We just got back from the Grand Jan.4 thru the 11th.

We arrived late after a 6 hour flight delay.
Check in was great. The assistant manager welcomed us back, checked us in immediately and with a cold glass of champagne in hand we took the cart back to building 17 to a nice clean wellstocked room with a view of the jungle and a bit of the ocean.
Food is the only reason I would not give the Occidental Grand an excellant rating. The breakfast and dinner buffets are pretty good , I always found something good to eat. They do recycle a lot of food. The beach club I would rate down there with McDonalds, just add dead flys in the food. We never did make the reservation restaraunts.
Service was very good this time in all areas.
The grounds at the Grand are beautiful as usual!
Timeshare sharks-- we were not bothered at all. I believe they remembered me from March.
Resort dive course was great. My hubby enjoyed his first boat dive. Pablo took excellant care of him.
I have to admit, I had reservations when I booked this resort due to a previous experiance there. I am glad I gave the Grand a third try.

We stayed at the Grand from Dec 28 and Jan 4 along with several other Air Canada Vacation people whom I recognize from the pictures posted and experiences noted.

This was our second stay at the hotel and my wife and I loved it last year.

We had requested a second floor room with a king sized bed just like we had last year. We noted on our form that we were returning guests figuring that the hotel would note this and make sure we got a good room. Not.

Now the previious Air Canada Vacation guests have to leave for the airport at 9.30 in the morning so the hotel should have your room ready for your arrival check in time of 3.00pm.

When we got there, we were advised that the rooms would not be ready until 4pm. Our flight was an hour late leaving Toronto and we got there at about 3pm.

We got our 1st room (1116) shortly before 4pm and we moved in only to find a horrible smell in the room, it was a ground floor, had 2 double beds, the phone did not work, the safe did not work and the patio door would not lock.

6 things were enough for me so I called the front desk who exchanged the keys for 1014,

The new room was still ground floor but in another building with none of the defects of the previous room.

We moved in. The guests in the rooms on either side of us complained of a horrible smell in their rooms and over the next week various people moved in and out of the rooms as they complained to the front desk.

It seems to be hotel policy to move people into defective rooms and wait to see if you complain.

What a way to run a hotel. FIX THE PROBLEMS.

The grounds are beautiful, the food good, the beach and pools fantastic.

The only thing you have to ask yourself is:

DO YOU FEEL LUCKY? WELL DO YOU?

Nice hotel if you don't mind playing room roulette.

I’ve been a member of TA since 2004. In the past I haven’t submitted many reviews. Mainly because I am just so busy with work. So here is a very honest and clear cut answer to many questions regarding the Food at the Resort. My Girlfriend and I stayed two weeks Dec 15-29. Overall it was a very good vacation. I’ve been to over 45-50 AI’s in my traveling lifetime. We Find All Inclusives to generally be the best value for the dollar. This was my girlfriends first. The food is the only thing I can really say is sub par at this resort. Oddly enough they don’t even have a Pasta Station in the main Buffet which is the first time I’ve ever seen that. So you cannot order pasta and have it cooked for you. Ive never been to an All inclusive with no Pasta Station? But there is a Mediterranean ala carte Restaurant, which wasn’t very good. Its true they recycle allot of the food from the day before into dishes like Rice parfaits and other types of concoctions. But, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
We stayed Royal Club and the Breakfasts and Lunches where very good. There is no difference in any of the Rooms except junior suites Royal Club are slightly larger. However it was nice to have the Royal Club Private restaurant for Breakfast and Lunch. Truth is every ‘AI’ I have ever stayed at makes a nice Breakfast. So it wasn’t a surprise? They all know how to make Omelets, Bacon, and Toast. The Orange Juice was excellent. There was one night in the Main Buffet they served Lobster, it was outstanding and I apologize that my girlfriend and I ate all of it, especially if you arrived late. Truth is the Resort was pretty poor for dinner selections except for that one night was excellent. It wasn’t that they didn’t have choice in the Restaurant, it’s just that it was all pretty poor. Truth is it really depends what you are use to eating. At home we eat very well. So if you are looking for Gourmet dining you will not find it at this Resort. We didn’t really care because we like to go into town most evenings and eat at Carlos and Charlie’s, and the Local Sea food joints which we really enjoy. For an All Inclusive resort however, it was very sub par for food.
It didn’t really matter where you ate specialty restaurant or Buffet, dinner was pretty boring. But we certainly didn’t complain because we both knew going in that the food wasn’t going to be great. We had read many of the previous reviews. So even those who think the food improves in High Season, unfortunately it stays consistently the same. When I read comments regarding the Beach Buffet as outstanding, it couldn’t have been the same Beach Buffet? It was ok but really lacked choice, and the Hamburgers are those processed slices of beef, thin, and not homemade.
Again I’m only writing what wasn’t great. The Beach is nice but not anything out of the exceptional category, it certainly doesn’t even rate with a Punta Cana Beach or Turks and Caicos, but it was certainly nice and if you are not that familiar with many beaches I’m sure you will absolutely love it. I should add that Cozumel is a divers paradise and approximately 50 percent of the resort guests where active divers. Oddly enough they call diving a sport? But truth is anyone can do it. We saw some of the most out of shape people you could imagine all diving up to 80 feet; basically you strap on a tank and sink. The resort offers a 3 day course if interested. And the divers all loved the Resort. Lastly the bar drinks are extremely average and you will have a hard time finding premium brands.
As far as the Weather, it was spectacular, and the Resort is clean with really beautiful nature surroundings, and lots of wildlife to keep you amused. If you have booked this Resort don’t worry you will have a good time just keep in mind it’s about 3 star in Quality when it comes to the FOOD. Rankings.

Food 6
Alcohol 6 Beach 6 Grounds 8 Couples 7Singles 3 Staff 8 Overall value for dollar 7 out of 10.

We spent Christmas at the Occidental Grand in Cozumel, Mexico.
What a wonderful time we had there. The hotel is all inclusive and the staff waited on your every need. Our room was great, with a shower and shower pressure to die for. The staff went out of their way to make Christmas special for all of us who were away from home. They did an excellent job on Christmas Eve starting with a terrific buffet, then a Disney show for the children and the arrival of Santa Claus with gifts for each child.
The ocean in Cozumel is terrific. It looks as if someone took a paint can and painted it blue. I went snoorkling and saw some great fish.
My husband and I let ourselves get talked into a 3 hour long "speech" about a time share. The push was hard and the salesman was quite convincing, a real talker. However, once we finally said no (for the third time) it was all over and no one approached us again.
There is a kid's club for children age 4 to 12. Once again the staff went out of their way to engage the children in various forms of entertainment.
My husband and I will be returning to this hotel for Christmas again in the year of 2008. I wish it was just around the corner, cannot wait!!!!!