We carefully researched the resorts in Cozumel before selecting the Grand Cozumel and have after having read some of the negative comments we wonder if those people stayed in the same place.

We stayed there Aug. 22-27 with our 2 children ages 5 & 11. We originally had booked in the Royal Club level and decided at the last minute that it really wasn't going to be worth the extra $86/day. I think we were right. All Royal Club gives you is room service, a DVD player, a jacuzzi tub and a different check in area. We felt those extras weren't worth an extra $430 over 5 nights.

Our room was ready when we arrived at 3PM. The check in was speedy and we were whisked to our room in a golf cart. We had a first floor room which was large and very clean. The bathroom was huge. We never used the tub but the shower was large and had plenty of pressure and hot water. The mini bar had bottled water, sodas and beer and was restocked daily. The maid made a Swan from a towel decorated with hibiscus on the first day. The kids loved it. On the first morning we made our dinner reservations for the next 3 nights.

The food was superb!! My wife is a gourmet cook and is extremely fussy about her food. She was truly impressed by the selections, the presentation and the quality at the 3 sit down restaurants and the Posada buffet. We stuck to sea food dishes primarily and they were superb. The buffet in La Posada had nice variety of meat and sea food offerings. The Mahi Mahi was my favorite there. In La Olivos which we enjoyed the most, I had a sauteed grouper and my wife had a mixed sea food dish on a bed of wild rice. Both were excellent. The kids ate pasta there. We all had their incedible Tirimasu for dessert. Lunches were at the Beach restuarant. We stuck with the seafood and rice dishes while the kids ate hot dogs and fries. The guacamole was excellent as was their pico de gallo sauce.

Breakfasts were very good with a wide variety of choices. The coffee was a bit weak for our tastes.

The margaritas were a bit weak that is undertandable as you don't want everyone to be drunk. Drink service was excellent, even at the beach. We tipped the wait staff.

There were always plenty of chairs available in the shade both at the beach and at the pool. The pool staff was friendly and energetic. The daily activities were lots of fun and included water polo, volleyball, horseshoes, trivia contests, spanish lessons, ping pong etc.

The beach itself was well maintained and ahhhh that clear, warm water. The snorkeling off of the beach was decent. They've placed some concrete "reefs" off shore to attract fish. We attracted more fish with small pieces of bread. We took one 3 hour snorkeling trip and saw 3 reefs. The staff of the boat was wonderful and very safety conscious. They even had a free bar and refreshments on the boat.

The evening entertainment was nice. We saw Latin Dancers and a Maya Exhibition. We were too tired every night to even consider visiting the disco so I can't report on that.

We were hustled into hearing their vacation club/timeshare pitch. It took an hour and saved us $50 on the snorkel trip.

The grounds were immaculate. We had an iguana living in the tree outside our building.

We loved our stay at the Grand and will definitely return!!

My wife, 18 month old son, and I booked our trip via Funjet from 8/13 -- 8/16. We chose the Grand based on the suggestions of our travel agent. We've been to many resorts before throughout the Caribbean and Mexico, but the highest star ratings of our resorts have always been 5 AND we didn't have a toddler in tow. At 5.5 for $45 more, the Grand seems like a no-brainer -- well, on paper anyways.

Upon arrival at 10:30AM, we were told the rooms were not ready for check in. (Why on earth did Funjet get us here so early?! I'm sure Funjet knew about the check in time.) However, the receptionist did notice our by-now-very-cranky toddler, so she assured us that she will try to expedite the check in. In the meantime, she suggests we go layout by the pool. Being that our swim cloths were in the suitcases that the hotel staff so vehemently insisted remain at the drop-off area, we didn't feel like fussing with our luggage in view of on-coming hotel traffic. But to the hotel's credit (one of the few times), they did manage to get our room ready around 11:30am. Room was on the 3rd floor, however (this proved to be a challenge for the entire trip as we have to lug the stroller up/down).

So ratings to this point --
Hotel staff: so-so
Hotel grounds: Excellent
Room: Exceptionally clean.

After unloading our luggage, we head to the beach. It was a little walk from our room as we were located toward the front of the property. However, we did have easier access to all the restaurants as they were in the front. Upon enjoying the beachfront pool, we headed toward the beach club for lunch. That was when we got our first taste of the food here. Well, the food was terrible. The buffet was very limited (10 items available at the most) and the grill produced hamburgers that were burnt. The quality of the items available was deplorable. We resorted to eating nachos (about the only edible things here) and our son had soup.

With 'lunch' behind us, we made our way back to the room. Again, we didn't care for the flights of stairs (what, no elevators at 5.5 star resort), but the quality of the room sure made up for it. AC was very cold, TV was okay, mini bar was luke cool at best stocked with canned sodas and beers. Since room service was not available, I had to make several trips to the bar to get fresh milk for my son. The one bartender who noticed me making the milk request many times decided to give me the whole 1liter milk container to keep in my room. It a good thing my son has a healthy appetite for milk as the mini fridge was not going to keep the milk cold for long. Housekeeping, which was extremely superb during our stay, left behind plenty of water bottles for us.

