http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/hid31921 TravelPost.com - Hotel reviews, information, and rates from thousands of websites http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650901 First off. My girlfriend, Cousin, and his wife all loved our stay. My cousin and I both have really sensitive stomachs, and so we were nervous about getting sick. The food, and drinks were really good. OK, the drinks are weak, but there are ways around everything. . If you are a responsible drinker and tip a few bucks during the day, they will make them as strong as you like. Tip. The lobby bar stocks more top shelf booze than the pool bars. Most the top shelf runs out by three, but it would be wasteful anyway because most people have been at it since eight in the morning. The rooms are huge and kept spotless. Every rooms has ocean and pool views. Never tried room service. But the buffets and restaurant were great. Tip. If you eat at the buffet you can still order a fresh cooked meal from the kitchen. Every table will have a menu of the day besides the thousand buffet options. The ocean was the clearest water i have ever seen. Acapulco, Jamaica, Grand Cayman;all have green water compared the the beach right in front of the Hotel. We went during spring break and the Hotel was at full capacity and It never felt crowded. The snorkeling right at the resort is almost intimidating due to the thousands of fish. Tip. Take a banana snorkeling. You will make a thousand fishy friends. Tip. Instead of renting a car we paid a cab driver 15/hour to drive us to the other side of the island. Every mile or so is a shack beach bar. We were in bars for hours, and he waited. Everyone speaks English http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650901 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650902 We love El Cozumeleno and don't even consider staying anywhere else on the island. The resort is small enough that you don't feel overwhelmed by the crowd. The beach has great snorkeling (unlike the southside resorts) and you can walk down the beach nearly a mile and explore the rock formations. It's lovely and relaxing. The food is always good, especially in the reservation-required restaurant. The staff is great and we don't mind if they don't speak perfect English. We love playing the putt-putt course and the two pools aren't all that crowded either. We like the older side of the hotel because the rooms are bigger. And we don't expect soft beds anywhere in Mexico. I can't believe all the people complaining about hard beds. It's a hotel for goodness sake. For the price, this is always the best deal. The resort does have bikes, but you have to take a scheduled tour. It's nice, but can be trying with the heat/humidity. I wish they'd let us take the bikes out on our own. We already have our July 2009 trip planned to El Cozumeleno. It'll be our 5th visit. No worries about the Mexican violence at an all-inclusive on an island. Not so sure about Cancun any more. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650902 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650903 The bed was horrible. Travelled with two other families and everyone agreed that the beds were extremely hard. The room we stayed in needed renovation....mirror scratched up, tub/shower needed new faucet. The food was pretty good if you got it immediately out of the serving pan if not, cold or over-cooked from bunson burner. Only two resturants to choose from and one needed reservations. The alcoholic mixed drinks were weak and the resort did not use any call brands. Several of the staff knew little English (normally in other non-inclusive resorts I don't expect everyone to speak English) yet, the clientele of this resort is mostly American. On the up-swing the last nights entertainment was great (live band on the beach). The resort offered several free activities: put -put course on site, snorkeling equipment, kayaks, books, games.......the outside of resort well maintained. The pools looked well kept except around the floating bar it smelled as though someone had thrown-up in the bushes.The wait staff and maid service were great. Our on-site travel guy worked with us well. There are many resorts in this area of the world (also look at Cancun, Playa del Carmen) to settle for hard beds, bad drinks and cold food. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650903 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650904 The Pros: The beach is substantial with adequate chairs. Activities are available: snorkeling, jet skiing, parasailing at the resort - there's also a game room and put put, however the supplies are worn out and the pingpong table needs to be replaced. Our room was fine but we were travelling with 2 other families whose rooms needed renovating. The maid service was great and timely. Cons: Very few of the staff spoke adequate English and had little knowledge of the happenings at the resort. Beds were like sleeping on concrete and pillows felt like sand bags. The buffet was bland and the lids to various dishes were so worn out that they continuously collapsed into the food - yuk! Would I return to this resort - no and I don't agree with the 4 smiles rating - a three at best - after all, we have travelled to various places through online travel website and have been thrilled with the results until this one...last year we travelled with you to Peurto Vallarta and stayed at the Melia which had a lesser rating yet was far more outstanding than the El Cozumeleno. We would return to Cozumel but not stay at that resort and would definetely return to the Melia in PV. