager in to talk to us. We explained that we were returning guests and asked if they could do any better, but they refused. So we went ahead and paid for the upgrade. When we got checked into the room we noticed that the bathroom was in very poor condition. The bathtub had several areas that were rusted through on both the outside and inside - enough so that I was not comfortable actually taking a bath in it. The bedroom, kitchen, and sitting area were fine. Since we were in Coz to dive and snorkel, we arose very early each morning. Our first morning there we went down to the gymnasium to work out before breakfast and found paper signs taped on both the treadmill and stair stepper stating they were out of order for maintenance ???? All that left was free weights or 2 very old stationary bicycles. There was also no way to turn on the air conditioner in the gym. So we gave up on exercising each morning. We then went to the restaurant for breakfast, which had been INCLUDED every other time we stayed at the CP. The wait staff, whom we recognized from all our other stays, seemed confused and apologetic but said they didn't think our breakfast was included. There was no one at the front desk yet who could actually tell us for sure, so we went ahead and ate and went to the front desk after we returned from diving to ask about it. We were informed that our breakfast was NOT included, and were told the reason it had been included in our other stays was because we had used a travel agency/service and that it was included in our "package". I kept explaining that NO we had not used a travel agency or had any package in the past, but had booked ourselves just as this time. That got us nowhere and they refused to include our breakfast just as they had refused to negotiate our room upgrade. At that point we just went back to the room, very disappointed and frustrated, to relax and take a nap. We were awakened a short time later by loud hammering, drilling, and other construction noises. I looked off our bedroom balcony and noticed a platform suspended a little below our room. There were workers on it doing work, as well as workers on balconies a little below and to the left of ours doing work. They were hammering, sanding, drilling, you name it. Needless to say we were at the end of our patience. We went down and spoke to the front desk AGAIN.. same guy who wouldn't negotiate our upgrade, same guy who wouldn't include our breakfast.. we told him this was IT - either we were not going to be disturbed by workers in our room anymore, or we were going to be moved to a quieter room. He explained that he couldn't move us because there were guests coming to check in over the next 2 days and we couldn't take those rooms. By this time, we had counted and there did not appear to be 10 other guests in the hotel. So his argument made absolutely no sense. We told him that we were either going to have peace and quiet or they were going to move us. He told us that he would talk to the manager and the construction crew and find out how much longer they would be working. When we went back later that evening to ask what he'd found out, he told us that they crew had moved to another property on the island and would not be working outside and disturbing us anymore. The following day, as we kept to our same routine: up very early, out of the hotel to dive and then eat lunch, and returning for an afternoon siesta, we all laid down to rest and nap and were awoken a short time later by sounds of some type of loud grinding, from the adjoining room to ours. So clearly, although the crew wasn't working outside, someone was still doing some work inside the hotel. On top of all that, as another tripadvisor reviewer mentioned, the hotel guests directly above us, moved their furniture around pretty much all the time. We were super careful to be quiet when we moved our kitchen chairs because they did make a VERY loud screeching noise on the tile floors unless you carefully lifted them and moved them. I just kept thinking: How much would it cost the CP to buy felt pads to put under the chair legs in the suites? I mean, seriously.. PROBLEM SOLVED. But by this time we had realized that nothing was going to get any better. We just had to stick it out the remainder of our week there. What we realized in the end was that we ended up paying considerably more for our week there than our friends who were staying on Coz the same time as us, in a fully all-inclusive resort. Although we do love the longtime wait and bar staff at the CP, I can't imagine staying there again. There's just no reason to spend as much staying there with nothing included. It's a shame that the staff and management doesn't try to work with and reward their repeat guests. When your occupancy is so extremely low, it seems like they would be willing to make adjustments to keep the guests who ARE coming back happy. Sadly, that is not the case. I don't foresee a circumstance where we will stay at the CP again, and I would not recommend anyone else stay there.

Love being right on the water with a spectacular view of the ocean!! Had a one bedroom suite w/ kitchenette. I opted for this to get a full balcony where I could comfortably sit. Room was clean. Bathroom was okay - just had the typical musty sort of smell that is common in the tropics. The bathtub was a little dated looking and not totally spik and span white again like is common in many tropical hotels but it was all fine. Be sure the connecting doors to other rooms are completely latched! One of mine wasn't an a new neighbor opened the adjoining door while checking out their own room - scared me! But I went straight downstairs to the conceirge, Pedro, and he was very quick to get the maintenance man their quickly to be sure the doors were locking again as they should.

The beach area is great!! I don't mind that beaches in this area of the island are man-made. I enjoy being so close to the water and being able to jump in and go snorkeling right there. Restaurant was good. If a buffet was being served outside, they typically woudn't serve dinner in the restaurant. I went up to the bar to get a meal inside.

Location is great! It's not so busy just north of downtown and it's an easy but long walk into town. I am a female traveling alone and felt totally safe walking around. Many times I would walk to town and take a taxi back.

This was my 15th trip to Cozumel and first time at CP - I will stay here again!