It is true. The hotel is quite lovely but still I would not return. The good things about the hotel are
1. The renovations are great. The rooms are spacious, nicely decorated, the shower stall is huge, lots of mirrors, the AC worked exceptionally well and was very quiet. The views from the balcony (you need to get a room on at least the 5th or 6th floor) and there was lots of hot water. The problem for getting hot water was often that guests didn't turn the shower handle the right way. It was opposite to what you would think.

2. The staff worked tirelessly to help you. They never seemed to be looking for tips but we brought lots of US $1. and tipped often anyways. They really deserved to be tipped.

3. I loved the food, no complaints at all. We had no problem getting reservations to the restaurants. Even on the days that we went for excursions we just went to the restaurant reservation desk when we returned, we had less choice of times, but were still able to book even after the official reservation booking time was closed.

4. There is lots to do if you want to be active and we loved the activities staff. My favorites were Jonathon for the adults and Claudia for the kids. They truly are there because they love making people happy, it isn't just a job to them.

5. There was great snorkelling out front of the hotel. They encourage you to go left but the better snorkelling is to the right. There is a definite current to fight against to come back but not too strong, however only go right if you are in good shape. Or you can walk down the road and enter the water further down (right being the direction towards town). Their snorkels are terrible, they all leak. I travel with my own snorkle gear and so I was fine but everyone I snorkeled with had trouble. The masks and fins are fine.

Now for the not so fabulous things.

1. Yes, there was an extra $2. a day charge for the safe, which I don't agree with. There is a $5. per time user fee for the gym which is not stated on any website. If you are a Royal Holiday Member then it is free to you. And maybe the safe is free then as well. The water was not an issue because there were lots of places that you could get some but do go with your own bottle if you don't want to buy one to refill. And I did use the water from the tap as well without any trouble.

2. I prefer to have coffee before going out for breakfast and so love having a coffee maker in the room, they don't have one and most all-inclusives don't, so this wasn't a problem, I knew this and brought my little portable one cup coffee maker with me. However it would have been very nice to have a little fridge in the room.

3. The location was what turned me off and this of course is something they can't do anything about. The hotel isn't anywhere, it isn't in town and it isn't on a beach. It is a good 30 minute walk to town by cab it is $6. US. I knew they had a little beach and they do, it is very little but on the map it looks like there are beaches close by. I love walking on the beach and there wasn't any sandy beaches close by. You would need to take a $10-12 cab ride in either direction to get to a beach.

4. It was difficult to enter the ocean because it was very rocky. Therefore I only went in the ocean when I had my snorkle gear on. The water wasn't as clean as in other areas of cozumel. There is a lot of construction going on close by as well there are a lot of boats coming to the area. The smaller boats for snorkelling and the Cruise Ships.

5. Which brings me to my final dissapointment. I knew that we would be close to the Cruise Ships and that should have been a clue for me. 6 out of 7 days of the week there is a Cruise Ship parked literally right in front of the hotel. You still have a nice view to the right, but I reallly disliked looking at the ships all day and hearing their announcements and whistles etc. Plus they blocked the beautiful sunset every night.

Things you should know
1. The jacuzzi tubs that they feature on their website are not very clean and are NOT heated.
2. The hotel is across the street from the ocean BUT there is an underground tunnel that takes you to the beach, the lovely infinity pool, and second pool and two bars, one restaurant so it is well laid out for the space that they have.
3. If you don't want to sit through a 2.5 hour "time share" presentation, be firm and say no. Also do not meet your hotel representative as that is when they will try to book you for a presentation. If you don't mind sitting through a presentation or you are interested in becoming a Royal Holiday Club Member, then attend as you will get a free car for a day. We rented motorbikes and went around the island and had a ball. Just remember to take the first right off the main road when it says "Playa". Lots of little beach bars all around the island. You can stop in so many places, use the chairs for free as long as you are eating or having a drink. There is only one stretch of road that you can't see the ocean, otherwise it is all ocean view until you get to the road the cuts back into town. Worth the trip.

