Occidental Grand Cozumel - All Inclusive

This hotel was a huge disappointment. We left and switched hotels after 3 nights. The main problem was the food. It was completely terrible. Most of the time our experiences with the staff were not good at all, though to be fair, if you go try to deal with Mariano at the front desk because he is great. Also, Freddy the bartender was awesome. But overall, there are better choices on the island of Cozumel, and we found one after we left. This hotel is really far from the downtown area, so if you want some authentic Mexican food, count on spending $40 on cab fare, Also, they suckered us into doing the timeshare presentation and it was AWFUL!!! Don't do it. Stay at the Park Royal.

Hotel was nice, very secluded. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. We didn't have any problem with the time share people, as we politely declined. The food was what you would expect from a mid-priced all-inclusive. Disappointed that there were no swim up bars, but they did have one close by the main pool. The wedding set-up was amazing, and they did a great job with the reception/after party. All in all, a pretty good trip.

My bf and 2 other friends stayed here from 7/26-30. I miss it already! First let me point out I have been to many resorts around the carribean and cant stress how amazing Cozumel is! This resort is 4stars, room was good very clean beds not too comfy but just ok, food was great, outside room feels like your in a mini jungle, beach is amazing, staff is great, pool bar is awesome, club disco was also great for a late night entertainment! Lets start with the staff. The staff is great, they are willing to help with any accomadations. We got there at 2pm and were welcomed with champagne, to my surprise I had no idea we actually booked at the Royal Club, I was excited but then realized it isnt any different from the regular resort. Check in wasnt til 3, they held on to our bags while we went to the pool bar for a drink until the rooms were ready. Again our room looked the same as my friends room who stayed on the regular non "royal" side. Both rooms had AC and a fan, beatiful bathroom. Our royal room had a view of the pool on the balcony but we never even opened the curtains since we barely stayed in our room, we explored the city and the beach...go EXPLORE! Cozumel is a safe small island! Dinning, the food was great not sure why people are saying is not good. We stayed for 5days, they did inform us while reserving that we were only allowed to reserve for 2dinners (the front desk guy was rude but the only rude staff we encountered there, we didnt let him get to us). (Dont loose or forget your ticket receipt after reserving for dinners, you will need it when signing in for dinner). The first night we ate at La Sonora-I got a chicken dish which was really good, my bf got the fish which he enjoyed and my friend got the steak which was tender and great! The second night we ate at Los Olivios which was also great-get the Chili Soup and chicken I heard the fajitas are good too but didnt get to try it. The rest of the nights we ate at La Posada which was open to everyone (no reservations needed) Buffet style dinning one night was mexican night the other asian night, both nights were good had everything from veggies, soup, all meats, rice even lo mein and all sorts of desserts. Also at the Posada restaurant turns into La Piazza a pizza dinner from 9:30pm-1:30 the pizza was great too. We went there after the dancing at the disco. During the day we ate at the snack bar which was ok, def a place to fill your belly but not the best. I made myself chips with salsa and gauc (gauc was good but you could tell it came from a bag, not fresh). We didnt encounter any time share sellers as the other reviews stated, however the staff themselves asked several times if we wanted excursion deals, we did get the scotter package for $45/24hrs. I recommend doing this we got to explore the other beaches, and San miguel the city. At San Miguel we snorkeled and dived (on different days) for way cheaper. They do have scotters in the city you can rent for cheaper $25 but we didnt know until later. The whole town is safe and soo much to explore. We went snorkeling one day and scuba diving the next, scuba in the town is soo much cheaper and easier to do than at the resort, we spent $65 per person at the resort its $130 and you have to take an all day class. The city prices on food is the same as the US since it is a touristy part of town. Also if you are buying presents such as tshirts and clay art dont feel shy to haggle with their prices they will lower them. I will def recommend Occidental to everyone! I want to go back!

