We stayed at the Iberostar from 7th to 21st June and from the time we got there to the day we left we felt we were in paradise - what a wonderful holiday!
I felt I had to write a review, as I had so much help and tips from other travellers on the cozumel forum, I would like to help others who are thinking of going to the Iberostar.
The staff were friendly, helpful, polite and above all cheerful! It was like a breath of fresh air! They would pass you anywhere on the hotel grounds and say 'Ola' and seemed genuinely pleased to see you.
The food - well I was amazed! What a selection - every meal was fantastic, well cooked and presented food, I certainly never got bored as some others have mentioned - there was always so many dishes I wanted to have and it did vary enough that you never needed to eat the same things. Of course you do get the odd person who complains, and I think 'Odd' is the word! We heard one person complain about the food everytime we were sat anywhere near her - but every other person we spoke to agreed with us - that it was great! Every meal you could get freshly prepared fruit - even breakfast, and for those on special diets, at breakfast they did soya milk and had a health bar with fresh juices, e.g carrot juice etc. You could make up your own muesli with countless ingredients, and not forgetting the main hot breakfast buffet with eggs any way you can think of, etc, etc, etc! Other meals had some mexican dishes (varied) and some continental, including an 'american bit' that always had chips, pizza burgers and pasta dishes, especially at lunchtime, if thats what you like.There was always a vast and varied selection of different salads and beautifully presented meats/seafoods etc. Sweets were lovely - cheesecake, vanilla mousse, lots of mini desserts meant that you could try a few every day. Lovely!
Drinks great - you can ask for 'pina colada' without alcohol at the beach bar if like me you dont want to drink alcohol until the evening, but good ones with alcohol to try are: 'dirty monkey' and 'coco loco', also 'mai tai'.
You can probably tell that good food is one our top priorities when on holiday, and the Iberostar greatly exceeded our expectations! This was our first All inclusive and definitely wont be our last!
Some tips on what to bring - I feel the cold more than most people, so if you're like me youll probably think you might need a few cardis/shawls etc - just in case - LEAVE THEM AT HOME! you wont need them - I never wore one of them! Lovely balmy evenings. You can please yourself how dressy you want to be - it felt equally fitting to be in a long skirt or dress, or shorts in the evening. Fo the men, though you need to pack a pair of long trousers for the mexican restaurant. Also, if you want to go on a 'rough terrain' buggy driving etc trip, you need to pack a pair of closed shoes, i.e.trainers.
Somebody had said that there were no 'nets' at the patio doors therefore letting insects in - well there are now.
Yes, we had some rain and lots of cloud the first week, but it didnt really matter as its still warm and anyway, you can lie out when its coudy and still catch the sun - when its clear the sun is really hot so shade is welcome.
Yes, I did get bitten - I think it was from sand fleas on the beach - i used everything under the sun to prevent it and still got bitten, but my husband used nothing and only had one solitary bite! I would recommend buying something called a 'zapper clicker' you ca get from sainsburys, boots etc - when you have got a bite you click it a few times with it and it takes the itchiness away - it really does work, better than messy creams.
The beach is lovely - especially the view of it from our room which was right on the front !!!! - use the jetty to get in the water and you will immediately be amongst the fish, its amazing - got some pics of the barracuda! Take your own masks and snorkels if you want to be able to go in whenever you want, as the ones you can borrow from the dive shop are for an hour only each day. The beach is nice and quiet as the kids and those who want pool games etc go to the pool, although there werent that many children there. Whats nice is that you can go for a walk along the beach and its not hotel after hotel, you walk one way and come to 'Albertos beach bar' in a few minutes, then on abit and you come to the 'Occidental Grand' when you walk the other way its mostly deserted, apart from the odd private dwelling or derelict buliding left after hurricane wilma.
Some more advice - if you have a medical condition, such as 'diabetes', it would be helpful to bring a letter with you from your doctor to say that you are medically fit to snorkel and dive if you intend to enrol on one of the diving packages at the hotel - we had to pay $45 to have this done by the resort doctor. Also my husband wasnt allowed on the 'three reef snorkel trip' the first time as he has diabetes - Donna the first choice rep sorted it all out and we had a complimentary trip the following week, but it was rather disappointing to be turned away. Next time we would take a letter with us from UK.
Thanks to whomever posted on the forum the fact that you can request a 'mattress topper' to make th slightly hard mattresses softer - it worked a treat - they were brought to our room and put on the bed the same day we asked. The pillows I found fine.
The rooms are lovely - we had two double beds in ours - kept very clean and we always had towel art left by the maid. We did leave a tip every day.
The whole resort was clean, well-kept, and we particularly like the wildlife - didnt even mind the birds flying in to join us at breakfast - there were also a few 'wild' cats that loved any attention they could get - and any food they could get even more! The iguanas, the parrots and the flamingos, all made the hotel seem like the tropical paradise it was.
Well all I have left to say is that it is the best holiday we have ever had and we are definitely going back. If you want somewhere fairly quiet with not too much going on, somewhere to relax and switch off from the rest of the world then this is for you - if you want loads going on, lots of nightlife, etc then maybe this isnt for you. If you love relaxing, sunbathing, good food, wildlife, snorkelling, diving etc then you'll love it here.

