First trip back after hurricane and there is still a little work being done but it never bothered us. Snorkelling is still great. Saw eels, crab, all the usual fish and for two days there were 3-4 dolphins swimming just off the hotel. Staff and service still excellent. Rooms clean. The free breakfast refered to in another review is for the timeshare speech so don't fall for that. They want you to sign up for that one. Our room came with a complementary "continental breakfast" which you don't have to sign up for. We will continue coming back to this hotel for its overall excellent value. It's not the Ritz but prices don't reflect it either. I don't think you can miss with this hotel.

The snorkeling right by the hotel was great. You could jump right in and see lots of fish right at the hotel. Be wary of the "complimentary breakfast" that they offer, it is a time share deal. If you are not interested in a time share do not go to the breakfast it is not worth your time. We were scammed about the nature of the breakfast and ended up spending two hours telling the sales people we were not interested before we just got up and walked out. Also be sure and look into what you want to do before you go to the island the "guest service" desk provides advice only on tours in which they receive commission. Guide books such as Frommers and Fodors offer the best advice so do you homework on your own before you go.

Besides the "complimentary breakfast" and the "guest service desk" we were pleased with the hotel. The maids did a nice job cleaning our room. The waiters were pleasant and friendly, and we loved the location of the hotel. Plus you could rent snorkeling equiptment for $7 for 24 hours which was a good deal.

March 15,2006 We stayed at the Coral Princess for 7 nites. The hotel was not clean,floors dirty, trash left in halls for days and at times the smell was bad. Our room was somewhat better. The promised amenities were not there and all we heard was they were going to be fixed or coming tommorrow. No Jacuzzi, no refrigerator, no pool chairs etc. Only one elevator was working and it was slow. Longest wait was 23 minutes.......On the other hand the staff, (not front desk) was as nice as they could be. But we paid for decent accommodations and a clean hotel. The front desk staff was NEVER any help and acted like we were bothering them to ask for what was promised. We would never stay here again or recommend this hotel to anyone. And yes they had a Hurricanne last year but all of the opened hotels we visited were not this poorly maintained. The island of Cozumel was beautiful and the people could not have been more cordial and friendly We will go back but never to the Coral Princess.......

My wife and I visited Cozumel for the first time a few weeks ago. We were there 2/13 - 2/18. Our original trip was postponed due to Hurricane Wilma and our original hotel was the El Cozumeleno. After hassling with the airlines for weeks after Wilma, we finally decided on a date and to change our stay to the Coral Princess primarily because it was close to the price we had paid for a stay in November of 05'.

We arrived at our hotel and my first impression was not great and in fact I was very dissapointed. The hotel seemed cheap and not like the pictures on their website (but really what is?) and I was beginning to think that we should of stayed at El Coz right from the start without stepping foot at the Coral Princess. It was hard, but I had to remain optimistic.

The bellman were so nice. Pedro and Ismael were awesome and made us feel very welcomed. They took our luggage and we checked in right away. There was a group of about 4 that rode to the hotel with us and they IMMEDIATELY decided to change hotels and we over heard their conversation about how much it was going to cost to change to El Coz. More reasons why we decided to stay. Our room was ready at noon and we were very happy but not real happy about not having an ocean view. There were several things wrong with the room: Phone did not work, view was horrible, a little smaller than what we wanted but it was clean. I tried to call the lobby to get it changed but that's when I found out the phone did not work. The first 2 hours were a mess. There was a lot of miscommunication between the hotel staff and I. We needed an iron and board but we had to request. We asked about ice machines but there were none. I finally asked for an upgrade and they gave it to me but not for free ($15 / night) or as a courtesy for all of our initial hassle. I felt like they didn't care since they had my cash and my reservation.

The ocean view room on the 8th floor was a lot better. There were no eye sores like there were on the 7th floor and the view was spectacular however they had no rooms with a king bed so my wife and I had to sleep seperately. The new room was bigger and it was more of what we were expecting.

It seems like the entire hotel is under some type of renevation. Lots of noise of loud machinery and lots of men working and gauking at the hotel guests which made my wife a little uncomfortable at times. We hung out at the pool a few days and noticed that around us there was a lot of workers and lots of work to be done. Next to the hotel were some really bad eye sores. Buildings completely damaged and crumbled to only rocks and debris. The hotel did not seem too concerned with that I thought.

The hotel has 9 floors and the entire 6th floor was not ready to take in guests. There were lots of rooms that just had received new furniture that was wrapped in plastic packaging. The hotel elevators did not work so we had to take the service elevator each time and it was small and in very poor condition. The small pool or jacuzzi was not operational at all and the larger pools were cold and not heated the way they should of been on the colder days. There were ice buckets but no ice machines too so going to the store to pick up liqour or beer was not a good idea. I did talk to one guest and he said he was making his own ice but I did not want to bother.

The pool bar was great. They were fully stocked of Sol beer (for $3.50 each) and that was a bit high we thought. We had lunch by the pool different days and that was reasonable. The club sandwich is very good and that was enough for both of us for about $6.00.

Dinner at the restaurant was reasonable as well. The food was definitely not authentic Mexican food like I know it is but I have read reviews where people say it's otherwise. Not in my opinion. This type of food is Carribean style and all of the beans that are served are black. Guacamole is a big thing down there and that's good stuff.

Next to the hotel is a dive shop where you can rent snorkel gear for about $7.00 or take a 2 hr. snorkel cruise for about $25 person. The hotel offers massages by the pool for about $50 + depending on the type of massage you wanted. Not worth it in my opinion but if that's your thing, go for it !

Most of the staff was ready to cater to everything you wanted. They did not expect tips nor did they harass you every 2 minutes. It was really laid back and they made our stay as best they could. Our housekeeper made sure our room was clean and she made those nice animals with the towels including a nice Valentines heart on Valentine's day.

It was a real hassle to go back and forth into town to eat/drink because hanging out at the hotel every day was just boring. We are a younger couple and this hotel does not do a good job about catering to young people. They did have a happy hour but really did a poor or even worse than that to advertise the 1 day that they had it. There with a live band that played soft instrumental music but that was about it.

We look back at our trip and we certainly remember Cozumel and most of its people and the Coral Princess. Would we stay again ? No. The all inclusive package is the way to go. Reading the reviews of El Coz just made me realize we should of stayed with our original plans. The Coz has more to offer: Activities, entertainment, and more so we will definitely go back but not to the Coral.

I found out that the Coral has some very loyal customers so while it was not good for us, the hotel has been in the past been what people are looking for. Not us though. From a scale to 1-10, I give it a 5. As more work gets done I think the hotel would be much better than when we went. If you are looking for fun and excitement, this is not the place to go. This is more for older couples looking to relax and not be worried about having to pay for every little thing.

I would not recommend this hotel and they would have to comp me a few nights in order to get me back there. I can say that most of the staff were some of the best and most genuine people we met on our trip so much luck to them during this really difficult time.