We visited Cozumel Palace from July 5-12. The check-in process went pretty smoothly - although we arrived a bit prior to check-in time and had to wait a while for our room. The person who brought the bracelets and the information could have done a better job of explaining all that was available. At other all inclusive resorts, we've been given a short tour, and an overview of activities and tours available. We went to the tour desk while waiting and asked for a list of tours available. We were given a book to leaf through - but a paper or brochure with tour descriptions and prices would have been more helpful.
The rooms are very nice. They have beautiful views and the bathroom was nice and roomy. It was mostly clean - I'm very picky about cleanliness so I could be considered 'high maintenance' in this area. I don't like to see hair on anything in the bathroom and there were a few that I saw that I knew weren't mine but everything else was kept very nicely. The walls were banged up a bit in our room - probably due to luggage - not a big deal either. Overall though, the room was very nice.
The resort itself is one of the smaller ones and at first I didn't think I would like it as much. There are advantages though! We didn't have any children so the lack of great activities for the kids didn't matter much to us. Every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. in the morning until late afternoon, a different activity is available. You can make yarn bracelets, take cooking classes, learn how to make towel animals, play volleyball, basketball, and bocce ball, or do water aerobics, and even play both Mexican or American bingo. There's always something you can do OR you can just hang at the pool bar or in your beach chair. There are palapas on a small sand beach. If you want a long stretch of white beach, you won't want to go here. The resort is nestled on a rocky shore. Snorkeling equipment is provided for free and there is a blocked off area to snorkel right off of the resort. There's also a huge round trampoline in the ocean. The water was colder than I like but I got used to it pretty quickly. The view is beautiful - you can face the pool or face the ocean from the same chair! The spa area is very nice and lots of services are offered for reasonable prices. I had a manicure but wished I had the time to book a massage! Prices for shampoo and products were very reasonable. Products I buy in the states were twice the price of the same products for sale in the salon so stock up!
The food was good - for us personally, the all-inclusive food option gets a little old. We went to town to eat at Hard Rock one night - 2 hamburgers and 2 cokes was $43 w/tip so it is pricey to eat at other places. We tried all of the restaurants - the Asian, Italian, and Mexican ones and they had a grill buffet every night by the pool. We didn't have a bad experience in any of them - all were good. When we returned home though, my husband said he felt sick. Just be careful to stay away from salads or mayonnaise, or meat that spends much time outside - just the same as you would do at home - and you should be fine. Also, ask for bottled water - to ensure water quality. Every night there is a show - someone mentioned that the entertainment is a little cheesy - and some of it is I agree - but the people try SO hard to make it fun and entertaining, that I overlooked that part of it. We got to know the entertainment staff (Daniel, Suguei, Teresa and Ricky) and they were all super people who knew our names and we knew all about them by the time we left. The fire show is amazing - don't miss this one!
Others have mentioned - and it is TRUE that these people truly love their jobs, they love their customers, and it shows! They are eager to please, never a cross word or attitude - like you sometimes find at home. That is truly one of the best parts of vacationing in the Yucatan! Service is paramount and they will do whatever it takes to please you. Very refreshing! There is a shop in the resort too - a bit limited, but easily accessible for whatever you need. You also pay for the convenience. I wouldn't buy t-shirts or gifts there unless you just have no other option because you will pay more.
Cozumel is a beautiful place to visit. If you go, don't miss the Mystic Snorkeling tour (reviewed on Trip Advisor) and consider taking a tour over to Cancun - Playa Del Carmen to Xel-Ha - a beautiful ecological park where the snorkeling is wonderful and there are tons of activities. Macaws and parrots roam freely and they are beautiful birds to watch. Very well maintained considering the volume of people that go through there daily. If you are shopping in Cozumel, avoid days/times when the cruise ships are in port - you'll be able to see the ships come and go from the resort as it is very close to the ship docks - because there will be a lot of people moving around, and lots of lines. Don't shop on the main street - that is where all of the cruise ship tourists go - and the prices are definitely higher. Shop the back streets - it is safe and you'll get much better deals there. We did.
My advice would be NOT to plan to rent a scooter. We thought we would but then reconsidered when we saw a number of people that had some pretty serious injuries from accidents. Part of it is because tourists don't know where they are going or are careless and the other part of it is that the locals don't give scooters any room or consideration - at least not the amount needed - and this results in LOTS of accidents. We saw a lot of people who had wrecked and were experiencing some serious road rash - very painful, and disruptive to your vacation! We would definitely return to this beautiful resort - in beautiful Cozumel! If you want a mega resort, visit one of the others recommended here on TripAdvisor. But, if you want great service, personal attention, and a beautiful ocean view, visit here.