My college aged son and I stayed at the Iberostar June 15 for three days of diving. We booked through Funjet and had no problems. Lomas Travel provided the shuttle service. Lomas was located right outside the airport and was easy to find. We had a very short wait for two other families. Since we were the last drop off, we did have to stop at two other resorts but the stops were brief and not any trouble.
Check in at the Iberostar was quick and the staff were friendly. We arrived around 12:30 pm and our room was ready. We had a room with two double beds. While the room was not spacious, it was clean, the air conditioning worked fine and the bathroom was clean and nice looking. We always had hot water. There is a mini-fridge in the closet that was stocked with water, coke and sprite and beer. The TV received some English channels, Spanish channels and some channels with English subtitles.
We had a different towel art figure every day. The beds are somewhat firm but we slept ok. You can request a foam pad from the staff, but we did not.
Buffet breakfast and dinner are served in the "Cozumel" restaurant in the main building. Both had a reasonable variety. Breakfast included eggs, bacon, sausage, cereals, breads, fruits and Mexican dishes. Dinner usually had choices from fish, beef, chicken, pasta, pizza, fruits, salads and Mexican dishes. Lunch is served at the poolside palapa restaurant. Lunch included various meats, salads, pasta, pizza, hamburgers and hotdogs. There are 4 bars, one in the main lobby, one in the palapa, one at the beach and one swim-up bar at the pool. The lobby has WI-FI and they have two computers that you can use for $2 for 15 minutes.
There are 3 specialty restaurants, a steak restaurant (serving dinner at the poolside palapa), a Mexican restaurant and a third one I'm not sure about. We ate at the steak restaurant one night and the meal was good. We had no problem getting reservations. The steak restaurant requires nice shorts and a collared shirt while the Mexican restaurant wanted long pants.
All the staff was friendly and worked very hard. One night our waiter (he actually refills your water glass, brings you drinks from the bar and clears your table) helped my son practice his Spanish.
Lomas Travel had a representative in the lobby area and Thrifty Car rental also had a representative in the lobby area.
We did rent a car one day and drove to the east side of the island. There are beaches there and waves. We ate lunch at Coconuts, which is an open air restaurant/bar on a bluff overlooking the water. I'd recommend it.
We went diving with Dive with Martin. I picked them because they are a smaller dive shop and received good reviews in scuba forums. They picked us up at the Iberostar dock each morning around 8 am and we were back after two dives around 11 am. The most divers we had were eight and one day we only had four divers (including my son and I). The divemasters were good and friendly and knew the reefs. We got out to the reefs before many other dive boats and were back at the dock before the on-site dive shop with their larger boat and groups returned. We booked directly with Dive with Martin and had no problems of any kind. I would highly recommend Dive with Martin.
One thing to be aware of is that the Cozumel restaurant and the palapa poolside restaurant are both open to the outside, they are not air conditioned. They both have many ceiling fans so we never felt uncomfortable but birds are able to fly in and steal food and scraps at the main restaurant (the palapa has a screen around it that prevents this). This was not a big issue for us but it may be for some travelers.
I left $5 tips in the morning for our housekeeper and tipped the bartenders and waiters. They all worked hard and were helpful and friendly.

