Recent visit 2/21/03-2/28/03

Since most reviews (except for avoid like the plague) were generally positive, we decided to give it try. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We did not do the all inclusive as we wanted to try places in San Miguel. Given the all-inclusive rates we heard from others who were there, we should have gone for it and just had a few meals in town anyway. The buffet was generally very good and I am on a restricted diet. Still enough variety for me. They had a couple of theme nights that were quite nice.The Dive House was very good and they even gave me a full refund when my wife couldn't dive one morning due to a bit of an ear problem. I didn't expect to get refunded for that since the notice was very short when we told them. All of the Dive House staff, Dive Masters, and boat crews were very good and the diving was great! I found the rooms to be ok and would give it a 3 star rating. Given all of the 4-5 star ratings that others have said, I'm not sure if I am using the same scale. I consider 5 star to be quite elegant places and have stayed in a number of them around the world. 3 star is still a nice hotel and certainly not a problem to stay there. Many people stuck with only bottled water. We didn't have any problem using the water from the sink in the room or with ordering plain ice water at meals. All is not perfect anywhere and we found the following minor issues. The drawers in the dresser aren't on slides so they will lean out when you pull them out and have to jiggle them in and out. Second, the remote didn't work for the TV but it was probably batteries. Since we only watched TV once for about an hour, I forgot about it until we left and then wrote a note on the check-out survey. I'm sure it could have been quickly rectified if I had mentioned it during the stay. One thing that drove my wife nuts was that we got a call from the front desk (while napping after our morning dives) telling us that laundry was trying to deliver our clothes but we had the do not disturb sign up. I had just gotten up when the phone rang so it didn't bother me too much. My wife however was still sleeping and the phone woke her. She was ready to complain mightily about this at the time but by the next day it had become a funny story to share with others. If I were to go back, I would do all inclusive. I watched closely to see if there was a different treatment for those with or without the wrist bands and so no difference whatsoever. By the way....all inclusive folks should still consider giving occasional tips (EVEN if it says it is included). The wait staff aren't getting the tips you aren't giving. Good service deserves a bit extra regardless. Also, I've never heard of the bellman being included in all-inclusive tips anyway. You always should tip those folks in countries that have tipping as a standard practice.Other folks that I talked to who were on all inclusive during our stay also felt that there was no tiered service level and were happy with the place. I would definately recommend this place to others.

Fiesta always

We love Fiesta Americana. We have stayed there 3 times now. (We have also tried other places in Cozumel). We felt like we received the best value at F.A. decent rooms, great location, etc. We have never taken advantage of the all inclusive. We love the ambiance of the local flavor in town. When in Rome....As for diving, we would HIGHLY recommend SEA URCHIN DIVING. The main dive master is Isidro. He is the best we have ever experienced. The boats are NOT cattle boats. Always great dives, great service, great company (Isidro is the best) and safety is never compromised given the intimate diving setting. Isidro makes our trips to Cozumel top notch. (He will actually pick you up at the F.A. dock. ) Our hearts belong to Cozumel when it comes to diving. We look forward to diving with Isidro, coupled with a nice stay at F.A. - we couldn't ask for more. Isidro is worth it. It is the best kept secret in Cozumel!!!

Wonderful vacation!!

We stayed at the Fiesta Americana (Cozumel) January 29-Feb 5th, 2002 and loved every minute of it. We did not go all-inclusive; thank goodness. Only one morning were we offered a menu. Otherwise it was full buffet or continental buttet; neither was worth the money. We ate in town every night. Our room was on the 5th floor with a commanding view of the ocean (don't stay in the casitas; humid, close, and smelly area). Our room was spacious, the bath updated, and the housekeeping service very good. The staff was fantastic, friendly, and helpful. Even tho the hotel is getting old and has some dings and dents, it is well maintained. (Beware of the Fiesta Tour rep stationed there; believe only half of what he says!) We never had any trouble getting a lounge chair down by the beach. Only one night was the music (live band) loud, but all music seemed to stop shortly after 10:00. I believe the hotel has a 5 star rating; a tad high!! We were there on a package deal from our travel agent, so we were able to get great flight and hotel rates. Would be go there again? Yes

