Our stay at El Cid La Ceiba was from January 12 to January 23. We stayed in a Studio unit for 1 week and a 1 bedroom unit for 4 nights. It is that one awful night on our first night that resulted in a 4 star rating, rather than a 5 star. There is much, much more positive about this beach hotel than negative, but our first night was dreadful. Our first night was spent in a studio, off of a short hallway by the elevator, on the first floor. The sound from noisy guests on the elevator reverberated down the hallway and into the room. The room smelled of mold and mildew. While that is not uncommon in the tropics, the problem was that we couldn't open our patio door to let in the sea breeze to air out the room. The patio opened onto the lawn in front of the outdoor Italian Tratoria. The place is flooded with lights. Noise, musty air and lights are not conducive to sleeping. We read some negative reviews on this site before leaving and I would be willing to bet that those folks were talking about these same rooms. Younger folks may find these rooms completely acceptable. But if you've got gray hair, these rooms are not likely to work any better for you than they did for us.

That's all I have to say that is a downside to this facility. Avoid the rooms on the first floor by the elevator and you are likely to thoroughly enjoy your stay. After that first night we complained to the front desk. By 11:00 a.m. we were moved into another studio on the second floor down on the end by the dive shop. The room location made a huge difference. After a week we moved to a 1 bedroom unit on the 3rd floor of the wing by the dive shop. The one bedroom unit was one of the nicest units we've stayed in as a time share.

CRUISE SHIPS AND DAY TRIPPERS: Another reviewer on this site complained about the cruise ships that dock at the port in front of the hotel. While this is one of the realities of staying at El Cid la Ceiba, we didn't see the cruise ships as a real negative. We enjoyed sitting in the morning on the balcony drinking coffee and watching the ships come in. Neither did we experience the beach or facilities being over run with day trippers, even when there were 6 cruise ships docked. We spent most of each day on the beach and there were never more than half the beach chairs in use. Most of the day trippers that we met were actually members of the crew. They were friendly and respectful. I've included some pictures from our balcony that shows the view, including a cruise ship. You can judge for yourself whether this is going to be an issue for you.

THE BEACH: If you are looking for a long sandy beach to walk you have to catch a taxi or cycle to one of the beach clubs on the southern tip of the island. But, If you are looking for a fairly quiet beach to relax and read, and a nice protected area to snorkel, than you are likely to find the beach at El Cid meeting your expectations. If you are new to snorkeling, or a snorkeling novice, you may not need to go anywhere else. If you'd like a little variety, Chankanaab National Park has a beautiful beach and snorkeling opportunities and is a short taxi or bike ride (4K) from El Cid. It's also walkable if you are in decent shape and enjoy hoofing it.

RESTAURANTS: Our experience has been that the restaurant associated with a hotel typically is not outstanding. I've always thought that it was due to their "playing to a captive audience" and not having to try as hard. The La Chopa restaurant at El Cid is an exception. We found the food, service and atmosphere to be exceptional. The breakfast buffet is not to be missed.
If you are eating in town, walk several blocks north from the ferry terminal along the seawall to the museum. Atop the museum the gallery restaurant has excellent food at inexpensive prices and a view of the Yucatan channel. If you'd like to eat where the locals eat, at local prices, turn your back to the ferry terminal and walk to 25 Ave. Look for "Mama Linda" between Calle 2 nte. and Calle 4 nte.

BOTTOM LINE: We would stay again at El Cid La Ceiba in a heart beat. We also would not hesitate to recommend El Cid La Ceiba to a friend. Just avoid those four rooms on the first floor by the elevator!

The El Cid resort/time share chain took over this hotel following Hurricaine Wilma. Unlike there other properties in Cancun, Mazatlan and Europe, this hotel has limited size and accommodations. The rooms, the concierge, the front desk, the maids, and the location are great! The senior Concierge David Jardin was especially helpful, he called me prior to my arrival, and set up numerous tours that left me free to just relax. Keep in mind his commission can be steep. My Mother booked the Nautilus submarine, and walked over for her 90 minute trip. The Concierge commission on that trip was almost $40. We booked the great tours with him for the Polaris ATV, as well as the Chichen Nitzen day trip. HE IS TOP RATE, and also gave us GREAT restaurant recommendations.

However, the small pool, small hot tub mediocre food, lack of a real bar, tiny gym, and tiny faux beach are problematic. The rooms are great! The one bedrooms suites boast stellar view, and large rooms with small hot tubs, and big bathrooms.

The lack of elevators in the time share/suite portion of the hotel is a limitation that in addition to the many stairs mean the hotel is generally unfriendly to the small children, and infirm senior citizens. This is good for quiet, but the lack of a real bar, and emphasis on diving make this hotel distinctly middle aged. Most/all of the guests during my stay were here for the reasonable all inclusive, or the time share. Also based on the lack of crowds, and empty dining room the Hotel's 11 story tower appeared to be only about half full.

There showers on the villa side of the hotel were great, but hot water did not flow from the sinks, and there were numerous complaints about cold showers in the tower.

We visited El Cid La Ceiba from Dec 2 to 8, 2012. Of our over 20 visits to Cozumel, this was our first visit in December. The weather was fantastic. Since Cozumel is a tropical climate you expect hot and humid weather. Not so for this visit. It was 75 in the daytime and 65 in the evening with very little humidity. We did not use the AC once and slept with the balcony door open, using only the screen door. It was great to have the fresh sea breeze and the sound of the waves -- very relaxing.
The grounds of the hotel were in fantastic shape -- the best we have ever seen. Kudos to the management. Our room was spotless and the maid service was its usual excellence, something we always can count on from the rooms manager, Esther Zapata. Checking in is always our favorite part of the trip as either Natalio or Arcadio takes charge of our luggage and and Babiana greets us like returning family. Then it is off to La Chopa to have some Dos X's and snacks looking out over the beautiful Caribbean. The very best part of a stay at La Ceiba is the feeling that you are returning home and the staff at La Chopa is the warmest and most professional you will encounter, especially if you are returning. This is the epitome of Mexican hospitality. The service and quality of food was outstanding and represents one of the best values on the Island.
Roberto ( food and beverage manager) Chrisanto (La Chopa manager), and Jorge (assistant La Chopa manager), run a great bar and restaurant. It is always a pleasure to see the wait staff and bartenders again. Alberto, Fausto, Luis, Eli, Armando, Benecio, MIguel, Vicky, Williams, Pedro, Willberth, Paulino (bar) Miguel (bar) Guadalupe (Bar) and Leo (beach bar) and the others are the heart of why we keep returning to La Ceiba.
It was a festive atmoshere and the other guests that we talked to: singles, couples, and famillies with small children, all were having a great time and were planning to return. We took advantage of the Cocay Spa massages and the romantic dinner for two on the pier and as usual got great value for our money. These are two treats well worth the extra costs.
We did not go downtown on this visit like we normally do, especially Sunday evenings at the Plaza Del Sol, but we discovered a mini downtown at the Puerto Maya Pier (This is where the Carnival ships dock). It is only a few blocks south from the La Ceiba and is open to the public, unlike the International Pier (Royal Caribbean ships) right next to the La Ceiba. There are great little shops, restauurants, bars, and activities similar to downtown -- and only a five minute walk from La Ceiba.
We had visited La Ceiba in April, 2012, and the new manager, Andres Maillard Coronel, had just arrived. This trip we were able to visit with Andres a little longer and told him what a great job he has done with the hotel. Rest assured that the La Ceiba is in very good hands.

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.