Traveled as single parent of 2 teenagers (14 and 17), value not good value for teens who did not like the food and do not drink alcohol with limited activities for teens. They did use the kayaks on one day but other than that there wasn't anything on the resort for them to do. Most resorts now have Kids programs however are lacking activities for teens. There was nothing to do at night for my teens and they couldnt even watch TV as the programing and TV were in bad condition. We went off the resort most days to participate in our own planned activities and thus did not really utilize the all inclusive features of this resort very much. The food at night was terrible, there was a theme each nigh for the buffet (which is your ONLY option for food if not utilziing one of your reservations at the alacarte restaurants, which we got 3 of for a week stay). The food seemed to look very much the same no matter what the theme was and the kids did not like the food. When we tried to get them something to eat we were told there isn't anything else or we could order room service. We thought this was a good answer but when we called room service we had a choice of a cheeseburger or ham and cheese sandwhich. Needless to say the kids did not get to eat that night. When I pay this much for an all inclusive resort I want to sit down and be waited on at dinner,not buffet only. I do not like cleaniliness of buffet restaurants, especially at dinner. The beach side restaurant, only open for lunch, had the best buffet, but only open for lunch. Overall the resort is beautiful, rooms average, housekeepng excellent, bar tenders excellent. Food..not so good. I did read the reviews which stated this but did not really understand that you only had one place eat, buffet, every night. not really what I expect from an all inclusive reosrt of this price. Cancun probably better choice for families with teens....

The building and grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The food and waitstaff were very good. The beach was white sand and very pretty for sunning and swimming or snorkling. Every night they had some type of entertainment. The entertainment was intriguing but average. The rooms where nice but we always felt the humidity even with the AC turned down low. Better humidifiers would be great. The beds on a scale of 1 to 5 would get a 2. They were hard and the pillows had a musty smell. The water sports and pools were nice. The main beach pool looked milky and was not very clear. I suspect the filtration system isn't up to par. Pools should be crystal clear. Lots of people swimming and we did not get any ear aches. Dive operator "Dive Palancar" was world class. I suspect this is why 60% of guests are divers or with a diver. The reason I will go back to the grand is for the diving. If a few little things could be corrected, AC in bars and better AC in Resturants. Overall, it depends on what you call 4 or 5 star. I did not like the time share guys who met you after checking in. Just say not interested and they will leave you alone. This does not happen at real five star hotels. The people at the grand are doing the best job and it's the employees that will make me come back. I will go again. Not a better resort in Cozumel for Divers. Period.

Recovering very well from the Hurricane. Close to the great diving with a very good dive shop at the hotel. Good specialty restaurants. Very nice beach with decent snorkling for beginners.

The hurricane took all of Cozumel down a notch, but the Occidental Grand has rebuilt consistently and is back on top of the list of places to stay on the island. The very best diving is a short trip away. The beach is great, the specialty restaurants are good, but have been better in the past. It has improved every year I've stayed since the hurricane.

The hotel grounds are absolutely gorgeous. Staff is friendly and attentive. The food is average. The buffet was the best all-round choice, with a nice variety. We had one romantic dinner and we did not care for the food, we ate a little then left and went back to the buffet. I am sure some of the more worldy travelers will like the specialty foods they serve at the reservation restaurants, but we were not impressed. As others have said, the beds are similar to sleeping on plywood with sheets, but the rooms are nice and the a/c and hot water worked great for us.... so that made it nice. The very hard beds were the only drawback. Also they don't offer free wi-fi, you have to pay to use it. The beaches are perfect and definitely as advertised. The one thing that we DID not like is the incessant hounding right as you get there to take a tour of the grounds and try to be talked into buying a timeshare. They talked us into meeting them the next morning (which you have to give them 10 bucks to assure your coming), but we overslept and they called our room three times hounding us that they were waiting for us. I told them I'd get in touch with them later and they acted irritated. I felt that they could keep the 10 bucks just to leave us alone. This is why the staff only got 3 stars, otherwise I'd have given them more. Overall it was a very nice hotel, and Ricardo (the manager) was very cool and accommodating. The messages was amazing and I highly recommend one if you like that kind of stuff. Having never had one, I have nothing to compare it to, but my wife said it was one of the best ever. Oh one other thing, don't use the ATM machines in Mexico. I didn't bring enough cash, so the machine says 3 or 4 dollars fee, but we get back and either the bank of the ATM charges a percentage and it was more like 40 bucks. So always bring more cash than you think you'll need. Mexico is no longer any cheaper than the US.

This hotel has amazing beach and we did not spent any time at the pools since was so easy to swim in the ocean. Royal Club is well worth the extra money, you do get extra ordinary treatment! Food in the designated restaurant is first class and end the stuff is super friendly.

Very nice rooms. Very Large. Lots of towels, free drinks in room and elsewhere. A little bit of mold spell still remains after the Hurricane 6 years ago--the only complaint. Excellent on site scuba operation, close to the great reefs--Palancar, etc.