I just returned from an 8 day stay at the Occidental Grand Resort and completely recommend it to anyone thinking of going to Cozumel! From the moment we got out of the taxi, the staff was there to greet us and treated us like royalty! They are there to meet your every need and are absolutely wonderful! The drinks are incredible there! Absolutely incredible! One ironic thing though...all the bars on the resort have their own drink specialties and what you find in one bar, you may not find in another. But that makes it more fun to try new drinks! There is an activities staff and they are wonderful! Roberto, Sandra and Carolina were there the entire time we were and they make sure you're having a good time 24/7. They are very friendly and are just absolutely incredible! Crystal and Sylvia waited on us pool and beachside and were very wonderful! They have a dive shop on the resort and they are equally as wonderful. Alejandro was very awesome at taking us out sailing and showing us some wonderful snorkle spots. The food is wonderful there and they have an excellant wait staff! We tried the Mediteranian Grill the first night and it was first class all the way! They have a couple of restaurants there, but reservations are required and we found them hard to come by. We only ate there once if that tells you anything. It was just so hard to get into! The buffet though is outstanding with an incredible amount of food selection! Lots of seafood as well as breads and their desserts are to die for! Jose, Juan and Marcial were are favorite waiters and were just incredible. The rooms are immaculate and the maids make some incredible designs with the towels. We had kissing swans, a rabbit and an iguana while we were there. Little hint...tip a dollar and they'll keep your fridge stocked with beer, water and soda! The grounds are immaculate! Beautiful and green. The only downfall is that the pools are freezing! Absolutely freezing! So when the ocean was too rough to snorkle, you couldn't use the pool because it was too cold. Be prepared to lay your clothes out and pick up damp feeling papers! Being right on the ocean, things can take forever to dry or not dry at all! But that is completely minor. Just a warning though. The staff there at the Occidental Grand are incredible! Absolutely incredible! With it being an all inclusive resort, gradituity is already included. However, a U.S. dollar goes a long way. These wonderful people work some incredibly long hours and make very little, so we tipped them and they were very appreciative. Many times we'd see the same staff early in the morning and again in the late evening! They work 6 days with only 1 day off! In reguards to downtown...try Carlos and Charlies! That's a happenin' place right there! And Senor Frogs is just upstairs. Watch out for the tequila! Viva Mexico is down the street and is smaller but also so much fun! You can find some great deals when shopping, but barter with them. Don't take the price they offer you. But be careful, they will chase you down the street making offers if you're not careful! And a taxi from the Occidental will set you back $15 one way! So plan ahead! Get it all done in one day! If you want to be pampered to the max and enjoy the ocean, this is the place to be! The food, service, and atmosphere are top notch!!!!! We're going again next year!

Just returned today from the most incredible 1 week vacation. This resort is the BEST on the island. We have stayed at several and the Occidental Grand is worth the extra cost. We upgraded to the Royal Club and it was well WORTH it. A gorgeous room with a huge marble walk in shower, incredible 20 hour room service (and trust me we used it!), wonderful chicken fajita's, sirloin steak, fresh salmon, seafood salad with huge avocadoes, fresh fruits, kick butt drinks, made to order omelettes and outstanding service. The grounds are immaculate. The diving was incredible. We use the best operator on the island, SeaUrchin and our divemaster Isidro picked us up right at the Occidental's new pier. We were treated like royalty. You cannot miss this resort, it is pure paradise! If you desire, write me with any questions :-)

We stopped at the Occidental Grand from 15-22 November 2003. Overall it is a great hotel and very luxurious. The attention to detail and design in the rooms is second to none. However, beware... make sure you get a room on the third floor. We were originally on the ground floor and the room absolutely stunk, it was the worst night of my life. It's not those rooms aren't clean, it's just that they have very poor ventilation and are damp, so nothing gets dry. The smell was like wet clothes that had been left in the washing machine for months on end.
However, the day after we changed rooms and from then on the holiday was perfect. The food was great, the service fantastic and the facilities superb. We would go back (as long as we weren't on the ground floor!)

I agree with the previous reviews... the Occidental Grand was wonderful. We have stayed at several resorts on Coz and also PDC so we have something to compare. The resort is beautiful and the rooms are very, very nice. We stayed on the 3rd floor room 1835 w/king bed. Our room overlooked the garden and a far distanced view of the ocean. This particular room was nice because none of the other guests could see into our room....we could see into at least 9 rooms to the right and left of us. We had no next door neighbors until our last night which was good because the balconies are close together. The shower was the best part of the room......like showering in an Amazon waterfall as my hubby said. The room also had a tub, plenty of storage space, blowdryer, safe @ n/c, stocked mini fridge w/beer, water, pop, an umbrella for those rainy days, shampoo, lotion, bubble bath, etc. I noticed no musty odor.....just the smell Mexico has in general due to the humidity. The food I thought was just abit above average for AI (all AI's get abit boring after 2 days or so) and I found the drinks to be above average for AI. For us the best food seemed to be the buffet at the beach restaurant. Although the pizza restaurant was very pretty, I was disappointed with the pizza. The beach was very small but still very enjoyable. Pools were very nice and warm enough to swim in....unlike some pools on Coz. Walk to the beach..take a right and the Occ. Allego is just a short walk away and then just a short walk from the Allegro is Nachi Cocom Beach Club. FYI: go to the lobby and get a day pass for the Allegro (sister resort)...take the pass to the lobby at the Allegro and exchange for a wristband and you will enjoy the AI of the Allegro from 9 to 5pm. Snorkeling at the Allegro is MUCH better that at the Grand so don't waste your time... just get a day pass and head to the Allegro. The Grand was fairly quite while we were there but that's why Oct. is called low season. Two of the BIG drawbacks was being so far from town ($15 one way taxi ride for 2 so rent a car or scooter for a few days) and the only bar open during the morning and afternoons is the beach bar which could be a long walk depending on your location. Personally I enjoyed the "quiteness" of the resort and being so far from town was no problem as we were aware of this went we booked.... our pkg. deal was a very good price so we were very happy with the resort and would return at the drop of a hat if the price were right.