My boyfriend and I stayed at EL-CID the week of 19-26 April. We had read the reviews and we thought we were well prepared on what to expect. I am a traveling business woman and have been in the best to the worst hotels in and out of the country so I feel I know good from bad in terms of quality when it comes to accomodations. Below I'll explain what I experienced:

1. Free hotel transportation: El Cid offers this. I found out through trip advisor because it was not on our travel papers. We e-mailed them and did receive the service. They will call you a day or two before you travel giving you specific instructions on what to do. Ours was to meet Charlie outside the airport exit and he would direct us to a van. Well we never found Charlie but somebody told us where to go when we asked and getting to the correct van was very fast. This is a General Van from the pool that waits outside the airport not an El Cid marked vehicle.

2. Check-In: The desk staff was pleasant and will do whatever they can to accomodate you. We had asked for a room in tower prior to our visit away from the elevator. Salvator the General Mgr answered our e-mail stating he had sent our request in and they would do their best to do this for us. Well we got half of our request. We were in the Tower, however we were right next to the elevator. Speaking of the elevators they are very tiny, you can fit two people with luggage if you're lucky. We asked for help with our luggage which in retrospect I would skip next time. I felt bad for the man trying to manage our luggage without a luggage cart. Since the elevator's (2) are extremely small the man went in one with our luggage, us in the other. Upon entering our room he did not assist us with any information regarding the suite. Not his fault, I'm sure he was not trained to do so by management. He was an extremely pleasant fellow but not well versed in English. It's too bad because it took us awhile to realize how to get the a/c on since the remotes were not in their stands attached to the wall. You will find the a/c off everytime you enter your room after the maid because they are trained to do this I'm guessing.

3. Room: It was a two room suite, one side Master bed, full bath. The other side had a queen murphy bed, full bath and a kitchen. Both sides had a balcony and TV. The kitchen side had a very noisy a/c. The master bedroom side had a smelly bathroom at times. Occasionally I could smell sewage but at other times it was fine. I had the option of using the other bathroom and with the door closed the smell did not get into my bedroom so I learned to live with it. Our room connected to the sales office via an extended balcony on the 2nd floor. From 8 to 4 each day we would find salespeople outside smoking and chatting. For some this might have been extremely annoying but we're quite socialable so we did not let this bother us. Plus if I forgot my key I'd just cut through their office to get to my suite through my sliding door. I'm guessing our room was the timeshare model due to this set up. House keeping makes up something either an animal, mermaid etc, with the towels each night which is very cute. The towels themselves have seen better days. Please tip them daily, they work hard for very little money. Also, there is a safe in the room. You can get a lock from the front desk. Leave the key in the room hidden because if you lose it you will pay them $150.

4. The view: From room 1210 you have a big tree blocking most of your waterview. The reviews on the cruise ships are correct. They come and go each day except Sunday. Since we spent most of our day outside of the hotel this never bothered us. In fact, we loved watching the ships so it was a plus for us. If your idea of a vacation is to sit on the beach all day at this resort with an ocean view and you don't like watching ships please find another hotel.

5. Beach: The grounds are very well maintained. One pleasant surprise is they raised the fee for the cruise ship day trippers from $35 a day to $65. The week we were there the beach was empty. In the late afternoon and on the one day we did stay at the beach we always found ample room on the hammocks and chaise lounges to relax. One downside is all of the hammocks are in the full sun. I am sure the reviews on this site helped put a stop to the mayhem that I had read about with the day trippers.

6. Personnel: Kuddo's to Esther Zapata Medina the Rooms Division Mgr for taking the time to speak with us and to take an interest in our stay. She was a very pleasant woman who we immensly enjoyed speaking with. I cannot say the same for Salvador Sanchez Meza. From what I read I expected him to be a pleasant fellow, but I did not find him friendly. When I met him I made the effort to say hello, I also stated that I had read a lot of nice things about him on trip advisor. He replied that's nice and kept going. Okay, you say he must have been rushed, not so, the second time I encountered him he totally ignored me. I might add the week we were there it was not busy at all. I'll chalk this up to everyone has things going on in their life and this may have been a bad week for him. My other observation is half of the staff is not trained very well. I found some to be very pleasant and others to be down right rude. The first day we were there we were obviously exhausted from the trip and had a hard time getting towels. First, the man asked for a towel card, when we inquired at the desk they told us they were not giving them out anymore. After a second trip back for towels I did manage to get two so we could relax and snorkel. The first day Carlos was not in the shack in subsequent visits he was and I found him very pleasant and fun to talk to.

7. Food/Drinks: After reading the reviews we decided against an all inclusive package. We opted to go out every night. We were very pleased with every place we went. The first night we were so tired we ate at Ernesto's next door, excellent fajitas and a nice spot for a quick relaxing meal. Every other night we ventured into town. Some of the places worth mentioning Casa Denis, La Varanda, La Choza, La Candela. We liked Casa Denis so much we ate there twice. Great spot for people watching, especially Sunday when all of the locals are in town for the show in the square. La Varanda was a bit pricer but very romantic and in a class of its' own. The rest are very reasonable with excellent food. Including drinks our bills averaged around $40-$50 or less each night with tip. At Casa Denis we highly recommend the Chicken Corden Blue. It's the oldest restaurant in Cozumel by the way. Read the place mat when and if you go.

8. Getting around: Only one way to go. Rent from Margarita Sanchez Castro at ISIS. She will give you a great deal. If you have lots of money and cost is no object you may want a brand new jeep from one of the regular brands-Budget, Avis etc., If you want reliable transportation at a great price ISIS is the real deal. What she quotes is what you will pay and not a penny more, her cost includes insurance and taxes and cannot be beat. We went to several places and she beat them all hands down. We had a 4 dr chevy with air and loved it. At first we wanted it for 6 days but after 4 we had enough of driving so we turned it in early with no hassle at all. The other option is taxi's, from the hotel to town is only $4. Remember to tip please they depend on this for their living.

9. Cruise ship being so close: the pier is right next to the hotel. Even with the thousands of people coming and going we never had any trouble getting in and out of the hotel. It is very organized for sure.

10. Snorkeling/Diving: This is one of the major pluses. Divers get picked up right at the resort on its' private dock. Plus there is a pretty large area marked off with bouy's for safe snorkeling/diving for resort guests. We found this to be decent though not the best we found in Coz for snorkeling. The best we found was at Punta Sur park, you need a car and it's worth the trip. $10 pp gets you a day pass, and it's money well spent. My only warning is the reef is a bit of a swim and it's popular with the cruise ships. We swam with great fish and turtles here. Before you get to the snorkel spot stop to see the alligators and the small myan ruin. It's very interesting. The best beach bar for snorkeling was the Money Bar between the Presidente' Resort and the Americana Fiesta. If you see a map for Dzul-Ha Beach Club you will be at the Money Bar since they changed ownership. Fabulous place to spend the day. They do not hassle you for drinks or food and you can use their facility and order whenever you feel like it. Top notch accomodations, teek deck, ceramic bathrooms and their prices are very reasonable. We spent two whole days here we liked it so much. Also take the time to drive around the island if you have a car. There are many wonderful sites to see. Too many too mention here.

I know this review is lengthy but I feel you're reading this because you want information. I definitely recommend Cozumel for everyone. My boyfriend and I are 52 and 47 respectively and we are very active. El Cid is 3 stars and deservingly so. They have their good and bad points and with a little better management and upkeep in the rooms they could improve. I would not rule out staying here again. The people of Cozumel are wonderful and we will definitely be going back.