After searching all inclusives on the internet for our trip to Cozumel for the holidays, we decided on the Iberostar. Great location for diving - just minutes from the reefs. The resort was beautiful, clean, friendly, etc... Beach was okay, had a pier with steps for easy entry/exit. Not much to see for any snorklers. Food was better than we expected!!! My biggest disappointment was the size of the rooms - extra small!! The only two options was a room with double beds or a king size bed. So our family of four opted for the double beds but it was very crowded. They also have their a/c rigged up to shut off if you're not in the room!!! They must do it with sensors or something because you can walk in the room and the a/c will turn on - and it should have been running since we had it on the lowest setting! The dive shop employees were terrific and my husband and oldest son really enjoyed diving with them. Bugs weren't too bad - just a few bites but we did spray ourselves with OFF everynight when we went out. The entertainment was sort of lame - didn't seem very rehearsed and would have been a total flop if the staff wasn't so personable. Would stay here again................

I stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel from December 28 to January 4. I came with friends and their two boys (12 and 14). I truly had the best vacation I've ever had! The rooms are nicely appointed and are kept very clean. The food was great - more than enough variation and quantity, and well-prepared. The staff . . . lovely staff! Very helpful and always willing to go an extra step or two . . . or three! The Star Friends were great. I've danced a great deal and I know how much work it is to put on these shows and I'm very impressed. And, don't forget, they work the resort during the day. I honestly wonder when they sleep!

I went on a few excursions - snorkelling and to Xceret and Paradise Beach with the dolphins. These were great, but I think when I go back (and I'm planning to go back next Christmas if I can manage it) I think I'll just spend most of my time on the beach. Who could ask for anything more? Good snorkelling, drinks right at hand, and a beautiful view?

I definitely plan to go back.

Thanks to all the Iberostar staff who made this a great week!

Bluesgal is my wife and I agree that our family had a great time at Iberostar Cozumel. However, I wouldn't have given the hotel a '3' rating. As in a 'death by a thousand cuts', it was the cumulative effect of lots of little things as Bluesgal mentioned. Additional nits that weren't mentioned include there being no rack to use to rack pool balls on the billiard table and, perhaps not such a nit, the men's bathroom adjacent to the beach bar (fairly critical resource, wouldn't you say?) had a commode that was clogged daily and even lacked a toilet seat!

I agree that, by and large, the staff tried to be helpful and responsive but there were a few exceptions to this rule.

Overall, the resort rates a '2', that is, 'Okay, but some problems'.

We recently returned from 8 days in Cozumel and our stay at the Iberostar was great but disappointing. Let me explain: this is our 3rd stay at an Iberostar resort (2 in Playa del Carmen) and our 2nd trip to Cozumel. Needless to say: we love the Yucatan peninsula and all that it has to offer: affordability, great weather, diving/snorkeling, natural beauty, friendly people, and the chance to get away from rainy Seattle for 8 days of fun, sun with our 2 teenage sons. (18 and 15). and we definitely enjoyed ourselves! However, the Iberostar Cozumel is not up to par with the 2 other Iberostar resorts we stayed at in Playa del Carmen. Nor is it up to par with the Allegro that we stayed at in Cozumel. It was small things that added up to our review as only average. The good points first: the property is beautiful with 1 or 2 story bungalows. Rooms are spacious and well-appointed, including decks with hammocks. If you can, request bungalows in the middle of the property (eg. buildings 24-34) as these tend to be far enough away from the theater and the pool so that you can have true peace and quiet away from the theater/music. But this is still very convenient and close to pool, dining areas, beach and the main lobby/theater area. The pool is lovely, with 2 swim up bars, the beach is also very nice with great snorkeling right off the dock. We never found it too crowded to get the palapas we wanted; as others have written, there are sand flies and some bugs, we all got bit some, but nothing a little bug spray didn't take care of. The beaches and shallow waters have definitely changed since the hurricanes of a few years ago....more rocks...the staff are friendly, polite, hard working and definitely seek to please and make sure your stay is enjoyable. The dining staff in both buffet areas go above and beyond to be quick with anything you need, and very friendly and pleasant; tips are appreciated but not expected. So, what was wrong, or as I've said, not on par with the other Iberostar resorts: the food: although there is certainly ample quantity and variety at any given meal, the meals did not vary all that much between lunch and dinners, and after several meals it became a bit old. In our past experiences, there was far greater variety, particularly between lunch and dinner. Breakfasts were by far the best and freshest. This Iberostar tends to use more heat lamps than fresh preparations than the others we stayed at. Now, it is not to say that food in the buffets weren't good: it was, just we had expected more variety. Ceviche, shrimp, Pico de gallo that was superb, fresh fruits, omelettes to order, cheeses, fresh breads, and on Christmas, lobster tails, all were quite good...The specialty restaurants were not good, and the Mexican one was downright bad. If you order, get the Chili Relleno, it seemed to be the only thing edible. Very disappointing. Our previous experience with Iberostar specialty restaurants has been Italian, Japanese, Brazilian steakhouse, which were all quite good. this Iberostar overall needs new chefs, in my opinion! My teenage sons, who never turn down food, actually could not eat the food, as well as me, (and I'm not a picky eater!) in the Mexican specialty restaurant. One good point: one day at lunch, poolside, they did cook up a fabulous fresh seafood paella with sangria: this was very well received by all the guests, and it is what we had experienced at other places: new and different specialties at lunch or dinner both poolside and at the buffet. Other small things: the rooms smelled musty and this varied day by day depending on the heat: not very pleasant, yet we didn't stay in the rooms much of course!, but the odor lingered in our clothes. the Air conditioning in the rooms was not always working properly, but this got fixed, Our sons room had a door that didn't lock reliably, despite our asking for repairs; the bath shower gel was never refilled by the staff; the grounds staff were not as attentive as at other resorts with trash staying for days in the shrubbery, in the receptacles on the walkways, and around the bungalows, the fitness center had good variety of machines, but the AC never worked properly in the room, this is vastly different from the resorts in Playa which were immaculate and constantly checked and maintained. Iguanas, flamigos, peacocks are all around the grounds which make for great fun to watch, however, Iguana "poop" stayed on walkways for over 24 hours..I think this is unacceptable for a resort that prides itself on its outdoor beauty. I don't know if they just don't have enough staff, or what, but again, this has not been our experience with our properties. So, all in all, we had a terrific family vacation, the weather was very good, we rented jeeps one day and toured the island: lots of fun, shopped a bit in San Miguel, did several dives and snorkeling, had our fill of cerveza and tequila and excellent cappucinos from the bar, yet, there is a sense of disappointment in the Iberostar that will prompt us to search for different properties the next time we visit Playa or Cozumel. I'd be happy to talk more with anyone planning a visit, and would love to hear from folks if they experience something different, i.e cleaner grounds, more and better food, etc. We have liked the Iberostar, but do not feel that we want to give them any more business.