We had a great time at this hotel. We were a party of 4 adults and 4 children aged 8, 12, 14 and 15. We were due to stay for a fortnight, from 17th Aug to 31st Aug, but because of hurricane Dean, we were evacuated to the mainland for 6 days. We chose to return from the mainland and were delighted that we did so. After the hurricane, everything in the hotel was in full working order bar a couple of beach bungalows and the end of the jetty which has probably been fully repaired by now.

This is a medium sized hotel with good facilities. The best thing about the hotel is the staff, they are so friendly and we got to know them very well. Joshua and Moises, from the animation team, deserve a special mention as they made our holiday very special. The animation team were great. They offered a lot of entertainment throughout the day and encouraged you to join in without being pushy. The shows at night were very good. Far better than most places I have been too. The rest of the staff were all very friendly and get to know you quickly. The food was very good, especially the steak house. Plenty to eat for all tastes.

The rooms are a reasonable size and have a safe in them which is free of charge to use. They also have a small fridge which is restocked daily and there is a coffee machine and TV in the room.

The only disappointment was snorkelling from the beach. The beach itself is lovely and sandy (even after the hurricane) and has plenty of bed chairs and palm shades. However, as soon as you get to the water, you will need beach shoes as it is very rocky. The swimming / snorkelling area is limited to the length of the jetty. If you go beyond the buoys, you get shouted at by the dive team. There seems no reason to have the buoys so close in apart from making it easier for the dive boats to access the jetty and limiting the snorkelling so that you buy a trip from the dive shop. We went several times to the Occidental beach next door where snorkelling was great and the buoys are at a good distance out. We booked a reef trip from the guy in the lobby. It was cheaper than from the dive shop and we had the boat to ourselves. Well worth doing.

We also visited the dolphin park. Whilst expensive to swim with the dolphins, it was worth every penny. The conditions there are great and we had a lot of time in the water with the dolphins. If you want to snorkel there, take your own as they charge a fortune if you rent theirs.

We travelled with First Choice. Their rep, Donna, looked after us well and the evacuation and associated arrangements were handled extremely well.

We had a great holiday and would recommend the hotel for families or couples although it may be a bit quiet for late teens and early 20's.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

We started our holiday on 24 July and 2 weeks at the Iberostar Cozumel was just bliss.

We have three children 6, 11 , 16 and there was something for everyone from painting on the beach to salsa lessons and rifle shooting. My son participated in every sport on offer and I am sure poor old marina on the iberostar team and an over developed bicep from all the table tennis.

The main lobby of the hotel was really spacious and with a well stocked lobby bar that served fantastic cocktails of all descriptions which was great for me but my husband was not impressed with the local beer. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and the local wild life very interesting lots of hummingbirds, iguanas and land crabs. We had two ground floor rooms by the pool so it was really ideal for getting out of the sun for a while. The rooms were really clean and plenty big enough for our needs but the greatest thing was the air conditioning - it was so hot and humid you really appreciated it at night.

The food was very good and freshly prepared but the birds that fly about in the main buffet and the steak house were not very nice especially when swooping past your head carrying bits of cheese etc that they have just picked up off the salad bar. This was the only downside to hotel but you are located so close to jungle/national park not much you can do if you want exotic locations.

The Iberostar friends were amazing they work so hard to make sure that everyone has a good time and they were around morning noon an night. They are not at all intrusive and if you don't want to join in the fun they don't push it. The disco was open from around 11 til 2.am and it was really great for my teenage daughter to be able to have fun and stay out late in such a safe environment without the mumandad taxi service!! I had great difficulty getting my daughter to come home and she felt she had achieved her goal in life and wanted to become a star friend ( I do blame leo and moses for encouraging her).

We watched the evening entertainment which may not be to everyones taste but my 6 year old thought it was the best thing ever. Especially the horror show which she still keeps telling everyone about.

The beach was super the only problem was to go snorkeling the safest way was off the pier. Lots of sharp rocks to negotiate if you go in from the beach so take swim shoes.

The holiday as a whole was fantastic - and we will be coming back again soon - we loved mexico so much.

Everything about the Iberostar was AMAZING!!!! The olny problem I had was that there was a $2 fee everyday when using the snokeling equipment which we didn't know about. It wasn't a deal at all because the $2 goes to help protect the reefs, it would have just been nice to know before hand so we did not have to run back up to our room, no biggie. Food, drinks, service, & Entirtanment was GREAT, no complaints about Iberostar. Our trip was PERFECT!!!!!

My wife and I (late 40's and early 50's) stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel all-inclusive for 1 week in mid August 2007, our 3rd all-inclusive vacation in the Carribean in the past 5 years. Iberostar is a class act, food was varied and delicious, the room and grounds were impeccable, the staff were polite and very, very available. Snorkling and scuba diving trips were available for a fee (the latter for about $125 Canadian for two 45 minute dives), and the scuba diving lessons were easy and fun, all provided right on site. The reefs offshore are truly spectacular. There are also lots and lots of colourful, tame fish to see under the dock (including a friendly barracuda, and even 2 Moray Eels if you know where to look for them) for those who want to paddle around in the calm warm waters without booking any special expeditions. No tourista for me, but then I did take my 2 doses of Dukoral 2 weeks before the trip.

The hotel was about half-full during our stay in late summer, perhaps partially explaining the fantastic service and lack of waiting times everywhere we went. The pools are large and spotless. The hotel is "in the middle of nowhere" but affordable taxis abound for those who want to travel out of this all-inclusive.

Only a few negative points bear mentionning. The beach is groomed and sandy above water but rocky below : those who like to wade in the water should bring water shoes. There is little or no reef per se off the beach, and heavy recreational boat traffic off shore means that casual snorklers should stay close to shore (yet I did see lots of fish and even octopi during night snorkels off the beach). The Internet service (for a fee in the lobby) could not access Hotmail (no Java) nor LotusNotes, so my only means of picking up Emails was via my Rogers SmartPhone (very laborious indeed). The link between Cancun airport and our hotel on Cuzumel was a bit complex, involving 2 taxi rides and one ferry : much better if you can find a flight directly to the Cozumel airport. Finally, weather was wonderful, but we just missed Hurricane Dean by 3 days : hurricane season seems to be starting earlier every year.

Overall an excellent vacation, especially for divers and for those who like to relax.

Steve DiTommaso,
Montréal, Canada