First, I used an ICE/RCI Certificate for my stay. I stayed Jan 11-Jan 18th, although I checked out on the 17th because I was meeting my family in Playa Del Carmen for another week at a diff. resort there.

Upon Arrival, I did not get my complimentary drink (neither did several others at the same time). However, I opted for the AI dinner plan. IF you get the AI plan, I suggest sticking with the basic. It's not worth the extra $30/day for lobster, since you get ONE lobster dinner for the entire week. $30x7 = $210. You can just pay the extra $24.00 for the lobster "upgrade" with your dinner and it's cheaper.

Bibbiana, the receptionist was pleasant and greeted me every day and knew my name!!!

I had requested a tower unit, but did not get one. I was in room 2315 instead. I don't know if this was due to availability or because I had an ICE/RCI certificate. I know this was just a request, so I am not complaining. However, the non-tower rooms are in a sorry state. I'd give the room a 2.5 out of 5. That's the only thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars. The room was clean, however, the rusty shower drain, torn screen on the balcony, and leaky fridge (they did fix the fridge) and super hard bed kept me from giving the room anything higher. Imet some people who were in the tower and they said the rooms were better. Perhaps El Cid should consider renovating/updating the non-tower rooms?

The view was fine. Yes, there are cruise ships there, but the honking of the horn only happened a few times and was done by 9:00 p.m. at the latest.
Napolitano (belboy) was great and didn't complain with my heavy suitcase.

Cristafino (?) in the restaurant was AWESOME. Every morning, he greeted me BY NAME and knew I liked a capuccino instead of coffee. The staff and service were truly excellent here!!!!

The food was good, although not 5-star. However, this s not a 5-star resort and that's not bad. Not everyone can afford $450/night.

I brought my own snorkeling gear and had a blast. EXCELLENT snorkeling right there.

I did get ill towards the end of my stay. I have no idea if it was food or virus. I only ate at the resort and at the Jean Laffitte Pirate show. I asked Bibbiana about a doctor and she gave me the address for CMC Clinic. Short cab ride, 10 minutes and I saw a doctor who put me on some antibiotics. Was better in 3 days. Again, I don't know what it was, nor am I blaming the resort. There is a lot of flu going around and the CMC didn't actually culture or anything, so the antibioitcs may not have actually fixed anything.

The Pronotours at the resort was a good value. For like $53.00 I got a 3 reef 4 hour snorkeling and it was the BEST.

I would probably stay here again, if in Cozumel. I would DEFINITELY stay again if I could get a tower room. Also the room had an older 25" TV with no HDMI hookup and only like 2-3 english channels, so I couldn't hookup my laptop.

The Wi-Fi signal was ok, but the speeds were horrible. However, I stayed at a $400/night resort in Playa with WiFi that was just as bad.

I would like to commend the staff for their excellent service. Cristifano(?) in the restaurant even got me special rice/chicken soup after my bout since the doctor said to eat a bland diet for a day or two. I tried to remember the names of the staff. Oh and the cleaning ladies were always good about cleaning the rooms.

Some suggestions for improvements:
Better Wi-Fi
Updated non-tower rooms
Softer beds.

We recently stayed a week at the El Cid la Ceiba hotel in Cozumel. We have stayed at a number of all inclusive in Cozumel over the last few years. This hotel was reasonably priced, the service was great, there was only one restaurant but the food was fresh and tasty. The only AI food we have had that was better was at the Palace. Our room was clean and we felt secure at all times. The bed was very firm, on par with most of the hotels we have used in Cozumel.

The beach was uncrowded even on days with day trippers from the cruise ships. Most days there were cruise ships parked out front we enjoyed watching them come and go. The beach service like the service in the restaurant was fantastic.

Snorkeling was good right in front of the resort, lots of fish. The only improvement I would suggest is eliminating the 90 minute limit on snorkel gear. I usually leave my fins at home to save luggage space, next time we come I will bring my own.

We will come back for sure.

We stayed at El Cid during mid-January...second time in ten months. Although they have a new general manager (Andres) since our last stay, we didn't notice any major changes. I would prefer that Andres have a bit more face-to-face with the guests as did his predecessor, Salvador (great for public relations and hearing first-hand the guests' concerns).

El Cid is an older property but the rooms have pretty much kept up with the times and are very clean. Any remarks about bugs are unfounded in our opinion. Nor did we note any broken glass around the beach area.

Do not expect any night life at this resort. The "older" crowd seems to flock to this hotel...although there are families with kids, my guess is the average age is in the mid-fifties.
Many are returning for their 5th, 6th and 7th time (and more). The clientele seems to be on the "higher end" but nowhere near snobby!

We did the AI and totally enjoyed it - the food is as good as any we've had at an AI. The breakfast buffet was fantastic; most other meals were a la carte from a substantial menu.

Service is the hallmark of this resort. Special thanks to Miguel the bartender (always be nice to the bartender!). It is nice to be remembered in the restaurant by the captain, Chrisanto. There is a great staff including Luis, Armando, Juan, Eliezer and hard, hard working Vicky.

Probably the weakest link is the front desk: aloof and indifferent! 'nuff said.

We would like to return in the fall.

OPT

We just returned from El Cid last week. It was an excellent place to stay, it is located near the middle cruise port so you are far enough away from the southern port (busy tourist trap) and only a 3-5 min drive from the downtown area. The hotel staff was fantastic, Hotel Manager Bibiana and desk clerk Roger helped us out on our first night. Our room had a slight odor (to be expected it is a hot steamy island after all) and after a night out on the town I approached the desk and asked if they could help us locate a better room. Roger called Bibiana at around 10:30-11:00 PM and spoke with her, she told him to look for available rooms, by morning time we had a brand new room that smelled fresh and clean. They were very helpful and courteous. Our room had a queen size bed, working TV and a nice clean bathroom, the cleaning staff does a great job here. The hotel itself is always well maintained, clean and friendly. The beach area is amazing as well, waiters walk around all day offering you drink and food menus and are very quick to bring you your orders. The hotel offers an all inclusive package but we declined, the rooms have a hot plate and fridge so we made our own breakfast and lunch there, also we stocked our fridge with beer and bought a cheap cooler from the Mega for our daytime beach drinking. Downtown has great food options so i would encourage you to try to eat out as much as possible. All in all this was a great value, the staff was very friendly and responsive. If you are respectful and courteous in Cozumel you will be treated with the same respect and courtesy. Can't wait to come back to this amazing island next year.