Iberostar In Cozumel

The atmosphere is lovely. The staff is competent and very friendly. The rooms were adequate but not fancy.

If you eat meat, fish and poultry there are lots of choices. But, if you are a vegetarian, it is mightly hard to find tasty choices at the buffet. I guess that is true of all the restaurants on the island.

I booked our vacation for 1 week at the Iberostar resort in Cozumel. In brief, I have pointed out what happened during our vacation;

Sun - Plane arrived 2 1/2 hrs late

Mon - Cloudy day no activities poeple to be found during the day. Night show was funny.

Tue - Camera stolen from our front porch (15 - 20 mins after I put it down) . Security (whatever!!) said that they physically check staff every night before they go home. They suggested it might have been another tourist.

Wed - rented a car (limited cars to rent - 1970 beetle) stalled a lot, smelled like gas inside, got wet inside from the rain and puddles.

Thu - Got a large, deep cut the bottom of my right foot at the bottom of the pool. Cracked and broken tiles in the pools. Management did not offer any compensation for their negliance. Got a fruit basket and use of a broken wheel chair.

Fri - Sun finally came out, could do nothing else but get a tan.

Sat - Same as Friday.

Sun - Hassle to take wheel chair to airport to get on the plane.

Overall - Management and staff at Iberostar was not helpful and did not know what to do when someone gets injured. 2 stars rating !!!!

I took this trip as a tune-up for my trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands. I wanted rest and relaxation, lots of sun and a place where I didn't have to leave for 4 days. Believe it or not I found it here. The service was great the food was great (even the buffet). I enjoyed the pool bar and Nicolas (bartender) was great. I snorkled every morning and saw lots of clown fish, eels and only in three to five feet of water. If you are looking to just get away...check this place out. I am definately returning and it won't be a tune-up for the islands.

We were there from Aug. 24 to Aug 31, 2002 and had the best vacation ever. The food was outstanding, the staff (who work incredibly long hours) are always smiling, happy and so helpful. The entertainment team were so much fun. The evening shows were great. I highly recommend participating in all the daily activities that you can. (water volleyball, basketball, beach volleyball and the other contests) Taxi's are expensive but down town is nice to visit one day. The cruise dinner is a severe waste of time and money. The food is much better at the resort!! We are already planning for next year.

We were in cozumel Aug 8, thru Aug 15. Stayed at the Iberostar. The staff there were real friendly. Meet alot of people. The food was good. The only bad experiance we had was at the steak place. The waiter was more intrested in a wedding party then he was in the other people. So he did lose out on a big tips. It rain every day their but only for 10min and the rain was just as warm. I would stay their again if i had a choice.

Just got back from Iberostar and had a wonderful time there.

Food was generally good. Staff was excellent. Although my wife and I tried to speak spanish when we could, everyone there spoke english.

We book a tour of Tulum and Xel_ha through Olympus Tours. Although we had a good time, the tour bus stopped at every hotel from Playa Del Car to Tulum/Xel-ha. We spent 4 hours on the bus alone.

Para-sailing was a great experience.

The pool was nice in the morning but got kind-of crowded in the afternoon. There was a vendor near the pool that sold ceramic pieces that you could paint yourself. After you were done, this vendor would make it look real professional over night. We did this on two afternoons.

Taxi's into town were $19 each way. Town was pretty nice, and somewhat funny. The street vendors would say anything to get you into their store. Once in they would try very hard to sell you something. There was one item that was priced at $50 and before we walked out of the store the vendor only wanted $20 without me even dickering with the man.

We booked the snorkleing tour off Columbia reef and Planacar reef. Very nice, we saw a baracuda, and a buch of tiger colored fishes actually swam right up tot he group. close enough to touch.

For an all-inclusive resort, we did spend a lot of money on extras. The Parasailing, the trip to tulum/xel-ha and the snorkeling all cast us about $400 x-tra dollars. Free stuff included using their snorkle equipment, sail boat, or kyack for about an hour. Food, drink and other stuff was also available for free.

Drinks were very strong. Coffee was also strong. The store sold t-shirts but didn't have many XLs available.

The water they served/cooked with was filtered and drinkable, the water from the tap was not.

They was a minor issue I had with the food service not being available, when I said something to the staff, they apologized and sent me the USA today each day as well as a bottle of Champaigne on our last night. They really want people to be happy there.

We would probably use the Iberostar Resort chain in the future if we travel to a destination where they are located.

