Just returned from the El Cid La Ceiba. I read all of the reviews of this hotel before going to Cozumel. I must say they ranged from great to awful. Had me nervous. First, I agree the La Ceiba is not a 5 star hotel. It is a 3.5. That does not make it a place you shouldn't go to. The staff is very nice. We didn't meet one of them who wasn't smiling or helpful. The rooms are kept immaculate. Left a couple dollars tip each day and Maria our cleaning lady took very good care of us. The beds are a little too firm but that can be overlooked. We had a studio room, it had a queen sized bed and a pull out couch bed and TV cabinet that had 6 medium sized clothing drawers. The room had a table with two chairs, a kitchen sink, cupboards with dishes and utensils. It also had a small two burner built-in stove. Our friends room had a microwave also. The TV had about 60 channels with about 10 that had english speaking. There was a nice sized closet with a safe, an iron and ironing board inside. The bathroom was decent sized. The toilet was sanitized every morning, I mean it was clean!! The tub-shower had a line to hang things to dry. The room air-conditioner was magnificent, there are many 5-Star hotels that could learn something from the La Ceiba and install such a whisper quiet unit. Sleeping was never a problem because of noise from it like it is at many hotels. We had a balcony with a table and two chairs and attached to the wall was hooks to hang wet swimsuits. All rooms face the Caribbean. The food was above average, service great. The restaurant is covered but open air on the sides and sits next to the water. There is an on-site massage therapist. Cars are available for rent at the hotel. The place is not new, it will not knock your socks off, but it is a very pleasant place to visit. My wife and I have been to Cancun, Cozumel and Mazatlan, staying in slightly below average to elegant places. This is in between. We had two other couples with us, one felt like we did. The others are more at home in ritzy digs, they were not as happy as us. If you want a nice place that is probably mid-price (we used Fairfield time share) and is very safe, this is a place you might enjoy. I would have no problem going back. As far as being bothered by the timeshare sellers, Just say "not interested" firmly and you won't be bothered again. One other thing, the snorkeling and scuba diving is awesome right in front of the La Ceiba.

This is an older resort, but the rooms are adequate & it is kept clean.
The biggest hastle was the time share, but we checked in late enough (after 4 pm) that the room was ready and when we were given our welcome gift (coffee & cookies in a little baggy) I declined & was seen as rude, but wasn't given the sales speil. If you go out & explore before 8AM you can easily pass through the lobby without being approached, which is easy to do if you go out for morning dives. It is also easy to get to the beach without walking through the main lobby - the sales people did not ask me when I was alone, but they did ask my husband when he was alone. My husband bought a dive package through Diving with Martin & had a great time. He said that they always had his equipment loaded on the boat before he got there & each dive was to a different location with a different dive master. Martin's is not associated with the resort, but is directly south next to the cruise ship port - a very short walk. We did a lot of snorkeling right at the resort & it was fantastic. There were many fish & creatures to see - and the beach was also kept clean. We never purchase an inclusive plan because we like to venture out, but we did eat 3 times at the resort & thought the food was good. We had an unusual amount of rain during our stay & spent a couple of afternoons in the hot tub - it was working & clean & the bar was very handy. Overall we had a very good time & really enjoyed Cozumel. For what we like to do - dive, snorkel & sunbathe we will definitely stay here again if the price is right.