To start, its definately not a 5 star resort. By no stretch of the imagination. I would say a 3 star at best. We were there for 8 days (June 22 to June 29).

The UGLY.... the food was okay, some days really good, but most of the time okay. Almost everyone in the resort that I spoke to and in my party of 5 got sick from the food. Im still feeling sick after dealing with it for 4 days now. Its not like a small stomach thing, but a full blown food poisoning thing.

THE UGLE CONTINUED..... the beach. Do not go here expecting a beatiful beach. There is a nice beach about 4 feet from the water heading to the resort. However at the water is nothing but coral formations that even with water shoes is VERY DANGEROUS to navigate through. You CANNOT let your children walk on this stuff. I was VERY disappointed in the beach. A major let down. There were couples that left this resort to go to the occidental for the beach alone. VERY DISAPPOINTING.

THE BAD.....imagin paying for a 5 star resort then having to put your toilet paper in your bath trash can because you cannot flush it. Well thats what your getting here. Makes for a lovely aroma in the whole room. Very 3rd world plumbing. The shower goes from hot to cold with no middle ground. YIKES.

THE BAD CONTINUED....Yes, all the water sports are included in your package, but you have to pay a super annoying $2.00 per person per day fee just to use anything that touches the water. EVA the water sport guard over there makes sure that you pay regardless if you never even used the bracelet from the day before. So bring plenty of $1's.

THE BAD CONTINUED MORE.... DO NOT BOOK YOUR EXCURSIONS FROM APPLE VACATIONS!!!! CARLOS is a very incompetent agent. We booked 2 tours (swim with the dolphins, and the jeep excursion) Both were ruined. He did not book the right dolphin tour and the place where the tour is, is a slum. He booked 5 people for a 4 seat jeep that has a guide in it as well for the jeep tour. Needless to say we waited all morning to be told we cant go). Do yourself a favor.... You can rent a car right there on the resort and go out on your own. The island is small there is only one road (you cant get lost), and you can go at your own pace and see what you want.

The GOOD... Angel at the pool bar makes the best drinks on the resort. Tip him, he deserves it. The resort is beatuiful. The landscapers do a wonderful job to create a very tropical oasis. The kids club is nice, and they do a great show for the kids in the evening at 8pm everynight. The Pool is very nice (your gonna be spending your time here since you cant walk out on the ocean). Snorkeling by the pier is nice...bring a roll out from lunch and toss bits of it in the water and hundreds of fish appear.

The GOOD CONTINUED..... If your a diver, this is the place. The reef off the tip of the island (about a 8 minute ride by boat from the resort) is SUPERB!!!!! The best diving Ive ever done. PERIOD! The diving company and the guys and gals that work for them are first rate. Ask for the crazy Frenchman for your guide. He's the best!!! You will not be dissappointed.

So in closing the resort is beautiful, the staff is nice, the bars are great, the rooms are clean and kept clean by a first rate cleaning staff, but the food and the beach are killers! Bring plenty of your favorite stomach relievers (Pepto, Mylanta, etc) your gonna need it.

Had to write a review - don't normally go in for this type of stuff but wanted to put record straight. We stayed at the hotel from 14th June to the 28th, and as my first experience of an all inclusive resort type holiday it was good. The site was pretty clean, the local wildlife harmless and pretty and the staff were absolutely first rate. Room and bathroom was clean enough, better than pretty much any travelodge in the UK. The food was varied despite reports - you could have a different meal each night for a week. The waiters and bar staff were all great - greet them with a smile, a cheery hola! and they will reward you with a chat and superb service. Be grumpy and surly and guess what!! We both had upset tummys on our second week - don't blame the food or water - we blame ourselves. Pina coladas, margeritas, beer, tortillas, guacamole for lunch every day? Yes? Well you will get an upset stomach like we did. All in all great, just don't expect the Savoy. Only downside is sometimes noisy/rowdy Americans in the pool and bar areas.