Before going to Cozumel and the OG, I read hundreds of reviews. I was a bit hesitant going into the trip after reading some of the negative reviews. After visiting this resort, it's amazing to me how people can look for things to complain about!

Our trip was wondering. The grounds were well maintained as people were always working on them. The service in restaurants was excellent. Staff went out of their way to talk to us and remembered us. I enjoyed the food at La Piazza and the Mexican restaurant. The buffets were fine...keep in mind they are trying to use a theme and provide a type of food everyone will like. The beach and pools were wonderful.

I'd reccomend asking for help at the concierge's desk and seeing what else is available on the island. It was worth it to rent a car and see other areas of the island as well as San Miguel.

I have nothing but great things to say about the OG and would reccomend it to anyone....singles, families, couples, etc.

The Occidental Grand was a very nice well kept resort with hard working friendly staff. If you tipped them you could have virtually anything you wanted.
The rooms are spacious with large bedroom and huge bathroom complete with mini-bar- if you tip staff it stays full.
The food is good for an all inclusive,but stick to the buffet, avoid al a carte as food there is bad.
The beach is a good size with okay snorkeling if weather cooperates. Note: Hurricane devasted the island and corel reefs.
Overall a good stay- the nightmare starts and ends with the tour company. We booked through Signature vacations- they treated us like cattle- we paid for a direct flight but found ourselves stuck in Cancun first in order to fill plane with returning travellers to T.O- a the resort some guy would continually phone and rush me early every morning to meeet him to tell me our flight home had changed- last one was a four hour delay that turned into a ferry ride to the mainland were we had to walk through town for a long period of time- finally got on a bus bound for Cancun where we were delayed for a further five hours. Signature made no apologies- we got home at approx. 5:00 am the next day over tweve hours late. If there were any elderly people Lord have mercy as this pilgramge was all up hill through the ghettos of playa. Skyservice should close their doors as they are a hack group of fast buck operators.

Check in was somewhat disorganized, there are no elevators but seek rooms on the top floor as the sun dries out the room better. A smart tip to the house cleaning crew keeps your room well stocked of water and drinks. Bathrooms were huge! Walk in shower + bath tub and a large counter to spread out the cosmetics was wonderful.
The room was twice the size of the Allegro we stayed at last year. ..and the beds softer!
The evening events were fun. Volunteer to participate in them because heck no one knows you anyways.
Make sure you do the pizza on the top floor- it's not gourmet but was very very satisfying. Los Olivos was the other ala carte we dined at. Very good.
For a blast - do a dinner at Alberto's restaurant next door (15 minute walk along the beach) go before the sun sets cause you eat on the beach.
Want good service? - tip a buck per person at breaky, lunch/dinner - yeah I know it's all inclusive but if you want to see the wait staff fight over you to ensure your coffee, water, wine is filled and plates taken away promptly. From time to time there is a backlog trying to get a plate or a fork or knife -
Tips works for Freddy at the pool bar too! Hiccup..
You can get all sorts of scuba, snorkelling trips to pick you up from the pier at the resort. We were lucky as no one seemed to used the catamarans, motorized boats, kayaks- so we indulged.
The resort has a great beach with a large marked swimming area. Don't be afraid of the local baracuda. - unless he's hungry.
Did I mention we saw a tarantula or two - don't worry they walk very slow and are usually encircled by a bunch of tourista's screaming their heads off.
You have to do a massage on the beach.
This year we did not do the car rental and trip around the island but I would highly recommend it as a great thing to do.

Great trip. The staff at this resort was outstanding. i think a big part of it was the small size of the resort. You saw the same staff everyday. they went way out of their way to make you happy. We have been to many all inclusives, including punta cana and Cuba. I think this was the best service we have recieved. It was our first trip to Mexico, and we will definately be back. There is so much to do and see. This was different from Punta Cana (which we still love) The beach is not near as pretty in this area, but the snorkelling well makes up for it. Rigt off of the beach there is so much to see. A snorkelling trip was amazing as well. I also like that you can safely travel into town, which is something i would not do in the Dominican. The food was great. enjoyed the buffet, b ut not the ala cartes so much. However, on the 3rd day we discovered the rooftop pizzaria. Fantastic!! Amazing service and the pizza was outstanding. The soup here is to die for. The whole resort is immaculately clean, but there was a bit of a sewer smell outside the rooms during certain times. Certainly not a reason for me not to return. the wildlife on the resort was really fun too., Huge iguanas, butterflies, tarantulas etc. the kids club seemed really great as well. The same lady ran it everyday, and she knew all of the kids by name. the only reason I didn't give the resort an excellent, is because we had abit of an issue with our room. Our bathroom ceiling leaked alot, and they came immediately to fix it, but it still leaked. after 2 visits we asked to be moved, and they moved us.
Will I got back. I'd have to consider it. For 2 reasons. 1, I want to explore different places ( but i lovedddd cozumel) 2. the allegro was closed for renovations and most of our favourite staff were from there, so we might consider moving to the allegro next time. The many returning guests said that the occidental is usually much lower key than it was this time. And we just loved it the way it was.