We enjoyed a visit to Iberostar Cozumel the last week of July, 2007. The first great thing was that this was a trip my husband won from TNT Vacations in a drawing he entered at a AAA Travel Marketplace event. Thank you, TNT!

We flew to Cancun and did what a previous poster called the “Cancun to Coz bag drag,” which was fine – really appreciated their info on this. The bus to Playa del Carmen played “The Mask of Zorro!” The ferry ride to San Miguel was comfortable. We got a taxi, but not before a man intercepted us saying we should have a map – and on it I noted that there seemed to be a couple of likely timeshare places highlighted. I think that’s what he was ultimately about, because he was disappointed that we weren’t going to want to be renting a vehicle (that he could help provide) to travel around.

On the ride I noticed many dead trees sticking up above lush greenery – later learned what I had wondered might be the case: casualties of Hurricane Wilma. It’s amazing how quickly the land reclaims its space.

From Amilcar’s greeting when he took our bags at the resort, through Alejandro’s kind guidance at the lobby desk, we were right away introduced to the terrific and responsive staff of IC.
The grounds were are we had been led to believe by reports – and constantly worked on. Lovely flowering plants, and many Mayan-inspired “carvings.” No issue of bad odors at any time in the week we were there. And the critters are great: lizards, flamingoes, peacocks, one kitten (presumably offspring of the resident cat I’d read about), a parrot we saw from a distance, the omnipresent thrashers (mockingbird-type birds – they love swooping in to see what people might leave from meals, particularly at El Cedral for continental breakfast).

Our room in the 8400 cluster was a second-floor room – we really liked the porch and LOVED the hammock. The interior was nicely appointed, with light colors and a cool tile/stone/?marble? floor. The only amenity we were lacking was the bottle opener, for which we sought and received installation. The cubbies and closet hanging bar were plenty adequate. Minibar well stocked, every day. A-C at first seemed very cold, later in week felt as though it was failing, and often ran less cold than what we were accustomed to at home, but when we asked for someone to look at it, the staff responded. Daily dressing of the room with folded towel critters (and even a mermaid) and flowers was a lovely touch. Staff also responded with peppermint tea when requested on the one day I felt under the weather.

Bathroom very pleasant, shower quite good, lots of mirror space, some toiletry amenities provided, also lots of extra bottled water, nice long towels. We appreciated the advice from Trip Advisor entries on bringing over-the-door plastic hooks – we brought them, and they helped.

Very few tiny ants. Inconsequential. No other critter issues.

But the bed – oh, the warnings were right! I was really miserable a couple of nights, and we asked if anything could be done. They said they could bring in foam; I was ecstatic…they brought king-sized foam, about six inches I think…and as hard as the bed. I finally thought of crumpling up the bedspread into a kind of nest and using that as a kind of personal cushion each night. Next time I will bring a modestly inflatable camp mattress to slip under the sheet.

The pool with its three sections was lovely – nice to have a separate kid’s wading pool, an area for water polo, etc., and then the large area to swim or simply stand in to keep cool. I went in both with water shoes and without. No problems. The many shade opportunities by the many beach lounges were great – you do have to get out there somewhat early to find a spot you want.

Beach nearby was lovely, with lots of lounges available and many shade opportunities. I spent some time reading and sleeping there and appreciated the beach bar service (Ruben was serving).

We snorkeled one day, renting equipment (you could buy your own snorkel tube, and we did – hope to do more in the future, so it’s an incentive to buy the other gear at home). The Dressel Divers people were very pleasant and helpful. We only snorkeled around the pier – saw the barracuda – would on another trip take one of the catamaran jaunts to the reefs for snorkeling. I did learn a slightly hard lesson: we did snorkel midday, for about an hour, and even with an SPF 70 sunblock, I got burned. Just this side of painful. Next time – a shirt on top of sunblock!

All our meals were buffet – we just never felt the need to make dinner reservations, especially since many of the lunch buffets were held in El Serape, so we got to enjoy the pretty atmosphere there anyway. Calistro and Enrique were fine servers there. The main buffet off the lobby was remarkable with its variety – also many kind servers there (Graciela, Yadira among them). At one breakfast Luis was my table server – very kind and professional. Antonio was our dinner table server – every night, I believe – and we really liked him: helpful, pleasant, responsive, good-humored.

Guacamole to love! Fresh omelets a great thing…different cheeses to sample, opportunities to try foods we’ve not had…nice bread variety…loved having ice creams and fixings…the occasionally featured after-dinner coffees “with” were a treat (and I wouldn’t have noticed them if Antonio hadn’t called them to my attention – thanks, Antonio!)

The Star Friends were very evident and worked hard to make people’s stay a fun time. The musical show based on Broadway was good, although we are accustomed to more advanced scale of theater from our community theater involvement, but we still enjoyed it. And the Friends made a huge effort in getting kids active onstage to create “Mini Grease,” not an easy thing… Also Friends often danced with guests before shows, which was very nice. It takes a lot to maintain being “up” for the start of a performance when sometimes there is hardly anyone in the house at the beginning – the Friends deserve major applause for being real troupers. And they do well in creating audience involvement as well.

