Royal Level at Occidental Cozumel

This hotel is very well kept and the staff are very friendly and accommodating. We had a harrowing ordeal traveling and upon Margarita from the Royal Club she immediately had us relaxed and in vacation mode. The food at the restaurants were very good also. Must try the fresh tacos at the buffet (La Posada) for lunch. It is a trip from the beach and the pool but if you are up there, it is a must try. The buildings and set within the natural environment, very green and lush. Very relaxing.

We come to Cozumel twice a year and always stay at Occidental Grand! We can not say enough good things about the staff in the Royal Level, especially the wait staff in La Carreta! Tomas, Rogelio, Carlos, Miguel and Ismael were absolutely incredible! We took our family vacation and had a total of 15 people! One person had severe food allergies and the another one is just a picky eater! The staff worked extra hard to ensure everyone was happy and impressed with their meals and service! We didn't want to go into town to eat at all because they were INCREDIBLE! All of our family said they had never been on a vacation where they planned their days around dinner reservations! Margarita and Emma were sure to have reservations for all 15 people each and every night we were there! During the day we went to the beach where Reyna Rios would take care of all of us! As many times as my husband and I come to the resort Reyna was, by far, the best beach server we have ever had! We already have our next trip booked for November and because of the exceptional service of Tomas, Rogelio, Carlos, Miguel, Ismael, Margarita, Emma and Reyna we chose Occidental Cozumel Royal Level once again! Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful vacation and making my family feel like yours!

Our previous experience with an all inclusive, in the Riviera Maya, may have set the bar a little high in retrospect. I think that it's probably due to the fact that so many people come to Cozumel for diving and the resorts don't have to compete as much for your business with the quality of food, etc. than on the mainland. That being said, there were some very good pluses at the Occidental. 99% of the staff was extremely friendly and offered up a smile with a hearty "Hola" or "Buenos dias". The grounds are unbelievably lush and green and full of (I assume safe) wildlife (e.g. iguana, turtles, and coatis). The beach is beautiful and, though I've seen other reviews to the contrary, we never had a problem finding a couple of chairs. Beach Tip: The entry into the water is less rocky toward the middle of the beach. However, it is less rocky further out toward the left side of the beach (nearer the dock). In other words, enter the water at the middle of the beach and then hang out or wade toward the left. Now for the negatives... First, the food. it was average everywhere except the Mexican restaurant, where it was terrible, and Olivo's (the "Mediterranean" restaurant), where it was actually really good. The Royal Level restaurant and room service offered pretty good food as well. Unfortunately, although offering an incomparable view, dinner at the restaurant on the beach was pretty bad. How do you serve frozen seafood in a beach restaurant? Seriously, the mahi mahi had the texture of a fish stick. Message to management: Serve fresh fish at the beach restaurant! You limit the number of tables anyway. You might as well make it a palatable experience for the few that are able to get a reservation, right? Imagine if this review mentioned that dinner on the beach was a must do on Cozumel instead... (It is, btw, but walk 10 minutes down the beach to Alberto's Beach Bar and eat there.. also, see my review on Alberto's Beach Bar) Next, the drinks. The best vodka available was Absolut, the best tequila was Don Julio, there were no topshelf options for rum or other liquors, and they only had one kind of beer (not sure what it was, but it tasted better with a lime). Also, oddly, the whole resort was out of straws the entire time we were there. This created an odd situation where you had to try to eat your daiquiri, pina colada, or frozen margarita like a snow cone until, of course, you got past the top of the glass. At this point, you had to tilt your glass back until the frozen concoction let loose of its bond to the bottom of the glass and would come flying at your face at 240 mph. Once was enough of that so we drank beers and rocks drinks after that. This is fine, of course, but sometimes you really want a frozen drink on the beach. Lastly, and I know that there is nothing management can do because it's a different company that runs it, but the gift shop staff were sometimes there when they should have been and sometimes not. There was one gift shop employee that was friendly, but the other appeared very upset that you were interrupting her day of standing around any time you required her assistance. My advice, if you need something from the gift shop, don't make a special trip because you might be taking a walk for nothing. All in all though, I rounded up from a 3.5 star review. After talking to some other people from other resorts, it sounds like the negatives I've listed above are pretty much par for the course at all resorts on the island. Given the grounds, service, accommodations, and beach, the Occidental seems above average in comparison.

we are grand level royal club members first time to Cozumel being grand level members we receive some extra attention and services. we just returned from occidental Cozumel with our kids and grandkids 14 in all and received excellent service from the entire royal club staff. Emma in concierge is a credit to this hotel between her and Jessica they took care of our every need. Ismael water / buss boy was my kids and grandkids favorite he worked so hard to give us that extra service. Ismael is young and we really hope that he will be with the hotel for many years to come. the waiters and bartenders at the main pool/beach are amazing the huge number of drinks made per day with care in each drink made. I felt that the food in the resort was not quite as good as other occidental hotels. very beautiful grounds and a lot of wildlife. the hotel is in a jungle area with swamp around most of it mosquitos can be a problem bring bug spray

My husband teenage son and myself are currently here at the hotel. I will review the rest of the hotel separately. We are extremely pleased with our experience with the Royal level here. The check-in was fast and smooth and friendly. They were very helpful in assisting us in scheduling our ala carte restaurant reservations. They've been very quick to accommodate any request that we have, and all of our needs have been met. We really enjoy having unlimited ala carte restaurants, and the addition of the royal Level Restaurant is fantastic! The food and service are very very good in La Carreta. There is also a royal level only jacuzzi which we haven't used yet but intend to at some point. Our room is very nice and the location and building 19 is stellar! While I don't love being on the first floor under the stairs since they are noisy, I do love the location of the building. Our room is equipped very well and it's decorated tastefully. The bathroom is very nice and the shower gets nice and hot! Our maid service has been very good as well. If we have the opportunity to return turn to the hotel, we will definitely use the Royal Service again!