My family and I first visited Cozumel Palace for 1 day in 2005. We liked what we saw, so we went back for a week in 2007. That trip was fabulous so we decided to go back in 2008. I was a little worried this time that my expectations were so high, that I was going to be disappointed but once again, everything was just great.

The entire place is always clean and well kept from the rooms to the lobby to the pool area. The staff is always very friendly and helpful and after a few days many of them will know your name. And as others have said, whenever you ask for something, the staff always responds with "It is my pleasure". The bartenders learned my favorite drink and sometimes brought me one without me even having to ask. The rotate the bartenders around, but the ones I got to know best at the lobby bar were Augustin and Jorge. If they are not too busy ask them to show you some of their "bar tricks", they are very entertaining.

The restaurants are all good, but the Italian is by far my favorite. The soups and appetizers are some of the best things on the menu so don't pass them up. My daughter really loves the Affogato al cafe for dessert. Sometimes there is live music in the Italian restaurant and there is also live music in the lobby bar.

On this trip, we did 3 of the Palace's free excursions. We went to the Mayan ruins at Coba, which was an all day trip to the mainland. It was very interesting and our guide was funny and entertaining. On the way back, we decided we wanted to hang out at Playacar Palace for awhile so our guide gave us our ferry tickets and told us we could go back whenever we wanted. We also went to Chankanaab. Chankanaab is a National Park with some beautiful grounds and some pretty good snorkeling. Try to go snorkeling as early as possible, as more people arrive and get in the water, it seems to scare off some of the fish. We also went to Playa Mia, which is a big beach club that mainly caters to people from the cruise ships. The Palace transportation leaves at about 9 AM but we had our own car so we decided to wait and go later in the day. We went around 2 PM and by 3 most of the cruise ship people had left to head back to their ships and we had the place mostly to ourselves.

If you can, try to book your stay at Cozumel Palace through a member. You will save some money plus you get some "extras" like free massages and manicures.

I have stayed at two other Palace Resorts and I have visited two others, but in my opinion, Cozumel Palace is the "best of the best".

