We stayed at this resort from March 3, 2007 - March 10, 2007. We loved it. It is a very vegetative, lush, immaculately groomed resort. I will start with the good:
- excellent staff, Martin in the breakfast & lunch buffet looked after us all week and even had our pot of tea ready at breakfast time for us,
- basic, but very clean rooms,
- lots of lounge chairs, never had to rush to the beach in the morning to reserve a spot, and could always get shade
- beach was great you could walk forever and more,
- food in the buffet was the best we have ever had and the variety was excellent at all times,
- to reserve a la carte just arrive shortly before 9am on your first day and you can reserve for the whole week at once, this was certainly better than having to rush up every day to reserve for that night or the next day,
- snokelling is great right off the pier,
Now the bad:
- pillows were extremely hard,
- water is definitely full of coral, but if you research your resort you should be aware of this and come prepared with water shoes, it would be difficult for someone unsteady on their feet to walk in but if you walk down the pier they do have a ladder that enters the water, still quiet difficult to walk down if you are not really careful
- they do have a septic problem, we had a couple of days of rain for short periods each day and with 500+ people at the resort (if was totally booked) you could smell the septic in the 4500 block and around the spa, gym and tennis courts. I think they have placed the processing in a very bad location

We are animal lovers and liked the fact that there were no roaming starving dogs, there were two cats but they never bugged you but waited patiently for you to offer them some food. The cat at breakfast loves a bowl of milk (watch out for Roberto he will tell you not to feed the cat, why I don't know because there is only one not a heard) everyone loved it and the other cat appears at the steakhouse a la carte and just hopes for some handouts. Be kind and help them out.

Overall we loved this resort and would return.

Oconto, Wi.
Date 12 Mar 07
Iberostar, Cozumel
Date Visited: 17Feb.07 thru 24Feb.07

Overall the resort was clean and the staff very courtious and helpful.
Food and drink were good.
Pool and swimup bar were nice.
Beach was nice but rocks when entering water. Best to swim from dock. Water was not that deep. six ft. by bouys, maybe.
The only gripe was the hobbie cats that were to be included, free.
Note: If you have not ever sailed one the resort will charge you $39.00 u.s. to give you lessons. However if you refuse to pay or take a lesson and they have to rescue you, you will be charged $49..00. It seems a quick free lesson should be included to me, if it is truly free.
Also if you enter the water for anything you need a $2.00 National
waterpark armband. Tip: If you remove the band you will get charged again and again. They say the band is good for the day
but you can use it all week! ( armbands are required for snorkeling or any boat ride on the water.)
The Iberostar is a very nice resort for all ages. Enjoy!

We stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel from February 18th to the 25th. It was my wife and I and my parents. My wife and I aren't world travelers but we have been to AI's in Punta Cana and Riveria Maya so I do have something to compare to.

Airport
We booked through Apple and flew directly from Chicago to Cozumel. The flight down was ok but it was a 5:00 am flight on Pace Airlines and they served cold ham sandwiches for breakfast. This could have been better. Arrived at the airport and they did not have the travel visa paper work or the customs paper work available. Had to wait. People got very pushy when the paperwork did arrive. If this was an airport in the US, yes the forms would have been available but people would not act like that in a US airport. Just because your in another country doesn't excuse your behavior. After we finally got the paperwork we breezed through the rest of the airport. Our return flight was delayed in Chicago and Apple did not notify anybody until we arrived at the airport at 7:30 am. So we had to wait until around noon before we finally left. Check in at the airport went very smoothly.

Check in/Check out
Since we arrived so early, our rooms were not ready. We didn't end up getting a room until around 3:00 pm. The weather upon arrival was not the best. Upper 60's, cloudy and raining. The sun did come out but the temp did not go up. We were however able to explore the grounds while waiting for a room. We did have a hot breakfast and some lunch while waiting as well. Spent a bit of time in the lobby bar while waiting, Gaspar took very good care of us. Check out was a breeze, luggage was waiting for us when we were ready to go.

Rooms and Grounds
Yes, the room is on the small side. We had room 8513. 2nd floor near the beach and pool. Had a great view of the ocean which was a great site to wake up to each morning. ing bed. Yes, there are no dressers
but there was plenty of room in the closet for both my wife and I. Nice bathroom. Room was always cleaned by 3:00 pm. Mini bar was stocked each day. A note to the cleaning crew explaining what we liked and what we didn't took care of everything. The bed was fine, yes it's firm but I like a firm mattress. My wife likes sleeping on a bed of feathers but she had no complaints. Loved the hammock and the chair on the deck. Great spot for an afternoon nap after a day of fun in the sun and before dinner. The grounds are beautiful. Wonderful fauna and animals everywhere. They really work hard to take care of the place. We had no issues with bugs. The only time we had a bug problem was on a tour (more on that later). The iguanas are everywhere and they did not make friends with my wife. Yes, some nights there was a sewer smell. Some nights were worse then others, some nights there was no smell at all.