This resort is beautiful, everything is new and clean. The beach is limited, but the three pools make up for it. Unfortunately, no
real effort is put into honoring your requests. Asked for a room on one of the upper floors, but told none were available. We arrived around noon, many people arriving later and getting rooms on upper floors. We were put on the first floor and even the manager could have cared less. Requested a non-smoking room, asked at check-in to make sure it was such and walked into our room with the ashtray sitting there. My brother and his wife had called ahead to make sure they got a king size bed and was told they would do all they could to make sure they got the king, you guessed it, no king beds available. Breakfast and lunch great...dinners left much to be desired. Definitely understaffed in many areas, no waiter/waitress service at the pools. Not the friendliest resort, staff needs to smile more, make eye contact, and cater to their guests a little more.

We stayed here for 4 days/3 nights. The room was fine - It took awhile for the maid service to get to our room. We only had our room cleaned 1 time during our stay and it wasn't done until 4 pm. The food was mediocre. We ended up going into town for most of our meals. You need to make reservations for the (3) restaurants by 12:00, otherwise you will not get a reservation until 9:30 or later. The beds were hard, but they were clean and seemed new. The bars don't open until 11 a.m. We didn't want to have an alcoholic beverage, we just wanted some pop/water and we couldn't get it until 11 am. They had a coffee station available, but it was empty most of the time. Couldn't find the spa. If you want night life, you will want to go downtown. The resort only has one bar open at night, and there wasn't anybody there. They do have a wireless network available in the lobby, so those of you who want to take their laptops, it is available. Never swam in the pools (cold). They keep their little beach area pretty well groomed and we claimed our spot pretty early in the day. The walk ways are uneven, so you will have to watch your step. Actually, so are the roads! I will have to say, that it is an OK place, but we will most likely try someplace different next time. I also talked to people who rented jeeps/cars while they were there. It sounded like the police will pull you over and you will have to pay them off. There is a little convenience store very close to the hotel where you can get bottled water/snacks/smokes etc. It costs approx. $4-6 cab fare to get into town. The people that worked there were very nice and we didn't get approached by the time share people at all. We were ready to tell them to go away, but never got bothered. We did see them at near by tables talking to people, so they are there.

First, I would like to say, my wife and I have traveled extensively--every year, and I have never written a negative review, but here goes. We normally stay at RIU hotels so we were judging "all inclusive" by that standard.
We were there from February 9th through the 16th, 2007. When we first arrived the front lobby was full of people who had been trying to get a room for hours. We arrived about 3:00 p.m. normal check in time and had to wait about an hour--no big deal to us.
When we got our room I called to ask them where bottled water was. They said it was necessary to BUY the water and not to drink it from the faucet. So #1--we had to buy water. Now I must say, once we got our bottles they would fill them at various places--the bar and buffet.
Next I wanted to use the safe in my room, it was necessary to pay $2/day for this "service." So #2 had to pay for the safe.
I also was looking forward to working out--guess what? Had to pay $5 per visit.
Wanted to check out snorkel gear to go to the other side of the island--$9 if you take these off the premises. Now I know this sounds whinney, but if you advertise "all inclusive" I would think water, safe, fitness, and snorkel gear would be included. IT IS AT THE RIU HOTELS where we will stay from here on out.
Also, I think that Park has a problem with Management Attitude. They really do not cater to the customer. To sign up for the resturants the time is right in the middle of the day right around noon to three. If you go on an excursion you are stuck with the buffet. Now the main desk will tell you they will call for you, but they did not call for us and three other different couples I know of.
There is also a lack of service time at the outside snack bars. If you want a soda before 11:30 and trust me you will, you have to walk back to the buffet dining. The snack bars need to open earlier.
On a positive note, the staff, not management, were very nice and tried hard to serve. We really appreciated them and tipped them. The rooms were nice though the AC did not keep up with the sunny days. The water in the shower was not "hot" but it was adequate. The resturants (3) were good, much better than the buffet. And the snorkeling right out from the hotel was good. The hotel is "in town" and the beach is very small. Do not go there if you like to walk on the beach, it is not available. The Park does not compare to the other places we have stayed and we normally stay at "4" apples or stars.