Occidental Cozumel

leah haas

Pros: the staff was very friendly. The rooms were clean. Cons: half of their beach is gone from a hurricane which of course isn’t their fault, but should be disclosed on their website. It made for limited seating. There were also no umbrella’s or anything on the beach, so if you wanted shade you had to find a spot in the back tree line. It was also always hard to find a seat by the pool. Especially the adult pool. It’s like people would get up at sunrise, go leave their stuff on the chairs, and not be there for most of the day. Very frustrating. The buffet food was eh. They like to use a lot of leftovers. 3 out of 4 of us got some kind of mild food poisoning. Also, you are only allowed 1 reservation every 3 nights for the good restaurants unless you upgrade to royal level, which would not be worth the extra money. And the only available reservation times for us were 8 or 9 pm. Seafood restaurant was good though. The disco was not. Never anyone there, and it was the same music all the time. If you don’t like to stay up late this is the place for you. The shows were mediocre at best. Alcohol choices were limited. Also asked for a late checkout(2hours) and they wanted to charge us $12 per hour. No thanks

Andrea Hudson

Believe the reviews about the food—even by all inclusive standards, it is not great. Very limited choices, especially at lunch, and little that’s appetizing. One of my teenage boys, who’s not usually a picky eater, has mostly subsisted on candy and chips bought outside of the resort. We’ve been to a handful of all-inclusive resorts and the dining here is by far the worst we’ve encountered. The seafood restaurant was better than the buffet, but still only average. The service has been hit or miss, sometimes prompt with drinks and other times without drinks brought until the meal is half over. The main restaurant is hot inside and can be very loud, especially when seated next to a group that’s been over-served. Contrary to other reviews, our room is fine and the AC works well. It’s dated but clean and reasonably comfortable. None of the rooms seem to have any view, though, due to the jungle-like setting so it can feel a little dark and closed in which was unexpected for a beach resort. The main pool gets crowded in the afternoon and there’s been more drunk bro type of behavior than expected (even making allowances for the fact that it’s spring break) The beach is calmer and quieter, albeit with limited shade in the afternoon. We have been trying to find the positives during our stay but the terrible food is increasingly making that difficult. We’ll make the most of our time here but definitely won’t be back

Mark Droptiny

The location of this resort is off the beaten path which makes it very nice. The main office area, lobby bar, and restaurants were very nice and clean. It has a good ambiance about it. The room was mediocre at best. Clean but could use some repairs. Bathroom ceiling leaks when the air condition is on. Plus the bathroom window did not shut. Our room was by the adult pool. Not to loud but after it closed a group that was staying in our building decided to open it back up and have their own party till 1am. No security or staff intervened. The food at the restaurants was not the highest quality by far. You’re very limited to the main buffet or beach bar. We had three reservations at the other three restaurants which that is all allowed for a seven night stay. None of them were over the top. Drinks throughout the place were plentiful. Service is up and above. The most friendly staff I have ever come across on vacations. Overall a good place. 3 out of 5 stars. The main beach is gone. This should be up dated in the brochure along with a proper description of how the restaurants work. There may be 7 restaurant but you will only have full access to 2 of them. Very misleading.

Heather Jackson

I hate leaving bad reviews but here we are. Here’s both the good with bad: Good - landscaping throughout the resort is absolutely beautiful. The sand is soft and the ocean swimming area feels safe and inviting. It’s also a little ways outside of the city, feeling more peaceful I think. Sitting in the shade on the beach was by far my favorite part. Gym was well equipped and well air conditioned. I also loved having a balcony overlooking the jungle in our room. Bad - I’m not even sure where to begin. Do not expect air conditioning in your room, it does not work, in any building. It was sadly comical the amount of voiced complaints coming from every guest in the resort about the lack of air conditioning. The food… barely edible? When I did taste something good it was shocking. Ended up eating rice and beans every day because that was the most edible thing. The margaritas were undrinkable. How is that even possible in Mexico. The restaurants are no better than the buffet. The service was ok. It really seems like every worker at the resort hates working there which makes for an awkward experience on so many levels. The restaurant waiters are especially disgruntled compared to the buffet servers. Lastly and least important, the chairs by the pool and beach are very uncomfortable, and you can’t sit up all the way in any of them. I’ve only been to 4 different resorts in Mexico, but this was by far the most disappointing experience. Would never recommend to anyone.

Vanessa Rossi

The hacienda style of the resort is really pretty and the grounds are beautiful and well kept. We are still here and really enjoying the wildlife. The reason we’re writing this now is in hopes that someone will take our feedback (or plea) seriously. We booked 2 rooms, 2 adults, 2 teens (18 & 16) with a request for a king bed and adjoining room if possible. We can totally appreciate that adjoining rooms are difficult and the kids are old enough that it wasn’t too much of an issue for us. The worst part was that the parents rooms had two double beds. They told us all rooms were sold out but we were GUARANTEED a king bed in 2 nights time. We accepted this. The double room was find, just a bit weird not sleeping in the same bed as my husband and the AC did not work. The room was consistently 26C. We didn’t say anything hoping the new room would resolve this issue. Tuesday rolls around and we’re told to be packed by noon, bags will be picked up and moved to our new room ready for chcek in at 3pm. 3pm rolls around and we walk in to yet another double bed room. We go back to reception where they try to tell us this was our fault and poor communication. However, if you check the hotel voucher, all our room requests were clearly documented. We eventually get into our new room (with one king bed) after 5pm. We’ve now spent over 2 hours waiting around. Guess what? The AC doesn’t work in this room either. We report it twice that same night, we are told there is something that needs to be fixed on the unit outside of the room and it will be resolved. It is not Thursday night and the room is up to 27C. We’ve reported the issue again to be told that someone will come to the room to explain why it is the way it is. Loook, if you don’t offer AC, that’s fine, but tell me before I book because there is no way I’m booking one week in Mexico without AC and without screens on the sliding doors. Please send help! On a more positive note, the food has been quite good. Cocktails are on the sweet side but they are happy to adjust if you tell them what to make or even if you bring fresh fruit for a blended cocktail. They also have poolside and beach device which is really nice. We also went diving today and enjoyed our experience with the dive centre at the hotel.