Great hotel, good dive operation

I read with interest the review that said avoid it like the plague. I think nothing could be further from the truth. If the room was bad, get another one. I was there in November 2002 with 11 other people. We had a great time. All the staff were extremely accommodating. As far as people knowing we were tourists by having to wear a band on my wrist due to the all inclusive, so what! I'm half a foot taller and 5 shades lighter than most Mexicans. I would't fool anyone. Besides, I didn't want too. The Cozumel natives that I met were all friendly, courteous and helpful.

The resort is clean, spacious, great service, nice people and great dive boats. The snack bar food was terrific and the drinks were good. The ONLY thing I agree with is that dinner service is slow.

The dive shop is adequate. Don't go down there without most of your essentials, especially if you're a photographer. The boats, however, were spacious and well run. The dive masters, especially Alex and Manuel, were terrific.

I'm planning another trip to Cozumel in April and will be staying at the Fiesta Americana again.

Loved the Fiesta Americana Dec. 2 through 7

Just got back from the Fiesta, and what a great time !! The hotel was very clean, the staff were all very helpful and friendly - and the food (yes, the food) was SUPERB !!! I have heard and read terrible reviews about this subject, but the hotel has a new cook and believe me, i had an AI and ate ALL my meals there for the whole trip. I must have gained 7 pounds (the deserts are fantastic as well). The dive boat that left from the dock in front of the hotel was very easy to get to, the diving excellent, and snorkeling was very fun as well. One very nice thing about the location for this hotel is that the 8 or more cruise ships that are docked at all of the piers are all NORTH of the hotel. When i look out my 5th floor balcony - i see nothing but OCEAN and the beautiful coastline. It's perfect ! I really like that Chankanaab is within walking distance from the hotel going South. I highly recommend spending most of the day there. Snorkeling there was a blast as well ......Plan to go back to the Fiesta next year. Miss it already.

Enjoy !

Shawn

We had a great time

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Cancun and Cozumel (Nov 3-10). We stayed at the Fiesta Americana, Cancun and then at the Fiesta Americana, Cozumel. We had great experiences at both places. We did not do the all inclusive plan because we wanted to experience some of the local restaurants in town. We did however, eat breakfast and dinner at the F. A. Cozumel and the food was at best okay. The service was great though. I would recommend staying at either place because the rooms are very clean and the staff is very friendly. The only thing we didn't like was the sales pitch about timeshares. We told them no in Cancun and then avoided them in Cozumel because I wasn't interested in buying anything.

Our rooms were very spacious and everything worked wonderfully. We didn't spend a lot of time at either motel because we were out doing things such as snorkel trips and tours of the ruins. When we did want to use the beach we never had a problem finding an empty chair at the beach or by the pool. The snorkeling at the motel is good, but I would recommend taking a snorkel trip to the reefs that are offshore. It is well worth the money.

Beautiful

I just returned from the Fiesta Americana and had a wonderful time. The staff was so friendly and attentive. The hotel was clean and our room overlooked the beautiful beach, and the best part is that it was inexpensive. You have to stay here you won't regret it.

Fiesta Americana

My husband and I just returned from Cozumel Aug 20th 2002. We loved it, Cozumel has many great dive spots, we also really enjoyed staying at the Fiesta Americana, the staff were so fantastic, the hotel was very nice and the dive shop across the street was fantatic! I would recommend staying there and diving with Dive House. We were there 8 days and would go back in a minute. All of the Dive Masters were good except for one, his name was Eddie, we would not recommend diving with him! Try to get Francisco for a dive master if possible. The food at the hotel was just ok, except at night they do a buffet and its lousy. We got coupon books, 20 for 99 dollars, I would suggest doing that. We only ate breakfast there and went into town at night. Overall we had a fantastic time and would recommend this place to anyone. The dives were a 10, the hotel a 7, the staff 10, and the food a 4.