I am 27 and my bf is 29, we chose the Cozumel palace as we have recently gotten into diving and were told Cozumel was the place to go. Came on Tripadvisor and saw that the Palace was the highest rated all inclusive (now it has changed and the Presidente has passed it) so we chose it. We paid about $1600 CDN each for 7 days. I'll start by saying that I was not AS impressed as most of the other reviewers have been. Yes, the service was good and so was the food but neither were excellent or out of this world. Upon arriving in the hotel, which only took 10 minutes from the airport which was a highlight, we were greeted warmly and given a cool towel. The receptionist told us to take a seat in the lobby and that someone would be by to check us in as we relaxed after our flight. Right away we were offered some fruit drinks and a waiter came by to offer us whatever else we needed. A good start. I found out we got the room we had requested (#527 which I had gotten the tip from a previous visitor who has posted in tripadvisor) which made me veryyyy happy as I knew we had the biggest balcony with the best view of the whole resort. The room was gorgeous although the pictures do make it look bigger than it is, although it was definitely big enough either way. The jacuzzi was large and great, we used it after almost every dive. the bed was big and comfortable and it sucked to get out of it every morning at 630 to be on time for our dives haha but it was by choice and the dives were also amazing. We did not try the Mexican or Italian restaurants for supper as other guests had told us not to bother and stuck to the asian and outdoor bbq which were fantastic. The breakfast buffet was no different from any other youve tried. Fruit, made to order omelletts and a variety of other hot and cold dished that were a bit bland i found. Lovely dessert tray but didnt even try it, dont know why maybe cuz they looked too pretty haha. The maid service was just ok, the room was cleaned daily but nothing special, no towel art or chocolates on the pillow... maybe they expected bigger tips. The bathrooms were beautiful at first glance but upon inspection quite run down with the grout changing colors etc, could use some touchups. Really it is a great hotel that just needs to pay a bit more attention to detail. what not to miss: THE FIRE SHOW, be sure to see it, it was awesome. Besides that nothing out of this world with the entertainment, the dancers were not great but they tried to get you into it which is what its all about I guess. The snorkelling area was fun, not A lot to see, especially since we are divers and expect to see more than a few small fish. But definitely do some diving in cozumel, we were amazed by the beautful reefs and the amount of sealife we saw, the best one was the night dive, scary?? yes... most amazing thing ive ever done?? YES!! We only arrived last week from Cozumel and the diving sticks out way mor ein my mind than the hotel does. It was a nice place but was lacking a little something. Would I stay there again, probably as it was very well located being only 10 minutes walking from the downtown area and the pier is well situated for getting picked up by your dive operator. Will I be looking forward to the food and entertainment, not as much. But teh jacuzzi and bedroom were really amazing, hammock and views also off the charts! If you go i am sure youll enjoy it, just know that there are a few details youll notice and think, why dont they just fix these things and it would be perfect! Higher standard of food and room maintenance could be suggested but all in all a lovely place.

WARNING BEACH LOVERS: THERE IS NO BEACH HERE AND NO EASY OCEAN ACCESS!

We have mixed feelings about this hotel . . . and Cozumel in general.

The hotel was very nice, and the service was exceptional. The food situation was not so good.

It's an "all inclusive," and so you will experience the usual tricks used to "slow you down." Small glasses, sandwiches with very little meat, etc. The food situtaion here is not good. The steaks are the thickness of cold-cuts. The restaurants serve portions that are ridiculously small. Just order triple of what you want to get a meal.

The service was excellent, but the answer to everything is alcohol. . . because that's all there is to do here. (You can drink on your back deck at home, play mexican music, and save hundreds . . . )

They did a great job on their website of hiding the biggest flaw of the hotel . . . there is NO BEACH HERE AND NO EASY OCEAN ACCESS FOR SWIMMING. Be warned!

Another irritating thing with this hotel is that they pitch you to buy a condo right there in the lobby with one of their "hotel assistants."


MUST DO:

1. Rent a car so you can go to a GOOD restaurant on the beach, such as Albertos' on the south end;

2. If you're stuck here or can't cancel your trip and LOVE THE BEACH, then drive south from the hotel to "Mr. Sancho's," which is a day beach setup with easy access to THE BEACH (a novel idea for a so-called resort island, huh?);

3. Drive to "Mayaluun," which is next to "The Tequila Factory." The man there makes his own handcrafted artwork, and it's unique Mayan stuff;

4. Dine at the Oriental Restaurant in the hotel . . . ironically the best in the place (weird . . . a great oriental restaurant in Mexico?!?!?);

5. Snorkel right off of the hotel plaza - - - if it's "open" that day.


AVOID:

1. Cozumel altogether - unless you are a scuba diver (the island is small, rocky, and "REAL PRETTY," but there is *nothing to do here* but drink, fend off rude and pushy merchants, and tolerate an army of condo sales reps);

2. The "Meet A Dolphin" scam (it's oversold and a ripoff);

3. The "Italian" restaurant at the hotel . . . unless you're trying to lose weight!

This hotel (and Cozumel) is highly overrated . . . period. It's just a "cruise ship stop" and you can see the whole place in 4 hours.