My wife, 6 year old son and I just returned from a one week stay at the
Occidental Grand (Grand Cozumel) all inclusive resort.  I wanted to
write about our trip so that others can adjust their expectations so
that their vacation could be a great one.

Our trip started in Chicago boarding a United flight direct to Cozumel.
Note that there is a 50 lb. Per bag weight limit on international
flights.  Overage will cost you $50.  We were able to quickly remove a
bag with some dive gear from a suitcase and get under the 50 lb. Limit.
The flight was fine.  United now sells lunches for $5 each on this
flight. Beverages are still provided.

Upon arrival at the airport and clearing immigration and customs, we
were greeted by a man purporting himself to be a travel assistant.  We
quickly learned that he was promoting a time share village in Cancun.
He did have some helpful tips about Cozumel though.

Since we booked our trip through Orbitz, it was unclear whether ground
transportation was included.  We found that taxis cannot pickup
passengers at the terminal and that there are separate shuttle services
that will transport you to your destination.  The shuttle would of cost
us $40.  We saw people walking down about one city block to the main
street in front of the terminal to catch a cab.  We did the same and
caught a ride for $17 to the Occidental Grand - about a 25 minute
drive.

We checked in without any problems at about 1:30 and asked for a quiet
room at the ground level.  The room we checked into was a bit musty
with the air conditioner running.  The mustiness went away for a while
when we aired the room out.  I recommend trying the upper floors (there
are three floors in each building) to possibly avoid the musty smell.
While the air conditioning was effective at cooling the room, it
didn't do much to reduce the humidity.  The air conditioning was also
particularly loud.  We turned it off at night to sleep.

Our room had a door to the adjoining room.  While it was locked, it was
far from soundproof. Frankly, its as if there was no door at all.  The
building was also loud  - slamming doors and the noise from furniture
being dragged along the floor was common.

Overall, the room was nice.  Spacious with a large bathroom.  There was
a safe in the closet, refrigerator, television, and telephone.  The
refrigerator was replenished daily with soda, beer and bottled water.

We read complaints about the smell of the water and they are true.
Some days, the smell is worse than others.  It is a sulfury smell and
it can be very unpleasant.

We enjoyed the pool and beach area. The staff help a couple of
activities like volleyball and water polo that were alot of fun.  Pool
volleyball was popular and I recommend that the staff have another
session during the day.

The drinks at the bar were very weak.  We learned that the alcohol they
served was half-strength.  Yes, the brands they served (including
Beefeater, Smirnoff, Finlandia and others) also come in half-strength.
It was 40 proof (or 20% alcohol).  I thought that this was deceptive.
We ended up ordering double and triple strength but this didn't seem
to help the taste of the drinks. The margaritas were not good. They had
a few beers, Corona was on tap.  Tipping the bartender didn't seem to
help.

The meals seemed good at first because visually they are presented
well. Taste, however, is another thing.  One's opinion of the food
will vary by your taste.  If you like buffets then you will likely
enjoy the food at the Grand.  Overall, the food was similar to college
cafeteria food that lacks flavor and quality.  The Club Med resorts we
visited were better than then Grand.

Breakfast was ok if you like eggs.  They make to-order omellettes that
were good.  The breads were tasteless.  The coffee was fine - bring
your own artificial sweetener if you like sweetnlow or splenda.  There
was fresh milk.  Our son ate the french toast and cereal.

Lunch starts at noon- we only ate at the beach restaurant.  It's
buffet style and choices of meats were hamburger, hot dog, chicken
breast, and mystery meat.  The guacamole and salsa were good and we
used it to dress up some of the meats. I recommend cutting into your
meat first to make sure that it is thoroughly cooked.  Take it back to
the grill if needed.  The staff was helpful with getting drinks as long
as they weren't too busy clearing tables.

You'll either have to avoid or get used to the chipped dishes.  I'm
not sure what Occidental is thinking, but chipped dishes, cups and
glasses were too common.

We ate at the specialty restaurants about 4 times.  The Grand has a
policy that only allows you 3 reservations per week of stay but that
was not enforced at the restaurants.  A couple of bucks in your hand
while asking "do you still have room for dinner"? worked all the
time.

While the specialty restaurants looked great, their food was another
matter.  Some of the food could be improved with salt and pepper. Most
of it was low-end fare. Again, the food was of buffet quality - Old
Country Buffet or similar.  The resort could of also put out pretzels
or chips near the pool and the bars - there was nothing to snack on
except during their tea time at 4:30 in the main building.

One would think that the fruit selection would be good.  Unfortunately,
most of the fruit was tasteless or appeared old.

Personally, our stay would of been fine had we only stayed 4 nights
instead of 6.  We will not return to this resort.  There was
insufficient value and the quality of the food and drinks was too poor.

The resort has a kids club that is rather lame.  While there are a
couple of 16 year olds overseeing their activities, the activities were
weak.  The day starts off with an hour of television while the staff
watches their favorite soap opera.  We wouldn't leave our child
unattended.  We brought water toys for our child and I recommend you do
the same.  There weren't any toys to be borrowed from the resort -
though they did have some inflatables for sale at the shop.  A mask,
snorkel, fins and boogey boards could be borrowed at no additional cost
from the dive operator on the beach..

In the mornings on the way to breakfast the odor from the water used to
water the landscaping smelled badly.  My guess is that they use grey
water  (waste water from bath, shower and sink) to water the plants.

During our week we rented a jeep at the jeep rental near the Allegro.
It cost us $90 with insurance. We drove around the island.  The ruins
were not really worth visiting though we heard that the Coconuts
restaurant was outstanding from others.  We drove past too early to eat
at Coconuts - it's on the East side of the island.

The Grand had entertainment shows on three evenings during the week.
The dancers were good and fun to watch.

There is no commercial business near the Grand.  You'll have to take
a taxi into town (for $17) or rent a car ($60 to $100 per day).  There
is a restaurant South along the beach - didn't look very
promissing.

My wife and I went diving one day with the Palancar Diving operation.
We felt that they were a cattle car type operator.  During my dive I
noticed that my name was not called during the initial role call on the
boat.  When I called this to the attention of the employee, he
responded by saying that was ok since he didn't have the names of
three (of the 12) people on the boat.  He never asked for the names.  I
recommend finding another, smaller, operator.
The dives were in very swift currents. My estimation is that the
current ranged from 3 to 5 knots.  While the visibility was good, the
coral formations were dull and unimpressive. Marine life was sparse.
My opinion is that you will be disappointed if you previously made
dives in the South Pacific.

While traveling, we did hear some reviews from other travellers -
apparently the musty smell in the rooms is mold and an individual with
asthma needed to change rooms.  People staying at the Occidental
Allegro resort next door also had similar comments pertaining to the
food served there.

I can only recommend the Occidental Grand for a brief stay - no more
than 4 nights.  Be prepared for low-end buffet fare.

During our trip home while waiting for our flight in the Cozumel
airport, we found healthy competition among the merchants selling
liquor and perfume. I recommend some price comparisons before making a
purchase.

One other tip pertaining to taxis.  Negotiate your fare before you or
your luggage is in the cab since it can vary based upon the driver.
Don't be afraid to go to another cab.  Ask about air conditioning.
Most taxis have it but the driver may not turn it on.

I can recommend that you try some of the restaurants downtown- you'll
find a significant difference in the flavor and quality of the food and
drinks.  Occidental needs to wake up.