We stayed the week of August 11th to 18th at the Occidental Grand Cozumel. Where do I begin? We had a Fabulous time!!! The staff super helpful, funny and outgoing. We arrived late in the evening and were received with Champagne, then were taken to our room by a bell boy on a golf cart. Our room was close to the lobby but further from the beach/pool (Rm 1114) but it was nice being close to everything especially at night when you are more tired to walk. The room was beautiful and unexpectedly quite big-a bistro table with two chairs, a stand up shower/soaker tub, safety deposit box in the closet etc. Overall, really nice and it smelled really great not moldy at all. The food was really good at "La posada" buffet restaurant except for one night that was Mediterranean night but it was still okay. Every night was a different theme-Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, Oriental etc.. The breakfast was fabulous, so many fruits/juices and pastries. We always had lunch at the Beach Club and it was really good. We ate 3 nights at la carte restaurants -twice at the "Sonora Grill"-steak house and once at the "Olivos" Mediterranean...amazing food and service. Dress code for buffet restaurant :men could wear khaki shorts/shirt and women shorts/skirts. For the a la carte restaurant" men wore pants/collard shirts and women dresses, skirts/dress pants...and the Beach club swimwear with cover up for ladies, for men swimming shorts and t-shirt and everyone had to wear shoes/sandals.
Hotel grounds were beautiful and very clean. They clean the pools (activity and relax pool ) every day. The bar staff were great and the drinks delicious...mmmm..sangria, and cuban mojitos yummmm.
The entertainment staff out of this world funny... especially Yanuario "meow" and Enrique. Super friendly and funny!!! Every day there are activities from 9-5 pm like, snorkelling, scuba lessons, stretching lessons, aquarobics, cooking classes, friendship bracelets, fashion shows...soo many activities. They have a kids club which looked like a lot of fun from 9-5 pm and the staff Abi , Susana and David were amazing, they would even take the kids for lunch and everything. The kids loved them and would cry when they had to leave. The age group is 4 and up without parent's being present but you know at all times where they are they have walkie talkies. The evening shows were different each night and a lot of fun! and then there was the sports pub/disco which was tons of fun too, until 1:30 am.
They offer lots of tours/excursions but we only did two since our objective was to R & R -we did the Chichen Itza/Cenote Ik Kil (sink hole) and Snorkelling and Catamaran at Sunset tour which were absolutely breathtaking. Check with your vacation representative for prices and details. We also went shopping into town "san miguel" one morning and had a great time but be ready to BARGAIN ! Also, check into when the cruise ships are docking and avoid going then, for you will not be getting such great deals or selection.
We were there while the evacuation for hurricane Dean was beginning and the hotel staff were amazing at keeping everyone calm and still having an amazing time.
Last minute suggestions: bring aloe vera, mosquito repellent for night time, and sun block.
We know that although its all inclusive and giving tip sometimes is not thougth of -we did! If you feel like you have received great service and someone just went the extra mile to make sure you have the best vacation- tip them! They do not expect it but they really appreciate it!
So, in conclusion we had a great time and miss a lot of amazing people we met and cannot wait until next time.

My husband and I stayed at the Occidental Grand while on our honey moon. The grounds were emmaculate and the service was great. The beach and water are beautiful and home to great snorkeling and diving. The buffets were all good even better than the elegant restraunts. Breakfast was our favorite buffet with all the fresh fruit and fresh juice. We liked being a little ways from town, it provided a much needed relaxing environment. The thing that sold us the most on the Occidental was their care for us during Hurricane Wilma. We were moved into a shelter on the premises and many of the hotel staff stayed with us and still served us. The staff stayed awake watching the weather and providing us with water, soda and a lighted path to the restrooms and they served us 3 meals a day. Of couse it was not the all inclusive buffet but it was enough to sustain us.The force winds of Wilma would tear the plywood of the windows of the shelter. When this would happen the staff would come out of the kitchen with another plywood. I remember thinking boy, they sure have alot of plywood in the kitchen. We learned after we were released from the shelter that their was not extra plywood but that the staff was making a human chain, going out into the hurricane in 175+mph winds gathering the plywood, coming back in and hanging the plywood on the inside of the window. The staff knew that if any of those windows broke it would be like bullets flying everywhere. This staff left their families to stay with us and risk their lives to save our lives. We were there an additional 4 days in which the hotel provided us shelter, food and kept us well hydrated at no additional cost. We were really fortunate because many of the resorts were totally destroyed and many tourist had to be moved into public shelters with very little food and water. Even days after Wilma hit ,people were standing in lines all over for water. We always had food and water and even under the circumstances still received 3-4 star service. Because of their great care Occidental Grand is our first choice no matter what country we are visiting.

This place is great! I’ve been all over the world and this is without a doubt the friendliest, nicest staff I’ve ever come across (and I’m from Texas). You genuinely feel welcome and they go out of their way to make sure you have fun. I can’t imagine anyone not thoroughly enjoying it. The facilities are very nice and are perfectly maintained. Our only mistake was not staying long enough. My fiancé and I stayed for 4 nights and wish it would have been about 3 more. There is so much to do………come to think of it, not doing anything except sitting by the beach with a pina coloda was pretty nice too. I am a very active person, and I still find this hard to believe, but we only left the hotel once (for lunch nearby) and I was never bored…….not once. I’ve never taken the time to write a review of any where before but my stay was so AWESOME I just felt compelled. If you are considering Cozumel, don’t consider anywhere else……….seriously.
- Male 31 & Female 27

We went to Occidental Grand Cozumel the third week of July for a wedding. Upon arrival the staff brought over some champagne while checking in. The bellman took us to our room by golf cart which was nice, since the hotel room was quite a walk from the lobby. We stayed in building 19 which was the farthest from the lobby and restaurants, but it was the closest to the beach. There was also a small pool area right in front of our building.

The room was nice, it did not smell moldy like some of our friends room did. But try and have a room on the second or third floor, everyone that had the first floor complained about the smell. The room in general was nothing special, very simple and nice. Since it's an all inclusive resort the mini fridge was stocked everyday with bottled waters, soda, and beer. They leave a couple each, but if you leave a dollar or two in the fridge they will stock it up full. The shower pressure was great! The downside to the room was the in room safe, didn't work properly at all, so ended up just leaving it alone. Also, the maid comes at all different times each day, there was no set time they would come and go.

The food was good the first few days, but it started to get boring. The breakfast buffet was good and the lunch buffet at the beach club was good too, with a nice view by the ocean. We ate at the two restaurants that needed advance reservations, the first was a mediterrean, it was not that good and the steakhouse was mediocre. The best place to eat was at the pizzeria upstairs from the lobby. The staff at all the restaurants and the bartenders that give you drinks non stop were so nice and friendly.

Overall, the grounds were nice and the staff very friendly and always willing to help. They also did a great job with making our friends wedding very memorable.

Advice is make sure you take plenty of bug spray and if you go during the summer months take lots of short clothing, very hot and humid there.