Dinner was upon us so we made our way to La Posada, the main buffet restaurant. Hoping to put the disappointment of lunch behind us, we proceeded to enter the restaurant. There we were greeted by the 'Captain' of the crew who graciously sat us at a corner table. The 'Captain' got us a high chair and then lighted the candle on our table. We thought that this help improve ambiance, but after taking a whiff of the candle, we realized that it was citronella candle used to fend off mosquitoes -- how very romantic. Service was okay at the restaurant, but once again, food quality was very disappointing. About 15 items were available -- and the restaurant was at full capacity. The presentation was extremely poor - I guess to complement the taste? The chef behind the grill was very slow in cooking up pork chops. We had to flag down the ‘Captain’ several times as his staff was not refilling our drinks. The ‘Captain’ favorite line was “Give a break” as if we were harassing him all night for drinks. All in all, dinner was total burst. I vow to wake up early tomorrow to make reservation for the exclusive restaurants.

Ratings to this point:
Service: hit and miss
Food: terrible
Drinks: excellent if you can flag a waiter down to get it for you.

The next morning brought about new challenges. As mentioned before, we stayed at many AI resorts throughout Mexico, but this is the first time that show a policy like this:

3 Nights Stay = 1 Dinner Reservation
5 Nights Stay = 2 Dinner Reservations
7 Nights Stay = 3 Dinner Reservations

Usually resorts don't care how many reservation to dinners you make, just a long as you made them in the morning before the slots fill up. We thought this policy was asinine. And on top of that policy, the receptionist was quick to point out that 'Proper Attire' was required. At the other resorts we went to, this was an unspoken, but understood rule; however, the staff usually let you slide if you got good shorts on. Hey, you paid a good fortune to be on vacation at BEACH resort, no one should expect you wear slacks!!! Well, the one time I decided not to pack my slacks and shoes on a trip......Needless to say, we didn't take advantage of the ONE reservation allow for us. Just as well, if they were snooty at sign-in, I doubt the wait staff will take too kind to us bringing a toddler to their exclusive restaurant for dinner.

Alas, the poor feeding continued for the rest of the stay. Just to give an indication on how limited the selections were -- on one pan you have boiled hot dogs and on another pan you have cut-up hot dogs sautéed with onions. Regardless of the time of day, dried up chicken in what can loosely be called a stew is always available. And the chef behind the grill was either too slow to cook the specialty meat of the day or doesn't know how to cook at all -- meats were always burnt. Guests just gave up on waiting and tried their luck with the other buffet items. It has gotten so bad that on one night, we saw many people just meandering around the buffet table deciding to themselves which of the food items taste bad the least to consume -- it was a scene from Night of the Zombies. Dinner was horrible each and every night. Were it not for our toddler needing to eat and sleep, we would have definitely caught the cab to town for dinner. Many of you would claim that buffets are buffets no matter where you go in Mexico and that we should have known that was the quality to be expected at an IA, but I beg to differ. This is by far the worst food presentation I have ever experienced on a AI trip! They are not even trying to make the food palatable. Food pans that were untouched remained on the buffet until the heat lamp burn the top to a crisp. No, I had my fare share of bad food in the past, but the food here take the cake (or should I say stale bread)!

La Posada was located next to 2 of the specialty, reservation-only restaurants at the resort. We passed by them each times we went to La Posada, but it seems that on any given night, you only see about 4-5 couples eating in them. I wonder if people were turned away for improper attire. The third reservation-only restaurant was the beach clubs that served lunch and then convert over at night. Be careful not to eat lunch there too close to cutover time - as the staff gets very agitated when they have to clean around your table. They refused to refill our drinks or removed our dirty plates in effort to get us out the door. However, as the beach club has the only full-serviced bar near the beach and pool people were always coming in/out to get drinks. You should see the grimaces on the faces of the who were people trying to clean up.

On the last night, after wife and son went to sleep, I was able to sample the pizzas at La Piazza -- the all-night joint. There you can get personal sized pizza in about 10 different styles. The pizzeria was located on the roof of La Posada. The scenery was very nice from up top, but the place was usually deserted. After eating that night, I know why. It takes the one chef behind the counter about 20-25 minutes to make your pizza. And while you wait, the lush, tropical climate made this high up place a haven for hungry mosquitoes. No amount of citronella candles would keep these suckers away. So I basically stood and move around the joint as I waited for my pizza. The pizza was okay, but it was kinda small (to have to make me waited that long). Had to eat on the run.

We couldn’t wait to leave the next day. All in all, we enjoyed the meticulously-kept grounds and wonderful pools and clean beaches at the Grand. However, the lack of creativity on food and quality of food made the stay here at the Grand extremely unbearable. We would not recommend this resort to any one – let alone any one thinking about taking young children with them. I would have recommended the Allegro next door (since we had a wonderful at the Allegro at Puerto Vallarta), but it now owned by Occidental Properties, the company that owned the Grand. So no telling what 5 star Occidental hotel might have installed for you. For 5.5 star resort, the Grand fell short in just about every measurable categories! Don’t waste your money there.

