TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The Spa staff at The Occidental Cozumel are all excellent. I had Erica perform an 80 minute massage of aromatherapy with medium pressure and I would say it was the best of many massages I have ever had. I am a retired Chiropractor. She would be an awesome massage instructor. I also had an exfoliation treatment by her coworker which wad amazing as well. I would highly recommend this facility.

--When we arrived, the air conditioning in our room was broken and running as loud as an airplane engine. It took a great deal of effort to get the room changed — no one apologised, and the staff seemed annoyed. Only after we threatened to file a formal complaint were we finally moved. It was obvious they immediately checked new guests into that same room without fixing the AC. Communication with staff was extremely difficult — with rare exceptions, almost no one speaks normal English. The food was unappetizing, more reminiscent of a school canteen. The à la carte restaurants in the evening (we were allowed to eat there three times during our stay) were decent, but the buffet quality was very poor. The cocktails in the pool bar tasted as if they contained no alcohol at all, and we had stomach problems after drinking them — once we stopped, the issues went away. On the third day of our stay, a crocodile appeared on the beach, and everyone was urged to leave. We couldn't find out what would happen next — no one could explain anything in English. When we went to the front desk that evening, where staff speak at least some English, they were completely surprised — they knew nothing about the incident and actually thanked us for informing them. The crocodile was eventually removed, and the beach reopened the following day. The pool is cleaned only once a week. Towels are stiff and overwashed. Staff is very hard to find, and there are no lifeguards on the beach. Upon arrival, guests are given a wristband that serves as the room key. Losing it incurs a $400 fine. My wristband came undone the very next morning and had to be replaced. The following morning, it came undone again, and I nearly lost it. Every time I walked past the front desk, someone was having their wristband replaced. When checking out, we asked the concierge to call us a taxi. He told us to take the shuttle instead. When we objected, he informed us there were no taxis available, which was wrong. The shuttle first drove other guests around to various shops before finally dropping us off at the airport. Overall, this is an extremely low-quality hotel — the worst of all the hotels we have stayed at in Mexico.

This review reflects 3 divers with a dive package staying for 7 days in February 2026. We purchased a 10-dive package + rented equipment + nitrox. While we could not dive for 2 days due to windstorms, the remaining days we did dive were FANTASTIC. Great dive team. Great dive shop. Good quality dive gear, no issues in the water. Saw practically every animal at least once (toad fish, spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, puffer fish, stingrays, octopus) Only diving-related cons: There are two dives per day (morning + afternoon) and the boat spaces fill up quickly. It was hard to swap/add dives 24-48 hours out. They also only have 2-3 dive computers for rent on a daily basis with 30+ divers. As for Hotel Occidental, I will never stay here again, and I would never recommend it. The hotel operations are at an all-time low. Nothing is consistent, nothing is guaranteed, nothing makes sense, and all the staff are just winging it. There are so many rules and limitations on basic services that we spent the first 24 hours just learning how everything worked as they did not tell us anything at check-in. (ex: there is a cap on dinner reservations; want to use room service? oh there's a $300 deposit that requires a physical card you must give the front desk first before calling and ordering to your room) Upon check-in, we were told that 1 of our rooms had accidentally been checked in already. Our "check in process" involved standing around for 30+ minutes while staff scrambled. When we finally got our room access cards, staff pointed to a few nearby restaurants as our "welcome process", then spent the next couple minutes trying to convince us to sign up for a timeshare presentation. What a joke! No info on WiFi, no info on basic services, etc. We would later learn that we were supposed to get electricity cards and towel cards at check in, we didn't. Everything was messy and chaotic. There's 3-4 sitemaps from various QR codes and printed maps, all of them different. There was live music EVERY NIGHT that went from 9-11pm and it was LOUD. Only because we were so tired from our dives could we sleep through it. Poor communication all around, no clear hours for restaurants and services. My favorite logic they used was that some rooms had a safe and a fridge, while some had free room service. You get to pick 1 option, not both. Or they pick for you! Overall, I would NOT recommend Hotel Occidental unless you are here on a dive package and only care about scuba diving, or, you enjoy a lot of surprises.

Wonderful hotel, comfortable room, beautiful beach, caring staff, pickleball court, all added up to a restful, rejuvenating vacation.

First impressions: Not great. The check-in process was unwelcoming and there was a line of people waiting with no comfortable place to sit while we waited. We were not given a thorough introduction to the resort- it was day three before I even knew there were tennis courts. Grounds: The landscaping along the walking paths were well-kept, however the water features were not. There are several fountains and not one of them were in operation. There is an entertainment area in the center of the resort with shallow pond-ish things that were filled with leaves and also had non-working water features. Pools: The adult pool was a nice area to relax away from the nosier areas. The larger pool by the beach was overcrowded. Biggest complaint is that guests are allowed to come early in the morning and claim a chair by placing a towel or something else on it, just to disappear for most of the day while other guests are left without anywhere to relax by the pool. Guests should only be allowed to save chairs as long as they are actually IN the pool area. Food: Our first impression of the food was not good, but it got better after that. The pre-prepared food at the buffet was hit and miss, but there were options to have something made fresh while you waited and those were always really good. The desserts were better than at other resorts I've been to. Beach: The beach area was kept cleaning and had a good lounging area. We love to snorkel and were very disappointed with the muddy water with zero visibility. This is not always the case- other guests told us that just days earlier the water had been crystal clear. Apparently we just had unlucky timing. But we also heard that the sandy bottom does not bring in much to see as far as snorkeling goes. Anyone looking for good snorkeling should check out Fiesta Americana, which has excellent snorkeling on site.