Annabel at guest services was wonderful, and we enjoyed reporting back to her about our jaunt to the Discover Mexico museum (down near San Miguel, open only about seven months – great video presentation, art display, and an amazing outdoor walkthrough to view highly detailed scale models of Mayan ruins and then more contemporary Mexican architecture). Isiela (sp?) was marvelously helpful with some phone communications we needed to do regarding our travelling home.

The Internet room was useful, the gift shop fun to look in. If we’d been with a group, we’d probably have used the lobby area for sitting and talking; it has a great number of conversation areas.

We asked Alejandro if we could meet the manager to say how much we appreciated IC, and we were pleased to meet Roberto Domiguez. When we want to let someone know how great a server or a place may be, both of us believe in making a point of talking with not only the people who serve but the people who supervise as well. We also believe in tipping, tipping, tipping. People work so hard in service jobs. We tip every day, and with every meal, and with drinks. The world is so full of complainers that we think some good news and kindness really need to be spread around.

Glad IC works at recycling, even using recycled water to water the foliage on the grounds; also the custom of “put towels on floor if you want them replaced with new ones;” non-toxic extermination of insects, etc.

Note on the Ado bus back to Cancun airport: the seats are marked with reserved numbers on the tickets, and you have to look hard around the lights above the seats to find the seat numbers.

Also – there’s an Express Spa (I think that’s the name) at the Cancun Airport, and I had a great chair massage there. They also had me sit in one of their many electric massage recliners – could’ve spent an hour there…A little pricey, but it improved my whole outlook about the general discomfort of a plane ride home.

All in all – a great trip and a fine memory. And we would definitely go to Cozumel and Iberostar again, both to see more of the island and learn more about the wonderful people there.

We stayed at the hotel Iberostar in Cozumel July 15th through the 22nd for our honeymoon and we just loved it! We will be coming back for years to come! The were many things that we liked and very few things that we disliked. I read dozens of great reviews of the hotel on this site before we left, and it was everything the reviews said it was. I will begin with the good stuff.
The Hotel:
The hotel lobby and the dinner buffet restaurant are open air style thatched roof buildings directly adjacent to the lush courtyard that is full of flamingos, peacocks, iguanas, and a parrot. Very beautiful scenery to admire while you have a meal. The peacocks will walk to your table for handouts if they can sneak past the waiters. The iguanas have their own silver plate on the right side of the courtyard are are fed veggies in the morning for photo ops. The lunch buffet was also an open air style restaurant that doubled as the nightly steak house. The rooms are cozy and the A/C was cold. The fridge was stocked with a few drinks and a few beers every day and their is a hammock on every porch. Our room was 2213 and had one of the best views in the place. We told them we were honeymooners, and they put a bottle of wine, a fruit basket, and two Iberostar t-shirts in our room before check in. For a small tip, the maid will leave you some towel art every day. The many free activities included: Free sample scuba lesson in the pool, snorkeling, archery, rifle range, dance lessons, a different theme show every night, tennis, table tennis, water volleyball, water basketball, water polo, water aerobics, a gym, kids lay room, catamarans, wind surfers, kayaks, a disco, a pool table, and my favorite, the swim up bar. Have Abraham make you one of the local favorites....a michelada. My favorite was the Double Miami Vice ! More than enough things to do and see. Their was a spa area next to the pool, but I didn't try it. Snorkeling next to the boat dock was very nice with hundreds of fish to see. A few Cudas hang out there too, so keep an eye out. We went diving for three days, and the best reefs are right out in front of the hotel. ...Palancar being the most packed with marine life. The photo shop in the lobby let us use a portable DVD player to watch the video of our third day diving! Sweet! We did not use Dressel Divers located at the hotel due to the numerous bad reviews we read about them. They are a contract outfit and not part of Iberostar.
The Food:
Absolutely fantastic! Many choices, a different variety of dishes every day, and quite tasty! Nothing made us sick! Lots of familiar stuff and lots of mystery dishes that were great! Plus pizza, burgers, and hot dogs for the kids. The Steak House was also great! I had tenderloin almost every night! Reserve a table every day for the first available night because tables are limited. A few friendly cats will come to your table for a handout here at night.
If you like lobster or other seafood, walk North East up the beach at 6pm to Albertos beach restaurant and have dinner. We already read about what to order, the Langosta Grande. They brought out two lobsters that four can easily share and barely finish. Nicely grilled with garlic butter to dip it in! Fantastic! You can also bring your own catch and Alberto will cook it for you! Then enjoy a beautiful sunset while you eat, drink, and relax to music. They have a live band on Thursday and Friday with a sandy dance floor to shake your booty on!
The Staff:
Very friendly! They will take care of your every need if you ask with a smile and a small tip! One guest had problems with the A/C in his room and it was fixed the same day! The pool side waiters are always circling, and will ask you for you drink order BEFORE your drink is gone!
The Reefs:
After researching dozens of dive shops and reading reviews from people who used them, we decided on Dive With Martin for our outfitter. They were great! They had nice Sherwood equipment that was included in the already low price, with weighted BC's that were already hooked up to tanks and ready to go every morning. 3000 psi in the tank every day and ascending at 700. You can dive your computer with them, and it's not the "everybody out at 700" rule like most outfits. They picked us up at the dock of the hotel at 8am every day and it was a 2 minute boat ride to the reef! We dove the entire Palancar Strip....Columbia Pinnacles, Columbia Gardens, Palancar Deep, Palancar Caves, Palancar Gardens, La Francesa Reef, Punta Dahlia, and The Bricks. We saw several Hawksbill Turtles, several Green Morays, Souther Stingray, Yellow Stingray, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Barracuda, Crab, Lobster, Eel Fish, Parrot Fish, Triggers, Angels the size of dinner plates, huge schools of Grunt, Bristle Worm, and many other species. Our DM was David, and he was amazing. Bubble rings galore, and he can dive with no mask and his eyes open! Ouch! A nice fruit lunch topside and great stories from David were also enjoyable.
Now The Bad Stuff:
Only two electrical outlets in the rooms, and the coffee maker takes the one in the bedroom area. The other is in the bath. So bring some power strips! The beach is nice and sandy until you enter the water, then it's rocks, rocks, rocks. Dont even try to walk in, go to the dock and use the steps. Your ankles will thank you. The Mexican Restaurant was not up to par with the rest of the food, don't bother even trying it. You will be disappointed.
The grackle birds will attack your food plate in the open air buffets if you leave it alone...so don't. The pool has broken tiles and will cut your feet, so wear water socks for all pool sports. The hotel lobby gift shop is a rip off, pay the $20 and go to town to shop if you want a lot of souveneirs. One t-shirt in the lobby is $17 and you can get 8 for $20 in town. One necklace is $10 in the lobby, and they are $1 in town. Sand fleas, sand chiggers, and mosquitos are plentyful, so wear Deet on your feet and legs for beach walking, and all over at night for skeeters. Take vitamin B-12 evey day to help with mosquitos, they hate it. There are some foul odors, but it is an Island, and there is no waste water plant for the hotel folks, it's a septic tank. If you go during peak season be ready for it. It is behind the theater. The coffee is way too strong, and the OJ tastes like Orange Tang. Try the pineapple instead, it's a lot better. The pool bar opens at 11 and closes at 6ish. Too early for me. I would be happier with a midnight closing time! As you can see these are pretty trivial things that are easy to remedy. If your room is close to the theater and stinky, then change rooms. If you drink tap water, you will get the runs. If you hate heat and humidity, then stay home. This is not the place for you. No A/C in lobby, or two of three restaurants.
Overall:
For the price, this hotel has a lot to offer. It is much nicer than ANY all inclusive resort that we have stayed at for this price. For diving, it is hard to beat the location. I was prepared for everything but the lack of power outlets. I will return to this beatiful tropical hotel resort many times and I give it a two thumbs up! Take a look at our vacation pictures!