We began our 13-person, 3-family trip at the Grand Flamenco Xcaret August 3-5 (where we had a fantastic time), and then ferried over to Cozumel for a 4-night stay at the Grand Cozumel August 6-10. We had reservations (made by my sister-in-law, who is a travel agent, and she and her family were a part of our party). Upon our arrival at the correct arrival time of 3PM, we were all informed that our reservation had arrived late (we didn't know why, nor was it explained to us), and that the hotel could not accommodate us the first night. They offered to put us all up next door at the Iberostar, and we could return early the next morning for the remainder of our stay. We later found out that the Grand Cozumel accommodated people from their other hotel, the Allegro, because they had overbooked there. So those people were actually given our rooms! The Iberostar was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. When we returned to the Grand Cozumel around 9AM the next morning, we were informed that our rooms would not be ready until about 1:30. So we had to lug around some personal belongings around the pool and beach areas. Upon checking at 1:30, we were informed that two rooms were ready, but the other two rooms would not be ready until 6PM, because people were checking out later than they were supposed to. Needless to say, all of us finally got into our rooms around 7PM! They promised to make reservations for us at their steak restaurant, but they were made for another restaurant which we did not want to eat at. But with all of that, we did have a great time. The grounds are beautiful and the rooms spacious. The food was OK, but nothing to write home about. We rented a van for a day, and traveled the island, which was fun. You'll have a good time here, but make sure your reservation is intact before you arrive, and be prepared for a few bumps in the road.

Stayed at the OGC 8/14 to 8/19 2004. Five of us all together. We had two rooms. Kids ages 10, 13 and my older son who is 21. We all had wonderful vacation. The weather was fantastic. The descriptions in the reviews on trip advisor give an accurate indication of what to expect. There are no negative aspects to this hotel as a destination. A lot of wildlife frogs, turtles, big iguanas, small boas if you are looking for them. Of course my older son and I had to play with the boas. The staff was great, the restaurants, food and service are far above average and I travel a lot on business. For the price I paid in total I was nervous about booking online. I used the trip advisor to review most all the hotels in Cozumel. I booked through Expidia and everything went fine. As a bonus Expidia uses Expo (a local operator) for setting up local side trips and picking us up at the airport. They told us we would meet the expo rep the next morning at 9:15am to book our side trips for the week. I booked 4 side trips: ATV tour, Xal-Ha-Tulum, Catamaran snorkeling, and the jeep tour. They (EXPO Staff) are the ones you should be working with, They aren’t trying to “sell” anything. They will book whatever side trips you would like. Advice: Don’t book a side trip every day, leave a day or two just to do nothing and hang out at the hotel. It’s truly a beautiful property. All of us loved the pools. Mix drinks were good and plentiful. We had the Royal Club and it was worth it. I was not going to spend that much money and not get the best they had to offer. We were taken to VIP check in as soon as we hit the front desk. Big rooms, with safe, satellite TV, DVD player in the room and free DVD’s to watch in the evening. All room service was included! TOURS: ATV tour; Good for the adventurous (we are), 12 miles of bad road! It was great. The jeep tour uses the same road so you may want to do one or the other but not both. Not for the very old or very young. My wife drove one ATV, my two younger kids rode on the back of the other two ATV’s we had. The guide let my younger kids drive for awhile and I appreciated that. Xal-hal-Tulum; Fantastic trip. We had to pay extra for the cab ride to the pier in town and for the ferry trip to the mainland, cab (van) for 5 was $20 one way, ferry was $17 per person round trip. It was worth it. Buy your ferry tickets with the seller on the right side (facing the peir) across from the hard rock café, it’s the faster ferry; a jet ski on steroids! The trip takes about 45 min to playa del Carmen. All inclusive after you get to Xal-Hal, great restaurant. Grand 150ft thatched roof structure over the restaurant. Watch out for the 4.5 foot long barracuda hiding in the cave near the #2 snorkel shop (I have pictures!). Catamaran snorkeling; Good trip. Tropical meal was a slice of pineapple, no lie! No complaints, they included coronas and snorkel gear. Jeep tour; same twelve miles of BAD road! It was great! You can get a jeep I think if you request them. We got 2 trackers. They were in rough shape but performed fine, this was surprising considering the beating they get. I think they were rented. Meal was fantastic on this trip and we went snorkeling at a reef. In Summary: Prices are in $USD and not very discounted. They get 13 cruise ships a day in the on season. I was disappointed by the prices of stuff, but not overly (same as in the US generally). Bring enough money for side trips, tips and stuff. We brought bug spray and Imodium, Tums etc with us. The water in the hotel is purified. I drank the water served during meals. I brushed with it, ate salads. Near the end of the trip some of us did have some travelers intestinal discomfort but it did not ruin our time, my two younger kids did not get it. We had a very enjoyable and memorable vacation at the Cozumel Grand using Expidia and Expo. E-mail me if you have any questions.