We just returned from a week at the Iberostar Cozumel and found the
experience outstanding. Our room was cleaned early each day,
with new bedding and mopped floors. The rooms aren't large, but
we tried not to spend too much time in them, as we took advantage
of the many activities and things to do at the Iberostar. The food
was excellent, the entertainment was enjoyable, and the employees
were courteous and helpful whenever we needed anything. We did
encounter guests who were very rude to the hotel staff, but we never
found the staff being rude to their guests. The ocean beauty is
unbelievable and we enjoyed meeting people from around the
world during our visit. We never encountered bugs, but I did
have a tarantula crossing the sideway one night at about 9:30 P.M. The toads at 11:00 P.M. were huge, the peacocks were friendly and noisy, the flamingos, and parrots were beautiful and the iguanas were everywhere. Some people might have been put off by the widelife walking around, but we found it added to the tropical rainforest feel of this resort.

We were guests from Mar 26 to April 2, 2005. We have visited Cozumel 6 or 7 times in the past 15 years, and the Iberostar has certainly been the best value. We traveled with 3 teens, 2 small children (1 and 3) and 4 adults. The food was great. Plentiful, well presented, and great variety. The caviar on the last night was a treat, as was the lobster lunch. They make a great marinated steak.

The bars are well stocked, the bartenders friendly, and they were extremely helpful in getting us bottles for the baby. I recommend trying a “blue parakeet.”

The bedrooms could use softer mattresses. They were cleaned well each day. The bathrooms are very modern and clean. We did not have any of the “sewer smells” mentioned by others. We occupied 4 rooms in the same bungalow, which was very convenient. A week before we arrived I sent a fax requesting 4 rooms in the same bungalow near the pool. We got exactly what I asked for.

There are two internet computers available in the lobby. I used them each day, and never had to wait for one to open up. The connection was good, and the price was $2.00 for 15 minutes. Enough to check and respond to my email.

The diving on Cozumel is excellent. Certainly world class by any standards. Short boat rides, since the reefs are close to the Iberostar. The dive shop was run efficiently; however, we felt that the staff was not as attentive during the dive as other dive operations we have dived with on Cozumel.

Four of us went deep-sea fishing for a half day. This was through the dive shop and cost $340 for the whole boat. We could have brought up to 6 people on board. Great experience. My daughter caught her first deep-sea fish. A 52” barracuda. She was very excited.

The “saving” of chairs near the pool was a pain. It is obvious that some people get up extremely early to mark territory. I must mention the infamous pool towel plan. When we arrived we were each issued a card, which entitled us to a pool towel. We could exchange the towel for a dry one at any time, or change the towel back into a card. Upon checking out, we needed to present the same number of cards that we had been issued at check in. If not, we would be charged $10 per card missing. This is a horrible policy. The hotel is placing the burden for stolen towels upon the guests. This leads some guests to “liberate” towels that lie on the chairs or elsewhere thus costing another guest the $10. Poor policy leading to bad feelings.

The teens had a great time. There are many places for them to hang-out, and the staff was very good with them. The small children enjoyed the trip. The staff members were very helpful. There was plenty of variety of food for the teens and kids. The grill next to the pool offers food through most of the day. It includes a full service bar, as well.

The grounds are gorgeous! You live in a jungle with a flamingo pond, parrots, ignuanas, and very lush vegetation. However, along with a jungle comes some bugs (although they spray each day). Sand fleas occur everywhere you find sand. Bug spray helps. This is not Disney World. Everything is real. This is not a sanitized environment.

On balance, it was a terrific experience, and one that we will certainly repeat.

We stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel April 3-April 7 and we had a wonderful time. At check in we asked for a room close to the beach and that is what we received. Yes, the rooms are a little on the small side and the bed is hard, but we did not let that ruin our vacation, as we were not in the rooms that much. The lighting was OK and we had plently of room in the closet. But never any bed bugs.

The food was OK, but the wait staff was great. There wasn't a whole lot of variety. The drinks were very good and sometimes a little on the strong side.

The "Star Friends" were excellent. They really know how to put on a good show and are very outgoing. I especially enjoyed the salsa lesson. Ooh, Ooh!

The beach was just OK. Plently of chairs to go around, but rocky with lots of sea weed. We never encountered sand flea bites. There were also chairs available by the pool at all times of the day. We took out a catamaran and that was tons of fun. We also rented a Jeep for the day at the resort and saw much of the island and had a great time.

We tipped the maids but never received any towel art or petals. They did not fill up our refrigerator any more than normal.

The front desk staff is very friendly and always willing to help.

We would reccommend this resort to family and friends.

