Occidental Grand Cozumel Resort Reviews

We booked this holiday through First Choice. Holiday was from 3-17 May 2008. Hotel rooms are quite large, we had 2 king size beds, patio, TV (lousy reception though compared with the mainland), minibar fridge (Pacifica beer, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Fanta, and water), the wardrobe is in the bathroom, is fairly large and comes with a great safe (no keys, accepts your own personal numerical password), and the bathroom itself was huge, a fantastic walk-in shower (could fit 4 people in it no problem, will have to try next time!!) We quickly explored the hotel grounds. Very nice it is too. Grounds were immaculately clean, plenty of wildlife (iguanas, geckos, tarantulas, parrots, etc.) To get to the beach area you have to walk past the relaxation pool, and cross over a wooden walkway. In the brochure pics there is a small mangrove swamp, but when we went the swamp had dried out. You then come to the main pool, which is a fair size, plenty of sunloungers, and a beach bar. The beach area itself is fairly small, but kept clean, and there are plenty of loungers and shaded areas. The beach restaurant is in a nice location too. Plenty of free beach towels right next to the swimming pool. We had our first meal that night in the main buffet restaurant, and the food is fine (not the best AI we have had, but good enough to fill your tummy). First day on the beach was fab, got great sunloungers no probs, and the sea was crystal clear, warm and very calm. Meal at beach restaurant was very good, we thought it was better than the nighttime restaurant. Only complaint was the beach bar. Its simply not big enough for the amount of people who use it, and it would be better if they either extended it or placed a self-service area for water/soft drinks. Entertainment is quite good, the staff work from around 10-2200 hours, so a long shift, but they are very friendly, as are all the staff. Nighttime entertainment is OK, but finishes around 2200. Also no dedicated area for the entertainment (no stage area), so if it rains the shows are cancelled. After 2200 the only entertainment is the disco (which we didnt bother with), or a classical guitar player in one of the lounges. The hotel becomes very quiet around this time. We only ate at two of the specialty restaurants (los Olivios, mediterranean seafood, etc, which is very nice), and the rooftop pizzeria which is also nice. Good mix of people when we were there, mainly Brits, U.S. and Canadian.

We would definitely go back.