Occidental Cozumel

My Wife and I spent a wonderful week here recently, and really enjoyed our stay. The check-in process took a little too long; the front desk staff was definitely not in a hurry. And with the air being hot and humid, it was a little uncomfortable in the open-air lobby. But once we received our room, we began to really relax and unwind. We picked just an run-of-house room, and were in a building closer to the lobby, on the top floor (3rd floor?). Our room was comfy and had a balcony that looked out upon the jungle and trees. Beach: We loved the beach behind the hotel. We saw an abundance of sea life, and live starfish. The beach is beautiful, and has plenty of lounge chairs. When getting in the water, there are a few rocks. But that did not deter us from enjoying the wide variety of fish in the water. Pool: There are two pools at the resort. The smaller one is about halfway between the beach and the lobby, and was excellent for a quiet swim. The 2nd larger pool is right down by the beach, complete with music, pool games, and a portable bar on the side. While the bar was small, they were happy to make any drink you could come up with. If they did not know how to make it, I'd give them the ingredients, and they'd make their best attempt at it. Food: The "Beach Club" grill down by the beach was our favorite hangout spot for having lunch. We found the variety of food to be plentiful and fresh at each lunch meal. There was always a few selections of fish or shrimp, beef, chicken and\or pork, as well as a healthy variety of salads and vegetables. Top that off with hamburgers and nachos available at each lunch, and how could you go wrong? The "La Posada" buffet restaurant up close to the lobby, had everything a person could want for breakfast. I loved having fresh, over-easy eggs, toast, juice and coffee. My Wife loved the assortment of fresh breads and eggs as well. At night, the buffet has a sumptuous array of just about anything you could want. I always found fresh fish, shrimp, vegetables and salads. My Wife loved the assortment of deli meats, cheeses and beef offerings. We also loved having the fresh-baked pizza at the little place up on the roof, one evening. The waiter and mariachis were entertaining and super-nice. However, the mosquitoes in the open-air rooftop, ate us alive. Make sure to take a can of mosquito repellent. The Los Olivios ala-carte mediteranean\steak restaurant was very personable, and served us an excellent dinner. We both had two fantastic steaks that rivaled just about anything we can get back home. Note: Men are required to wear long pants and a collared shirt, for dinner. The Senora ala-carte Mexican restaurant was absolutely fantastic. We tried several different Mexican dishes, as well as guacamole and chips with our dinner and drinks. While it was a little on the quite side on the night we attended, we actually preferred this. Pros: Excellent beach, good variety of food, pleasant service from everyone. Beautiful grounds and curious iguanas along the walking path. Nice main pool with fun games during the day. Beach Club grill restaurant is right by the main pool and beach. Cons: There are no elevators in the room buildings. If you're staying in one of the buildings closer to the lobby, be prepared for a long walk to the beach. No swim-up bar. Room A\C did not cool super-well, but it was still satisfactory. Slow check-in process. A little further of a drive into town. While not quite a five-star experience, we would definitely come back. We loved the beach, service and relaxation we experienced here.

My husband and I went on a diving trip. Great location for diving, Great clean rooms and great staff. Buffet food is average. They could definitely improve on that. The restaurants are good and have good food.

We stayed 6 nights at Occidental Cozumel over Memorial Day 2018. The resort is lovely! It is a huge property, so we felt lots of privacy - which was nice. We used timeshare points to book a one bedroom which also had 2 full baths and a bar/kitchen area with a refrigerator on the top level. Outside our window was the jungle! I don't think this resort has a single ocean view room, but we didn't mind. The restaurants were good. The seafood one was delicious! and its on the beach, so make sure you make reservations for this one. The other two where we made reservations were nice as well because you order off the menu vs. a buffet. The buffet was ok - lots of options but nothing that knocked our socks off. made to order omelettes for breakfast were good! Lots of pastries for breakfast too. The pool by the ocean was lovely. The entertainment isn't plentiful, so plan to do lots of relaxing. The adult-only pool is secluded, but if you're interested in seeing lots of iguanas, this is the place to go! they are very tame and come out to sun every afternoon. We only watched the nightly entertainment once - the fire show - and it was entertaining. It was extremely humid, so sitting in an area surrounded by a moat filled with water was a bit unbearable. We scuba dived twice. There's an on-site dive shop (which we didn't know about and went with another company) but you need to book with them NOT with the guys who sit under the staircase hoping to convince you to take the timeshare aka "vacation ownership" presentation. I did it and supposedly received diving discounts, but the company we went with was mediocre. Small boat and not sure we went to the best dive locations although we saw turtles, a huge eel and a shark! Be prepared to do lots of walking. It was humid (late May) which made it sticky, but I enjoyed the walks from the main dining area to the beach (which was nearly 1/2 mile). All staff were very kind and helpful. We didn't have any special requests, but for any little thing we needed, they were accommodating. One last thing to note... the liquor is watered down. Probably a good thing since all we did one day is lay by the pool and drink. :) i did notice that we could have booked this resort online (booking.com) for the same price as the all-inclusive fees we paid. Although using the timeshare points got us a lovely, spacious room.

I stayed at Occidental earlier this month, traveling solo. Through Expedia, the upgrade to Royal level was very reasonable and worthwhile. It includes free WiFi, free room service and I was able to get a reservation at one of the restaurants every night of my stay. I ate at all of the restaurants over the week and the food and service was excellent at all of them. I dived with Pro Dive (the onsite company) for the second time and left them a separate, very favorable review. I drank at all of the bars. Most have Modelo and Negra Modelo along with a pretty good liquor selection. The bartenders were proficient and friendly, especially mi amigos Justino y Antonio. Gracias, chicos! One thing of note is that the a la carte restaurants have a strict pants and shoes policy. I was able to maintain my strict "no socks on dive trips" policy, but I did have to wear the same pair of pants and shoes for eight nights. My room and housekeeping were great. There are no ocean views here so you need to find someplace else if that's your thing. All of the guest rooms are pretty far from the beach, behind the mangrove that this property includes, but the rooms are clean and modern. Comfortable bed/linens/AC/etc. Whether I dived morning or afternoon, my room was undisturbed while I was in it and taken care of when I got back. A couple bucks for housekeeping and a couple more for the minibar kept me well maintained and well stocked with cerveza y agua every day. The minibar has a pretty good assortment of soft drinks as well. Overall, I think this is a great property and I enjoyed my time here with Occidental and Pro Dive Mexico. Gracias!

The pictures online do not do this resort justice!It is a Paradise!The staff is Amazing and give you 5 star treatment!I can not say enough good things about Occidental Cozumel...we have already started planning our next visit!5 STAR!!!!