Yes, unfortunately there is a smell by the tennis courts. We were not bothered by the smell near the pool or our room (building 89). We basically stayed clear on the tennis court area.

Finally, when things are hung to dry (Towels, bathing suits) they do not dry very well. Bring a second or third bathing suit if possible.

Enjoy your vacation!!!

My boyfriend and I visited Cozumel in October. We had a great stay. The huts were a delightful change to our hotel stay. There was truly a tropical feel about this hotel. You did feel as if you were in Paradise. It was an excellent trip for rest and relaxation.

One hint, October is definetely the rain season. The mosquitos were outrageous at dusk. I begin to itch just thinking about it.

I stayed at this resort in January of '01, just read a

recent review and would like to confirm some observations and dispute others. This resort bills itself as eco-friendly, having been built with at least some regard for its island environment; therefore, it does have its own sewage treatment plant on the grounds, and let's be honest . . . it smells --unfortunately, the treatment facility is located near one of the bars and the entertainment pavilion. The resort does need to address this. Also, because the resort has not razed every living plant nor DDT'd every insect out of respect for the environment, guests will encounter strange insects and the exotic birds and iguanas who feed on them. If you don't want this, go to a Palace resort where they cover everything with marble.

The beach immediately in front of the resort is a bit rocky but good for snorkeling close in. The resort is farthest south (so far) on the island, about 25 min. (expensive) taxi ride from San Miguel. Guests can walk for miles along empty beach to the south or north to the Allegro resort.

I found the food excellent (perhaps not quite five star), but again -- you're on an island where everything has to be flown in from Miami! It does vary in quality depending on the number of guests registered: fewer guests, fewer choices and lesser quality ingredients. Makes economic sense but not great for the guest traveling off-peak.

I, a woman traveling alone, found the service excellent, from the airport pick-up/return - included- to the resort's security, to the chambermaid who left flowers for me every day. That's apparently the luck of the draw.

It may be rated a 5 star in most magazines but I would say for those who expect your tipical 5 star hotel will be disappointed. The best thing about the place is the entertainment staff who are very friendly.

As far as the front desk staff forget about it as was the theme from most of the people that we spoke with. Also most people were requesting room changes for one reason or another.

We requested a room change because the ceiling had holes and there was a gecko lizard in the room. The wife was not happy!

The room we got however got worse!! The sewer smell came from the shower drain, originally we thought it was the water but it wasn't. They did not have a key ready for us for 2 hrs as they had to get one made, the lock didn't work properly, the cable was broken and the shelving in the room was broken. We found that the cleaning of the rooms were not so great as I purposely did not clean dead misquitos a couple of thise big ones on the bathroom counter and they were not cleaned until the third day.

There is no such thing as an alarm clock in your room so you had to have your own watch or use a wake up call! Everything was overpriced and you really couldn't trust the staffs advice as I found out as the week went on.

I would suggest that you spend a day or two there a figure out the island before you book your outings, it will save you a lot of money. I heard from someone who stayed at the Allegro that renting a car and deep sea fishing and diving trips were cheaper by a min. of $20.00 USD and that is just on the car.

Bring LOTS of BUG spray, Deep woods off and raid for your room.

There was always a sewer smell on 1/4 of the resort by the tennis courts and the entertainment stage.

If you are renting a car I would say rent it on the first day to know where everything is on the island. Taxi's are expensive!!

There is access to the Payacar reef from a beach we found out to late after paying for the catamaran snorkeling trip. Way cheaper to acces it by road!

The food was your tipical buffet food! Nothing spectacular although they do have lobster night and they put flowers in your bed on Sunday to butter you as they handed out service rating cards on this night. Believe me this is your best night, don't expect it every night!

I don't think this is a 5 star hotel in my mind and the above statements are obviously my impressions and others who we chatted with on vacation.

These are only my opinions on my experiences and is posted for information purposes only!

There were visitors who thought it was a wonderful place.

I guess it comes down to what one is used to!

We would probably pick another place to stay at if we went back to cozumel.

Anyways happy hunting, who knows you may like this place.

Was there for 1 week January 2002 and it was paradise. The food was outstanding and the entertainment was fun. The snorkeling was wonderful. DId the boat tour but had just as much fun near the hotel in three feet of water. There we saw eels, octopus, all sort of fish varieties, spiney lobster, etc. The staff could do no wrong. Wonderful trip!