We had a great time!

I'd have to disagree with the reviewer from Ontario. My husband & I spent our honeymoon here in September of 2000, and had a great time! In fact, we're planning a return trip this fall.

A few notable differences:

-We did NOT do the All Inclusive Plan, because we would rather sample local restaurants and out-of-the way places. For that, we walked, and also rented a car for two days. On other days we took taxis to town (too far and too dangerous to walk along the shore road.) I think taxi fare was US$5 or $10 each way.

-We visited Cozumel in an "off-peak" time, when there were fewer crowds.

-Perhaps we expected less of Mexico in general than the Ontario reviewer-- we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the room and accomodations. We found the service to be excellent, but maybe because they weren't as crowded.

-We are scuba divers, and did not expect the resort to supply us with snorkle equipment (who knows where that mouthpiece has been last?) You can snorkel whenever you please right off the beach.

I highly recommend the Fiesta Americana for divers and non-divers alike. I ESPECIALLY recommend it during the summer/fall months.

However, watch out for the sales pitch of the "free dinner" in exchange for learning about timeshares. (the hotel concierge roped us into that-- just tell him "no thanks.")

Avoid it like the plague!

On arrival, we had to wait in line for over an hour to check in. We specifically requested accommodation above the third floor and were forced to take a room on the main floor. As guests on their "all-inclusive plan", we were told that "absolutely everything including all drinks food and gratuities" were included in our prepaid rate. We were forced to wear flourescent pink wrist bands at all times during our stay which immediately identified us to everyone on the island as tourists staying at the Fiesta Americana (which made us feel very nervous).

When we arrived at our room the bellman stood there with his hand out waiting for a tip. We were later informed that we should have tipped the bellman because "those tips" were not included in the all-inclusive. There was a beautiful basket of fruit and goodies accompanied by bottles of water awaiting us in our room. We found out after the fact that this was a "mini-bar" and it was also not included in the all-inclusive. We were billed over $25.00 for 2 bottles of water and a bag of potato chips. They didn't replenish items in the "mini-bar" and continued to bill us for items we didn't use. We finally demanded that the mini-bar be removed from our room.

The room was very clean and spacious but nothing worked. The TV didn't work. The phone didn't work. The air conditioner didn't work. The bathtub drain was plugged. We were continually invaded by a series of repairmen.

We had to set our alarms for 5:00 am to go down to the pool or "beach" areas to place a book or some personally identifiable object on a beach chair or lounge if we wanted to spend the day "relaxing." Otherwise, there were not enough beach chairs to accommodate the guests. You could not spead out a towel on the beach because it was pebbles not sand. They always ran out of snorkel gear and other beach supplies. Beach staff were scarce and overworked. It took forever to be served if you were served at all.

There was always a long wait at every restaurant. Except for breakfast, the all-inclusive buffets were lousy, the service was terrible. Waiters continually served the "American Plan" guests (who were visibly waving greenbacks) before the guests with pink wristbands. Nightly dinner buffets had a "theme" each night. If you didn't care for their "theme", there was little other choice. I ended up eating a lot of salad. This was the first vacation where I actually lost 5 pounds! One night, our dinner buffet consisted of greasy burgers and fries with no other choices. The seafood buffet consisted of a steel bucket of uncooked mixed sea "stuff" (usually covered with flies) which they cooked to death on a greasy frier grill.

Our complimentary dinner in their "Five -Star" restaurant was a complete disaster. After making a reservation, we waited 20 minutes to be seated. We waited another 1/2 hour to get menus and then another 40 minutes before a waiter appeared to take our order. We ended up walking out.

Their "Fiesta Night" (Thursday) started with the guests being force-fed a mixture of 7-up and tequilla. It was the only night where they offered any form of entertainment. The only other form of entertainment was found in the "five Star" restaurant where strolling minstrels played for tips.

The only good thing about the place were the free drinks. It's the only place they lived up to their advertising.

We complained to our tour representative (who did nothing) and the we complained in writing to the hotel manager (who didn't even respond)