Stay at El Cid: 2/2004. Where to start. Two words: FAlSE ADVERTISEMENT.
SALES: How about our entrance into this "so-called resort". After a six hour trip, we were ready to relax. Not at El Cid they want your money and they want it the minute you get there. We had not even gotten our luggage placed in the lobby, when we were engulfed by a "timesharing" saleswoman. She told us that we could not check in yet because our room wasn't ready but that she would be happy to have the bellman take our luggage up to our room and leave it in the closet while we waited for our room to be cleaned. In the meantime, she wanted us to talk to her about a timeshare. We lied and told her we had a dive trip that we had to get to. Instead, we followed the bellman up to our room, and low and behold our room was ready. What a ploy, telling us our room wasn't ready, so they could try to get a sale. We felt bad for the elderly couples that had succumbed to this tasteless sales tactic who had gotten there just prior to us. FOOD: don't get the meal plan here. We found out they have separate, and horrible menu for the meal plan folks. You have to eat off the limited one page menu for both lunch and dinner, and believe me you can get better tacos at taco bell. You are better off paying for your meals on your own, at least you will get a more varied and longer menu. They advertise they have two restaurants.
Not so. You will be eating at the Chopa for every meal. The other so called restaurant, the El Galeon, is an indoor dining facility that you only eat in if the weather is horrible and you can't eat at the outdoor chopa. However, we would recommend eating, if not staying, at a different resort. Coral reef restauarant at Casa Del Mar is where we ended up eating our meals just north of el cid. DRINKS: If you opt for the meal plan, they tell you alcoholic beverages are included. Contrar mo frare. Don't expect to drink Dos Equis, Corona, or Tecate, or even Negra Modelo. Oh, no. You will be drinking out of a gallon bottle of el cheapo beer that was probably opened a day or two before. Not too mention, everytime we entered the chopa, the cooks were drinking this beer while they were cooking. EXERCISE ROOM: Don't expect to buff up or tone here, our hotel bathroom was the size of the gym. I got more exercise walking up and down the stairs to my 7th floor room, as one elevator was broken and the other one didn't work on two floors. ICE: HEILO. Don't expect to find it on any of the floors of the hotel. They were out on every floor every day. We ended up having to buy a cooler and filling it with ice purchased from the grocery store. DIVE shop: THey are not affiliated with Del Mar Aquatics as sometimes advertised.
They are with Aqua World. Don't dive with Aqua World. They could never get 6 people to sign up for dives to take a boat out. So they would cancel. What sucked is that we bought a dive package with Aqua World before we found out how bad it is. Not too mention, that we were the only two guests staying at El Cid that dove with the onsite dive shop Aqua World. Everyone else 20+ other divers dove with Del Mar Aquatics (up the road from El Cid) or a different dive company. That should speak volumes. If you are going to Cozumel to dive, and want a good dive resort with a reputable dive shop, stay at Scuba Club Cozumel.
Rooms: The rooms were clean, and we had good maid service. This was the only positive of the resort. If you stay here, we would recommend that you dive and eat elsewhere. Do not get the meal plan. Also, do not fall for the ploy that the room is not ready. It is. When we checked out, they were already in our room cleaning it within three minutes. I am serious, we checked. If you are interested in a time share, then maybe you will find this environment pleasing, I found it rather offensive and they took advantage of and took vacation time away from a lot of individuals. They will most certainly point out to you that they are a gold crown resort, they are not. There other resorts may be, but not La Ceiba.

I escorted a group of 7 first-time tropical water divers and 2 non-divers to Cozumel at the end of November 2003. We stayed at El Cid La Ceiba and dove with DelMar Aquatics on a one-week dive package arranged through Poseidon Venture in California. We enjoyed our stay immensely.Although we all arrived and left on different days, everything worked out exactly as arranged. Our rooms were ready and clean, spacious and comfortable, with a wonderful view of the ocean across to the mainland and the incoming and departing cruise ships. Quite a sight. The grounds at La Ceiba are well kept and safe, with the dive lockers and rinse tanks at the dock a real asset. The staff is friendly and accommodating, and the buffet breakfast (included in the room rate) fresh and plentiful. And the rates are very reasonable.DelMar Aquatics picked us up at the hotel dock on time (morning or afternoon), supplied a spacious and fast dive boat, a helpful boat crew, who switched tanks faster than you could say "gracias," and a very knowledgable and expert dive master, who consulted with me us on the dives we wanted to do and showed us the best of Cozumel diving, including pleasant surface intervals on quiet beaches. DelMar also allowed anyone who had to miss a dive to make it up on another day.So, we have absolutely no complaints. As a dive master who organizes and escorts two or three dive trips a year to various places, I would not hesitate to stay at El Cid La Ceiba and dive with DelMar Aquatics again any time.