We have been back from our holiday in Cozumel for three weeks and we are missing the place very much. Please disregard all of the negative reports because this place is fantastic. The resort is clean and very well looked after the ground staff are working all of the time to keep the grounds of the resort looking top class. There is always a creature of some sort to greet you when you take a stroll through the resort be it an iguana peacock or parrot to name but a few . The rooms are plenty big enough and the maid service is excellent. The staff of the resort are very hard working if there is anything they can do to make your stay even better they will do it ( special thanks to Ruben & Juan in the beech bar). The food is top class as well we never visited the specialist resturants because the food selection in the buffet was so good. Hopefully when we have done our holiday touring our first revisit will be the IBEROSTAR COZUMEL.Thanks to Donna great rep.

We stayed July 28-Aug 4 and truly had the best vacation ever. This is our 2nd stay in an all inclusive & it was better than our first. The food at Ib-Coz was plentiful, full of choices & we were never hungry. The drinks from the bar were not watered down. We enjoyed laying on the beach where it was quiet, and someone was always coming through with drinks. The rooms were just right, some said they were small, but just 2 people in a room was perfect size: they had a closet with some built ins for shoes & folded clothes. Our maid visited everyday with fresh sheets & towels & always left towel art. There is a safe in the room which you program with your own 4 digit code (no extra key to lug around!) which was nice. We ate at the Mexican Restaurant, which was good, and also the Steak Restaurant (the steak was delicious) but we really enjoyed the regular dinner buffet the most. There was something different every night (but still the staples one would expect if you didn't want to try something new). Always fresh fruits & salads, which were delcious!
We went on several excursions booked right there at the hotel which were AWESOME! And our friends went diving booked at the hotel, and they were pleased as well. Definately do the jeep tour! It takes a full day, but it was the best excursion all 4 of us did! Best snorkeling by far!
The grounds were full of beautiful landscaping. Everyone there works so hard all day & night: cleaning, cooking, gardening, and the Star Friends!
The beach is beautiful, do bring water shoes - and you can snorkel right there & see some neat fish, lobster, etc.
We would love to return to this Iberostar or one of their other resorts; we would highly recomend this resort! We had the best time & wish we could have stayed another week!