My husband and I just returned from a 9 night stay at the occidental grand in Cozumel. (May 23 - June 1) Because I used TripAdvisor to help me select the hotel - I wanted to be sure to share our experience and let folks in on some of the info we learned to answer questions you may have... (so it is looong.)

I think one of the most important things to keep in mind when you travel is where you are traveling to and setting your expectations appropriately. If you are traveling to Mexico – well - you need to realize this is not the most economically developed country, it is hot, tropical and things may not work as you are used to... ever hear the saying - relax mon, you're in the islands? I think if you keep that in mind – you’ll have a better time overall!

We arrived at the airport without pre-arranged transport to the hotel. We didn’t see any taxi’s waiting at the airport, only shuttle vans. Therefore, we bought a shuttle trip. They load the van with as many folks as fit (10?) and then take you down to your hotels. You can buy a ticket at a booth right before you exit the airport. The shuttles are all lined up and ready to fill. The price was $11 pp. Because the grand is at the southern end of the island they loaded our bus with folks who were also at the southern end. This loading did take a while. We kept wondering why they weren't leaving...but once the van was full off we went. Total waiting time might have been 30 minutes. The van stopped at 3 hotels total - ours was the 2nd. Overall - a fine experience....

The hotel check in - we arrived hot (cold weather clothes), tired after a long day of travel (connections) and we had to wait a while to get a front desk clerk to check us in. They offered champagne, water and soda while we waited, which was nice. Based on other reviews I was concerned about not getting a king bed or being made to wait hours for our room but waiting to check in (15 - 20 minutes?) was the only problem. Because I'd read the bell boys take a while sometimes - we pulled our own luggage to the room. We were in building 12 on the second floor. The good news – our building was close to check in, breakfast and dinner – but farther from the beach and lunch – which brings me to the property.

Overall the property is well maintained and pretty. Every morning there are a bunch of guys grooming and maintaining the property and keeping it looking great. There are some (est.) 12 buildings -- some closer to the water and some farther… There are two pools – one smaller and quieter (intentionally) and one louder where the activities are located. There is a mangrove preserve separating the small quiet pool from the larger pool, lunch area and beach. You walk over a bridge to get from the smaller pool to the larger pool and beach area. Some folks complained about the smell, the bridge, the walk etc. The bridge could use some repairs – there was yellow caution tape over parts of the bridge where there were railing pieces missing. My experience is that yes, you have to walk through the property to get where you are going. (!) For the able bodied one would think there would be no complaints. The worst problem was that one day it rained quite a bit – and the smell in the morning was a bit offensive at the main pool. We ended up going to the beach that day to get farther away from the smell. Other than that – not sure why anyone would complain about the property…. (after all, you realize you didn’t order and pay for the ritz, right?)

The location of the property – as noted is at the southern end of the island. You can google and find a map of the hotels on the island if you are unsure of the location. If you are wanting to do a lot of the downtown activities (shopping / eating etc.) you will need to get a cab or a car. From the hotel to the city we were charged $17 (I had read it was 15) but then I figured it was the gas prices impacting us again… But on the return trip to the city we were only charged $15… go figure… (so going to town repeatedly can get expensive quick.)

The main town San Miguel is a fun diversion from the all inclusive at the Grand. There are Mexican souvenirs of every sort and the usual jewelry stores etc. Careful if you are buying jewelry – please know what you are looking at and the prices before you buy. I heard (read?) that there were problems with fake jewelry in some shops. Also, be mindful that Cozumel is something like the 3rd most popular cruise ship port. We learned that the least busy days in town were Tues and Thurs. You may wish to check how many ships are in town before you go. (the front desk will know.) Also note – Sundays most all of the shops are closed but can be fun in the evening. The locals gather and there are mariachi bands etc. But for us there was nothing much to report about town…the shops back a street or two become more authentic and the prices get cheaper the farther off the beaten path you get. Some of the shop keepers were “working the crowd” to get folks into their shops. How many times did I hear – nearly free…. It got a bit bothersome after a while…. A no gracias seemed to work on most of them…

One day we rented a car from the hotel to drive around the island. We succumbed to the sales speech (vacation sales) and therefore got quite the bargain on the car rental. There is an issue with Mexican laws (something like if an accident you have to pay in cash before you can leave the island?) and therefore lots of car insurance is recommended. The car rental ended up being $12 and the insurance appx $25. (I think the regular price was $50 plus insurance.) We drove around the island – and seeing the beaches / bars on the south tip and the east side of the island. (There are ruins and a tequila factory but we skipped both.) The island is really quite sparse with most folks (all?) living near town. The landscape is jungle like. Not much to look at except the beaches and water. The weather was stormy (Tropical storm down near Belize) so the water was turbulent. The beach looked nice and given the bars it would have been fun to hang out of the weather was nicer. We did stop at coconuts and enjoyed our visit. Margarita’s VERY strong and the BEST shrimp quesadilla I have EVER had! Don’t know what was in it – seemed a bit plain – but was very, very good. Overall thumbs up for Coconuts and the drive around the island.

