After reading the reviews over the last year before heading to the O Grand , I was concerned that we might not have such a great experience. Wrong! The place and people were great! NO sand fleas, beach was fine, drink lines were short and a fun place to meet everyone, rooms execellent, food great, service wonderful, pools very nice, grounds kept as nice as Disney World......my only problem was cheap, selfish wealthy guests asking for the world ( numerous exotic drinks brought to their beachside lounge) without as much as dropping a BUCK to the sweet girl who was carting a huge tray full of drinks! Come on .....these people work hard!!!! and they will NEVER have what we have!give them more than a "gracias" ....unbeleivable to see in person.
There I've vented! Be the better person you will sleep better.
I envy those who are heading this resort. We had a great experience ....and IF you want to .....you will as well. One more thing ...don't miss Alberto's beach restaurant next door...a must!
Eric

We were recommended to stay at the Occidental Grand when a previously booked resort failed to perform to previously enjoyed standards. We were extremely pleased with the level of superior service and accomodations, although the air conditioning needed some work in both our rooms and in the main dining room. All the staff were attentive and accomodating for a couple unusual requests we made to 1) store some freshly caught Mahi Mahi for us and 2) keep some medication cold requiring refrigeration while we lunched at the beachside restaurant and waited for our rooms to be readied. The grounds were impeccably manicured and lush. We felt as though there were two or three service persons for each of us. All our requests were met with a smile and quick, efficient response. We were made to feel as though our visit was the most important and our satisfaction was of the utmost priority. We will most definitely return and will also recommend the Royal Club to our friends and family members looking to enjoy the relaxation and comfort that defines Cozumel in our minds.

We just returned from our 4th trip to the Occidental Grand, but first time staying in the Royal Club. The rooms are about the same as the deluxe room with extra bath amentities, a nice jacouzi tub. Free internet service was really nice. A small Royal Club private pool was a very nice touch when you want a little quiet time.
The Royal Club restaraunt had really good food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner is reservations only and they do have a dress code. Service and food here is always excellant!
You can make as many reservations as you want at the a-la-cart restaraunts. We made ours daily since we hate to be on a schedule.
The service at the Royal Club was excellant in all areas except one person Manuel who did our was checkout. (Check out is done the the Royal Club office. ) He tried to charge us for the Royal Club fee again, but changed his mind when I demanded to see a manager. (short version) The resort did apologize for Manuals behavior and said it was a computor glitch. He did however refuse to give me his name.
The resort outside of the Royal Club is very pretty also. My favorite part of this resort is the individual 3 story buildings;Giving it a more intimate feel with the sprawling gardens and landscape.
There are 2 pools - one quiet pool which was at times invaded by the parents with young children crying. The second main pool was also very busy with the children. Both are kept clean and are refreshing .
There have been a lot of improvements to the Beach Club restaraunt, which in the past for me has been a very low spot. They have added refridgerated cases for the desserts. More covered containers for food along with a freezer for the grilled meats. The service was much better also.
La Posada has a breakfast and dinner buffet. It was kept well stocked and I could always find something good to eat.
We did try Sonora Steak House. We personally did not care for it. The service was very slow and the food was not for us. We met up with 3 other couples in La Posada immediately after we all had dinner at Sonora.
We did not try the Meditaranian or the Pizza place.
The beach is my favorite. They have added more shade areas and more chairs. It makes it look smaller, but you can find a chair. They do clean the towels off the chairs if they are left for long periods of time. Also another nice addition are the new Beach Beds off to the right of the main pool.
The gift shop has a lot of everyday items. I have discovered I can skip the " baggie" and just buy it there. Also their T shirts are nice quality and good priced. Pretty jewery also.
Entertainment at night has increased. One night they had a fire show with dancers with a dance following after the show. Most nights they had some type of entertainment.

All in all the Grand and the Royal Club is our favorite place and we will be returning to the Grand, even with the problem at check out . I feel the Royal Club was worth the extra.

We stayed in the "Royal Club" area of this resort but were not informed upon arrival what all this included. We found out the next to last day that we had a special restaurant we could use and that we could get free movie rentals from the front desk. There was plenty of sun but the water in the pools was FREEZING cold! I had a pedicure from the spa that was not worth a dime.
My husband was told he had to wear closed toe shoes to dinner, so he changed into tennis shoes, but then every man in the restaurant had on flip flops.
They insist you have a reservation for several restaurants, but there were only 5-6 other people eating with at least 20 open tables.
All in all a fairly nice place...probably won't return though.