My husband and I stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel during March Break from March 12 to 21. We absolutely loved it! I was a little worred when I had read all the negative reviews and wondered what we had got ourselves into. None of these materialized except the sand flea bites which I didn't notice until the flight home. I must have gotten them on the last day when we walked up the beach. It had rained the day before, so maybe that's why I got them. I don't really know, but I'm not complaining. That's all part of the natural surroundings which we loved! The peacocks, flamingos and iguanas were nice to see. A mother and baby gecko visited us every night on the wall outside our room. They were cute! I had to get a henna gecko tatoo on the beach to mark the occasion! We didn't have any visitors inside our room as we tried to remember to keep the patio door closed at all times. We loved our room. Thank you very much to the other Ontario traveller who recommended room 8113. It was an upper level room with a thatched roof, overlooking the pool. We couldn't have asked for a better room. I had called a few days before and asked specifically for this room, since it was away from the tennis courts and the sewage smell (by the way, we only noticed the smell when we first arrived. After that, we didn't notice it at all the whole week). Yes, the room was a little musty when we first walked in but we brought a plug in. The smell must just be because of the roof (which did not leak by the way). We loved the rustic balcony, cedar chairs, hammock and the whole natural, jungle, feel to the resort. If you are used to high rise, elegant, fancy shmanshy hotels, this place is definitely not for you. Yes, you need to leave your room and acutally venture outside and walk a little ways to the restaurants, lobby etc., but who cares! That's what makes this resort unique. The vegetation and winding paths and wildlife makes your walk so enjoyable.

We loved the food, something different every night (prawns, fish, seafood ceviche, Mexican). Breakfast was good. You could have a made-to-order omelette, fruit, etc. Lot's of good stuff. Snacks were available in the middle of the day. We had plenty of guacamole and salsa while relaxing by the pool or on the beach. Yes, the beach has coral and you have to wear water shoes to go in, but we knew this before we booked and that didn't bother us at all. The colour of the water is so beautiful when the wind is calm, and you can see clearly to the bottom. Paella on the beach for lunch one day and lobster another day. We missed out on the lobster though because we happened to be in town that day, shopping for cheap tequila. The pool bar was fun. Try all of the different drinks. Watch out for Fernando though. He likes to add something a little extra special down the straw of your drink!

I got up at 6:00 the first morning because I had heard that that's what you need to do if you want to get a chair. Not the case. Chairs were still available at the pool and on the beach at 9:00 or 10:00. It might not be exactly where you want it, but the chairs are movable folks! Just put it where you want it. Some ladies took their chairs and moved them into the shallow area of the pool (this is okay with the staff by the way). Speaking of the staff, they were wonderful and friendly. Ronaldo at the show bar got to know us pretty well and remembered our names. He always had "something special" ready for us when we walked up to the the bar (flaming Mexican flag drinks and other unique concoctions). Ronaldo takes his job very seriously and works up a sweat pleasing the guests. It got to the point when we had to say to him "no mass!"

We went on a snorkeling excursion which was fun. We were supposed to vist the Palancar reef, but it was too wavy that day, so we snorkeled three other smaller reefs and saw different kinds of fish, sting rays and even an eel. We wanted to snorkel off the pier, but we had heard that there are jelly fish hanging around there, so we stayed clear.

We rented a jeep for the day. That was a lot of fun! The other side of the island is spectacular with it's waves, stretches of huge white sand beaches. Punta Sur is a park at the southern tip of the island. We went there but didn't go on any of the tours, as we didn't know how long it would take us to go around the island. We plan to go back at New Year's and take a tour in the park at the time. This is supposedly a sea turtle santucary.

We stopped at Playa Bonita, Coconuts and Mescalito's along the route. Go to Mescalito's if you want a nice, strong margarita, served in a clay Mexican mug. Thankfully, I wasn't driving. It hit me pretty hard. If you are looking for large Mexican blankets at a good price, buy them at the small market here. They are more money in San Miguel. The ceviche at Coconut's was excellent and the view from the cliff is awesome.

We didn't get to any of the ruins, as you had to pay to get in and by the time we arrived, it was almost closing time for them. We had planned on going to Chankannab for snorkeling, but had heard later that it was extremely busy because lot's of people from the cruise ships had headed out that way. There were supposedly massive line ups of people and tour buses.

The town of San Miguel is very busy, because of all of the cruise ships coming in daily. We like towns that are a little quieter and not as touristy. All the vendors kept asking us what cruise ship we were from. They supposedly up their prices when they know you are from a cruise ship. We bought Jose Cuervo tequila there at Cinco de Sole, $19.95 U.S. for 990mL with a small 350mL bottle to go with it. That was the best deal we found. The supermarket, Chedauari, at the south end of town also has good prices. Go to the Tequila Bar on the main strip if you want to sample good tequila. They will let you try any kind that you want! Be careful if you drive through San Miguel though. We didn't because there are so many mopeds around that you have to watch for. It is very easy to get into an accident.

If you want a spot to just get away for a week and relax in rustic, natural fun surroundings, this is the place for you. It's far away from town, which we liked. We felt like we were in our own little world and had been away from home for longer than a week. We didn't want to leave. Bring the bug spray just to make sure that you avoid sand flea bites (by the way, the itching lasted for a week, but I just kept applying Aveno anti-itch spray). We have been to Cancun (way too busy), Puerto Vallarta (4 times) and Manzanillo and have now discovered our new vacation spot. Thanks Iberostar, Cozumel for providing us with a vacation that we are still talking about to this day. Hope to see you New Year's Eve!