About the sales program…they started with having breakfast with us. Talking about us and where we like to vacation. They are trying to get a feel for our demographics. They then showed us the suites, deluxe rooms etc. that you would get if you bought into the program. Then they began sharing with us how we could “save” money on vacations. The deal is you buy a vacation share (not a timeshare) and stay at occidental properties and only pay the all inclusive rates plus annual maintenance (couple hundred per year). The first price they showed us was $40K. (!) Then they showed us the cheaper offer which was $20k. Then their last ditch effort was to sell us a studio share (cheapest / smallest) which was being resold $10K. Based on our travel preferences and the discounts we’ve found that the prices they were offering were not much better than what we could get on the net – but the bonus is participation potential in the RCI extra weeks system. If you are into this type of thing it might be interesting. When I got home I read about timeshares etc. and found that 2 out of 3 folks don’t benefit from their timeshares so that is something to think about. With all of that said – we got the info and a super bargain on the car rental. We had the time…it was interesting. Incidentally, we talked to a couple at the pool who had bought in Aruba Occidental and it seemed like their program was rather expensive and didn’t seem like it was worth the money. (the wife seemed a bit pissed that they had bought…)

Back to the good news: SCUBA! The best part about being in the southern part of the island is that the best dives are a very short boat ride away. The scuba diving couldn’t be more convenient. The dive shop on property is Dive Palancar. They also support the other occidental property which is just north of the Grand just past the mangrove area. There are 4 dives a day – (9am / 10:30 / 1:30 / 3:00p) you can go any time – as often as you want (dive tables / computer limiting). Dive Palancar is as good of an operator as we have seen in Mexico, which is to say not as safety conscious as dive shops in US, Dutch, French or British territories. No real safety speeches on the boat, not very elaborate dive plans – but in spite of all of that, the dive masters and staff were courteous, friendly and helpful. Not to mention the diving which in and of itself was really great. The very first dive it I felt a bit rushed. After the first day, though, it was fine. I think after not diving for a while you need more time to setup and go through the mental checklist etc. After the first day it was not rushed at all. You get on the boat about 9am. At about 9:08 you are at the dive site and at 9:10 you are in the water…. Turtles, dolphins (!), fish of every sort, nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, HUGE lobsters and fish as big as a Volkswagen (joke – but really huge!) We schlepped our dive gear daily from our room (near the front of the property) to the water. They did have lockers at the dive shop but they appeared small (and yucky). Another couple tipped the dive shop specifically so that their gear was taken care of for them each day. Wish I knew that was an option….

The Grand teaches scuba diving in the pool and has certified instructors so those who aren’t already certified can learn and go diving if you should desire. With that said – note the above about safety – not sure I’d recommend certification in Mexico as being the best idea…

The room was large and pretty clean. Yes, over the 9 nights we had a few critters (bugs) join us in the room. We did as we always do - kill them with a flip flop... SOP for our vacations.... Our room faced the jungle and the balcony was small with cheap plastic chairs. The only thing we did on the balcony was let our scuba gear dry… The lack of a view was just fine with us – it was completely private – no need to worry about closing the blinds unless we wanted to sleep. Others may have been put off by the “view” but we were not.

The bed is ultra firm as others have posted. We slept fine! The bathroom is large and clean. There is a separate huge shower stall as well as a tub. We took a plug in air freshener based on other reviews but didn't really need it. No issues with smells except from the shower/ water when you got the sulfur smell - common in the tropics? Not bad enough to complain - a bit unpleasant at most. Note – Caliente = Hot in Spanish. Some folks had trouble with that…. Plenty of hot water if you realize the one that has a C on it is Hot. (something about when in Rome….)

Because of other posts the first thing I asked DH to do was to check the safe and ensure it worked. No problems there. We then got a bottle of water out of the fridge which also included Pepsi products. With a request and a tip - the fridge can also include cerveza :)

About the food: I read many, many of the other posts and while I was there I was watching and wondering, who were the people who were complaining about the food? Overall, the food varied from fine to really good. (Realize our expectations weren’t that we were expecting 4 star meals or Michelin chefs…) Breakfast buffet included the usual American breakfast fixings (eggs/bacon/toast/potatoes etc), cereal, oatmeal and fixings, lots of fruit (scrumptious pineapple), bread and pastries, yogurts, don’t forget Mexican influenced breakfast items and meats and cheeses etc. Breakfast is held in the “main” dining room near the front of the resort. Breakfast ends at 10:30a.

