Occidental Grand Cozumel - All Inclusive

This was our 4th time at the Occidental Grand in Cozumel and for the most part is was just OK, not as good as in the past. The rooms were not as clean, the quality of food has deteriorated, most of the staff was very helpful, a few at the front desk could use an attitude adjustment. Our reservations indicated we were seniors, but were given a room on the third floor (no elevators in any of the buildings). We immediately returned to the front desk to see about a room change to the bottom floor and we were given the impression that it was a great imposition to make the change. Another couple that was with us needed a wheel chair, and they had to call the doctor to see if they could find one at another hotel. We brought the other couple with us because we had raived about it, however, we were dissappointed this time. A lot of the staff have been there for a few years and they were still as helpful and pleasant as ever. But, never again during spring break. I would recomment this hotel when they have plenty of empty rooms and want your business.

Been here before and had a very nice time. This time service was poor in most categories. Front desk staff was unhelpful and unable to complete even simple tasks without being directed. Took over 6 hours to get into room. We were there around noon and were told the room was not yet ready. OK, this is understandable. The room not ready at 3:30 when told it would be ready by 3. Finally in room around 5:30pm after being up all night. Restaurant service was at best ok. We constantly ended up getting our own drinks, and even table settings. Once we were seated and went to get food at buffet. When we returned they had seated people at our table and we then had to locate another table. Then again get our own drinks. Food was ok for buffet. reasonable selection of drinks. Only one beer brand offered. Housekeeping was the lone stand out. They paid excellent attention to when we were in or out of the room and always asked if we needed anything. Used outside dive shop for scuba diving. Location is good as a few minute boat ride gets you to the reef system and your in the water. Prior experience would have me recommend, however their trend is significantly poor and I don't think I could recommend a friend stay here. They need to rethink their approach to service! The place is nice, but service from a service oriented business was horrible.

We have stayed at the Occidental in the past because we are avid divers and this property is located directly in front of Santa Rosa reef. Last year was a disaster as there was a large group of High School Spring Breakers constantly drunk (along with their parents). The last night of their stay, they threw all the pool furniture into the Marsh and into the pool causing $1000's of dollars of destruction. After confirming with the Occidental Grand that this group would not be returning this year, we booked again for our spring break, We are avid divers and have traveled to 100+ countries in our lives. Mostly budget travel, So for the price we paid, we had a good idea of what we should expect. Upon our arrival last week, the same group of student/parents had returned, the hotel overbooked by 30 rooms and we were sent to the LOWER BUDGET Allegro.!!!! The thratched roof of the room leaked and birds lived in the roof resulting in bird dropping all over the room, bed, etc. No compensation or apology....Of course, we balked and were allowed to return to the Occidental a day and 1/2 later. Upon our return, we had to wait until late afternoon to get into a room. It was raining and we had no place to go. No towels to dry off and no apology.....If fact it was difficult to get a pool towel all week. I heard the same story of many of the guest this past week. People that are members of the Royal Club Occidental were denied their rooms, I would not recommend this property based on the lack of service and apathy of the Management alone.

Check in was a breeze. It was nice to be taken to an office where all your paperwork was ready for check in. We were told we would have a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine delivered to our room. I had to call the next day to get it delivered. Not sure what happened on that. The refigerator in the room was restocked and that was much appreciated. It's the first place we have ever stayed that somone asked us if the music at the pool area was too loud. The music was nice and not the disco beat. That was saved for night and the disco. It was very pleasant and relaxing. This is also the first place we have ever stayed that had golf umbrellas in the room for our use. That was a very considerate touch being that it rained several times during our week day. There was a variety of food so everyone could find something they liked. We would definitely consider staying at the resort again on another trip and would recommmend it to others. In fact when I was at the bank today, I shared information with a teller who is considering a vacation in MX. Thanks for the great service.

This resort has about everything needed for a great week in Mexico. The all-inclusive format assures plenty to eat and drink for your entire stay. The staff is friendly and especially helpful. Likely 85% of the guests are there for the scuba diving. The on site dive shop is fantastic, with the same helpful attitude. Many of the favored dive sites are within a 10 minute boat ride. Leave a little something for housekeeping and they will keep your refrigerator stocked with your chosen beverages. We hope to return again very soon. Cab fare to town is flat $20US and takes about 20 minutes, but there really isn't much need to go up there unless you like high pressure sales people meeting you on the sidewalk. Gift shop has plenty of variety and priced comparable to the shops in town. Family-friendly resort with activities for kids during the day, different entertainment activity each evening.

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!

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.

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.