We stayed there 4 years ago and were so please, we decided to return. Rooms and staff are great but the food quality and selection are unacceptable for a hotel with this rating (4 1/2 star). Fish so raw the meat could not be pulled off the bone. Small selection of desserts (4) Even the restaurant requiring a reservation was minimally better. The wine was a grade better than that served in the buffet. We were very dissapointed and turned in our comment card stating so. I even wrote the hotel general manager stating my dissatisfaction.

The internet pictures were right on the mark but that is where the simalarities stops. The room(s) had a strong odor of sewer emitting from the pipes. After talking to several guests, it was realized we were not the only guests with this noxious problem. I did talk to the concierge but they were indiffernt to my plight, which was perhaps the worst disappointment. The bed was hard and the A/C was loud. The food was limited at best. You are limited in attending the speciality restaurants; however there was no mention of this on the internet. Only one place to eat for breakfast and only one place to eat for lunch, both buffet style. The food was good but there was no variety. On a positive note, staff was friendly and grounds were well kept. This is not a four star hotel where your every need is taking care of; it is a three star at best.

Worst place on the Island. They made us wait 4 hours to get a room even though we came in on time, even though the clerk did not say the words, his expression said "Deal with it". I found very few of the staff to be friendly, most were not. The bathroom leaked over the ceiling, by morning the whole room was flooded, after 3 calls about it, I finally went in person. We got another room, this one didn't have hot water. We requested rooms together with our friends 7 months in advance, not only didn't we get it, they put us in different buildings. Our 1st room was on the 3rd (top) floor, no elevator and the wife has a leg disability issue which was clearly advised ahead of time. Our stay was 1 week, after 2 day's we checked out and went to the Palace where we had the greatest time of our lives and treated like Royality! Many other people at the Occidental Grand got sick including 1 of us. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this place.

Cozumel is still trying to recover from hurricane Wilma however the Occidental Grand was up and running. Was told by the staff the hotel was only at 20% occupancy during my 7 day stay which meant less crowds. It was nice being able to recognize nearly all the guests and many by their names. Diving was good but you could definitely see the storm damage. The corals were damaged, broken shells everywhere but the diving was good. The currents were moderate to strong with 2 of my 11 dives having such strong currents I was bearly able to see anything because because I passed so quickly. Food was adequate but a bit boring. I suspect it was due to the low occupancy. Staff was friendly, courteous and geniunely seemed glad we were there. Spent my last full day downtown shopping. Encountered very friendly and courteous retail clerks. They seemed geniunely happy to have tourists in their stores.

We very much enjoyed our stay at Grand Occidental. Our room was clean, cool and well laid out. The shower head worked perfectly, as did the t.v. & alarm clock. We have visited quite a few resorts over the last few years & definitely agree with the 5 star rating for this resort. The only areas we found to be lacking were the entertainment, as well as the sincerity & consistency of the front desk staff. The meals were very good, with the exception of many flies if you sat too near the barbeque. The friendly & courteous staff more than make up for that, though. We've often found that when the serving staff is pleasant, the bar staff are indifferent - not the case here! We also rented a vehicle and toured the island - San Miguel bears checking out. You will definitely enjoy this resort. And don't be shy about booking the Mexican restaurant, which doubles as the beach reastaurant by day. Very nice!