Lunch – we loved the lunches. Lunch time is noon – 4:30pm (note no food except room service between 10:30 and noon.). The lunch area is right on the ocean and is open air. The breezes are wonderful and we were usually hungry from diving. There were always hamburgers and hotdogs available for lunch. (for the kids or the die hard fussy people? We never had any…). Chips and guacamole and salsa were our favorite. Salad fixings were always available as were hot food items which usually ranged from vegetables, rice, potatoes and chicken or beef something. Think chicken fajitas’, beef with mushrooms etc. Additionally there was always another grill with fish being grilled every day. We happily ate chips and guac and salad and fish every day. DH also had homemade ice cream daily. That ice cream rocked. The fresh grilled fish was also awesome! I was quite happy with our lunches – vegetables and fresh grilled fish. Yum. Wish I could have some today!

One thing we continued to comment on was the naturalness of the food. Not a preservative to be seen anywhere. I think we ate healthier down there than we do at home despite the ice cream and chip and guac! Everything is made on the property – pastries, breads etc.

Dinner: they have 3 specialty restaurants that you have to make reservations for. Depending on the length of your stay determines how many reservations you could make. Based on reading some posts I made many of our reservations upon arrival. The problem was – we didn’t know what time we’d want to eat. Some days we ended up hanging at the beach/pool enjoying ourselves till sundown which ended up being past our dinner reservation time. So – we ended up skipping a couple of our reservations. The setting or resetting reservations takes a while – being patient is necessary…

We only went to the steak house (in Mexico?!). It was probably the worst meal we had and it wasn’t that bad! The portions were tiny (compared with the pigging out we had been doing in the buffet lines) and the food was OK overall. DH had steak – not sure what he was thinking…it was mediocre… I ordered salmon – wondering too if that was the best idea. It ended up being delicious but there were no accoutrements. Not a potato or a vegetable in sight?! The dessert was about 3 bites – but the waiter did warn us. Overall – probably would have preferred the buffet line….

Pizza place – you need reservations if you want pizza before 8:30pm. After 8:30 it is open to everyone. Note the pizza seating / restaurant is open air – rooftop and yes, there are things that fly in the jungle in Mexico that are attracted to lights and food. Enough said. We ended up eating pizza 3 times during our 9 nights – so clearly we weren’t that bothered.

We didn’t eat at the other Mediterranean restaurant. No info to add there.

They have room service and a small room service menu – but we never used it.

Dinner in the buffet – it runs until 9:30pm (I think). Dinner buffet was good. Again – more chips and guac (!) fish and vegetables. There were always plenty of options but given I like fish that is where I went. There were plenty of salads and desserts (more ice cream!) There seemed to me to be plenty of options at dinner. Going native was always yummy. The tamales rocked too!

One night we went to the restaurant down the beach a bit – Albertos’ . DH ordered lobster (warm water –different from cold water) and I got fresh grilled fish. I think the total dinner was $70 and not worth it imho. My grilled fish was over cooked yet my DH lobster ($40) was good. Given the food at the Grand was included and the fish was better at there - we wouldn’t recommend going to Albertos unless you are getting antsy to leave the property and don’t want to cab to town. Dinner was on the beach with tiki torches and they had a dance floor and music. They have live bands there occasionally. That probably would be more fun if there were a live band that night…

Our biggest worry with our first all inclusive trip was with the food. Some of the posts I read folks weren’t happy with the food options. I don’t know what their problems were – but I really think if you have the right expectations and like a variety of food you will be good to go. We were fully prepared to take taxi’s or cars to town to eat many nights if the food wasn’t good. We never did that… The biggest issue might be that near the end of the meal time the buffet started to look a bit picked over and warm items began to cool. So – we tried not to go to meals late…

Drinks: Lots and lots of cerveza and corona beers. The bars are fully stocked and the choices are good with plenty available. We did some damage to the liquor cabinet while we were there! There is a waitress that walks through the main pool and beach area so you don’t even have to get up to enjoy a beverage. If you tip her – she returns a bit quicker. Luckily they had our liquor of choices – Bombay sapphire and Bacardi rum (light and dark). Plenty of tequilla’s and all of the foofy drinks (daiquiris / rum punches / pina colada’s etc etc.) Let’s just say that there may have been a few drunk folks at the pool and the beach occasionally.

There was also a bar at the quiet pool and then another in the front – near the restaurants. If someone wanted a drink it wasn’t hard to find!

The other travelers that were there were varied including middle of the road American’s: single couples, a couple of singles, folks who had kids and left them home and those who had kids and brought them along. (not too many kids as it was a bit early to be out of school yet.) There were also a bunch of brits there.

The wait staff were wonderful - Polite and accommodating. The maids did a nice job and left towel animals and flowers daily. (we did tip to encourage extra cleaning, extra water etc.)

Overall we had a really wonderful vacation. We got plenty of rest, were well watered and the diving was fantastic. I would go again to the occidental grand – but I might also try one of the other all inclusives. This was our first AI trip and it ended up being quite economical.