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650904 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650905 My girfriend and I just got back from a 9 day trip, niether of us had been to Cozumel before. I have traveled quite a bit and this hotel met and surpassed my expectations for the price. The beds are hard but the rooms are very nice. The food was addequate and if you are a picky eater then you should probably not stay at an all inclusive. The breakfast and lunches were absolutely fine, they will make you eggs any way you want and fresh fajitas for lunch. The dinners are not as good. We went into town for a few dinners and I would recomend doing that. Lots of great places to eat in town and the prices are reasonable. Cool place to just walk around, shop and drink beer. The staff at the hotel was amazing. They work so hard - from the front desk to the wait staff and bar tenders these guys go out of thier way to make sure you don't go without.The drinks were endless and the hotel is spotless. We brought about $100 in one dollar bills and went through most of them tipping the staff. They really appreciate it and deserve it for sure. I will go right back to the El Cozumelleno. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650905 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650906 This was my 5th stay at the El Cozumeleno, but the last time was 11 years ago. The last time we were there the south tower did not exist and many of the newer things did not exist. The newer tower is wonderful as is the new pool and all the other additions. The staff was still very helpful and super friendly. Many of the staff members have been there many years and were fantastic and friendly. The room we were in was in the new tower. It was awesome. The view could not have been better and all was very nice. The food was as with most "all inclusives". Breakfast was always the best. Lunch and dinner at the buffet was good and plentiful, but was just buffet food, nothing speciial. There was always good snack food, and room service was great and did not cost extra. Dinner in the reservation only resturaunt was great. The theme nights were ok, though not really our thing. The drinks were good though the variety was limited in some respects. We were happy and satisfied in all respects and we will be back to the El Cozumeleno, hopefully next year. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r650906 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552326 Excellent service, extremely clean, would not recommend any room other than an ocean view. Rooms need to be updated, bed was uncomfortable. Good value for price paid. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552326 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552327 My husband and I just returned from our first vacation at Cozumel.. The Cozumeleno was fantastic from start to finish. Our room was beautiful. ..spacious and looked out over the beach.. The bathroom was large and the room was VERY clean.. .maid service prompt and neat as a pin. I am picky about cleanliness, and this hotel was kept sparkling.. All service staff were very helpful and friendly.. I wondered more about the food, because of all the various reviews I read, but no need..We ate at the buffet every day .. and ate well!!!.. The staff worked like little bees to prepare wonderful variety and it was GOOD... they also went to great lengths to garnish and decorate the tables.. everything CLEAN!! I loved the fresh fruit and variety of sauces and SALSAS!... They had a pico mix that I put on literally everything.. I could not get enough of it! .. Highly recommend. The grounds were beautifully decorated... Pools beautiful.. Very family friendly here.. The beach was large and the snorkeling was just as good if not better than what we saw on a glass bottom boat tour... The sand was clean and perfect, water crystal clear... The only complaint that I would have is that you can't get a good cup of coffee before the buffet area opens for breakfast.. The instant type they have in the lobby machine is horrible.. We just waited for the meal.. The coffee there was excellent.. fresh ground.. Next time we would bring our own little coffee pot, because we are coffee nuts anyway.. Overall.. we will be back.. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552327 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552328 We were really lucky to have found this hotel. We decided to go here because of the reviews we read. Once at the hotel, we met a number of people who were repeats. I have been to Hawaii aproximately 40 times, last time I was there I thought it was way too expensive and not tropical as it used to be. Cozumel has it going on. We have been to Cozumel about 6 times on cruise ships. This was the first time we ever stayed, and we will definately be going back. Clean, staff great (our maid was awesome), food ok, service at restaurant slow, but eh, what else were we going to do in the evening? Please tip the staff. I saw a number of people not tipping, Snorkeling was great. We were there for a week in January, 2009. http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552328 http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552329 We've just returned from a "after Christmas" family trip to Cozumel and stayed in the El Cozumeleno hotel. This was our first try at the "all inclusive" vacation package. Well..it was one of our best family vacations! The hotel was really nice, the staff was so very friendly and helpful. The setting is gorgeous. The food was just fine - not Haute cuisine but there was a good tasty dish or two in each meal and a huge selection of food, drinks, desserts. The rooms in the "old" section of the hotel were huge! The beds are a bit hard but that's okay with us. It is not ULTRA luxury but it is very nice and very very spacious.; A family with two smaller kids has plenty of space in these rooms. The balcony overlooking the ocean was really awesome. Well..we couldn't think of a bad thing to say about this vacation! Understand that the drinks are weak but you can get as many as you want! The waiters/waitresses work VERY hard..you don't ever feel that you're getting worse service because it's "all-inclusive". They are very attentive. We highly recommend this hotel and we've traveled all over the world. It is a clear price performer! http://www.travelpost.com//hotels/El_Cozumeleno_Beach_Resort-All_Inclusive/r552329