Food and Drinks
This would be my one small complaint about the resort itself. The steakhouse was fine. Blooming Onion for an appitizer, my wife and I had the ribeye and it was very good. My dad had the tenderloin and he thought it was good. My mom had the pork ribs and thought they could have used some more meat. The Mexican restaurant was good as well, although the portions were small. My mom and I had the Kabab Flambe and my dad and wife had the Northern Sheet. The buffets had plenty of food although the selections seemed limited and repative. We had no issues with flys at the pool buffet. Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad, some of it just got tiring. The drinks were fine. Beer was cold, mixed drinks were strong because after the first day or two, the bartenders got to know us and knew how to make our drinks. Candlario and Abraham at the pool bar and like I said, Gaspar at the lobby bar were the greatest.

Entertainment/Tours
There is a lot to do during the day. The Star friends really work hard throughout the day to make sure you have something to do if you want to. We played/did, darts, horeshoes, pool volleyball, pool basketball, water aerobics, water polo and bingo. Marina, Manual, Josue and Amy were great as well as the rest of the Star Friends. The shows at night were entertaining, don't expect Vegas type shows because they aren't but they are fun and enjoyable. The only thing we didn't care for was the disco. My wife and I went one night and they must have had the fog macine on OT because it was very hard to see. Also, because the building is square and concrete, there is a lot of echo inside. Between the fog, the echo and the chest vibrating volume of the music we decided to leave after one drink. We did go on the Cozumel Beauties tour and the Pirate Ship Lobster/Steak dinner cruise. We booked these through Apple. The Cozumel Beauties tour takes you around the island and is a great way to see the Island if you don't want to venture out on your own. We drove around the Island and got to see and stop at a couple of the beaches on the east side. We then went to a tour on the history of Tequila. Bring bug spray, the mosquitos were very bad here. On the bright side there was a lot of taste testing and after a while the mosquitos didn't matter. From there it was to the ruins of San Gervasio. Then to San Miguel to see a black coral shop and time to wander around in town and do some shopping. The town of San Miguel and the people of San Miguel were great. A very safe, comfortable place. Take some time to wander away from the oceanfront and you can find great people and deals. If you do the Pirate Ship, make sure you give your dinner request to the booking agent. Ours did not ask what we wanted. You have a choice of lobster, steak, surf and turf or chicken. You meet at a bar called Fat Tuesdays where one of the pirates checks your reservations and confirms your dinner. Our Apple rep put us down for 4 lobsters. We all wanted steak. The Pirate said they couldn't change anything because the ship was already loaded. We told him no problem we just get a refund from Apple. He made a quick phone call and had us taken care of. Also, make sure your Apple rep confirms your reservation. We saw a few people there with reservations not on the list. After everyone is checked in you got across the street to the dock where the Playa Del Carmen ferrys board and get on the Pirate ship. There is a picture taken which you can later purchase for $11 USD. We expected a nice quiet cruise with a show and a nice dinner. Wrong. Lots of booze flowing. A game for the men, a game for the ladies and a game for couples. Then a pirate show. By the way, one of the pirates looks like Johnny Deep in the Pirates movies and he was a great guy. After the show dinner is served and it was very good. That is followed by a sword fight then some music and dancing. It was a lot of fun. Had we known what it was like we would have booked it earlier in our trip. Instead we booked it for our last night as a farewell dinner. Didn't want to get too loaded with a 7:00 am taxi ride.

Beach
Yes the beach is rocky. e had water shoes so no problems. We also did some snorkling right off the dock. Saw lots of types of fish and a sting ray. Heard reports of jelly fish but didn't see any. It was great to have the snorkling right at the resort and not have to pay extra for a trip. There is a $2.00 fee to do water activites because the reefs are protected.

Overall
We had a great time and the price was one we could not pass up. Yes the beach in the Riveria Maya was better. The food in Punta Cana was better. The rooms at both other resorts were better. However, nothing
at the Iberostar was bad. We slept comfortably at night, we didn't go hungry. We met some really great people both staying at the resort
and working at the resort and in town. WE ALSO HAD A LOT OF FUN. After all, isn't that what a vacation is all about. Would we go back, yes. Will we go back, probably not because we like to try new places. Next time could be Jamaica, Puertor Vallarta or Costa Rica. But, I would highly reccomend Iberostar Cozumel.

My wife and I just returned from a week at the Iberostar. All aspects of the stay were great, the property(beautiful), the staff(friendly and helpful), the food(good and diverse) and finally the diving. Very competent divemasters and helpful dive staff. We are already planning our next stay and for more than a week.