The Westin Cozumel — Hotel in San Miguel de Cozumel

I had a truly extraordinary experience at the Westin Cozumel. Everything about this hotel made my trip so relaxing and special. I traveled alone to Cozumel and the hotel was as welcoming as ever when I arrived after taking a shared cab from the airport ($8 USD). The hotel is located not far from the airport but is in a quiet, northern part of the island.

The lobby is very pretty and I stayed on the 9th floor in a room without a balcony. The room was very clean (and was kept clean throughout the trip) and had a very comfortable king size bed and shower. Some reviews here mention the noise from other rooms, and I didn’t notice any noise while in my room. The maids will also provide you with a few bottles of water each day, so no need to go buy bottled water in town (although I did but I regretted it since I was never thirsty thanks to these free bottles). The best part of the rooms is the view—words cannot describe how beautiful the ocean looks from this hotel. You’ll see some of the best sunsets in your life! I recommend going up to the top floor to see a sunset or two, the view can’t be beat from the rooftop pool area. I spent most of my time during the day by the pool and on the beach. You won’t have to worry too much about getting up early to get a beach chair, there were plenty to go around each morning. The ocean was warm and the pool was cold. I didn’t order too much to drink on the beach but service seemed prompt and guests seemed happy. I ordered food a few times and it was very good and reasonably priced. I was disappointed to not be able to rent the free scuba gear from the hotel since the water was choppy when I was in Cozumel, and when they put out the “red flag”, they won’t rent snorkel equipment. I was able to buy a snorkel and goggles for $20 easily in town though (side note: go snorkeling! It’s awesome at this hotel’s private beach!!). Speaking of getting into town, taking a cab from the hotel couldn’t be easier. The bellman will flag down cabs waiting outside the hotel and it should only cost $5 to get to town. Yes, you can walk to town, but it’s far and I recommend a cab. The drivers are very nice and most speak English. Before I left, I was easily able to get a COVID test from a local outpatient hospital the hotel has partnered with. It’s $35 USD. You must sign up a day before your flight, and on the day of the test, you meet in the lobby to be brought up to a vacant suite on the 3rd floor. The test takes about 2 minutes, very quick and the results come usually within a few hours over email. The testers spoke English.

Three other highlights from my trip at this hotel: the first was the spa—wow was it nice! They treat you really well—steam room, sauna, jacuzzi and cold tub and I recommend a massage, it was incredible and the rooms look out onto the ocean; second, the gym isn’t the greatest in the world, but it had most of what you need: treadmills, ellipticals, free weights and a few machines. They even had yoga mats if that’s your jam. There was a balcony outside the gym where you could do a private yoga session if you want. Third, the food at Las Gaviotas was outstanding for breakfast. I ordered the American Breakfast ($17 USD) and it’s 4 courses and well worth it (robust fruit tray with juice, pastries, two eggs, protein, beans, hashbrowns, and toast—it’s a lot of food!). You won’t have to eat until dinner! Overall, this hotel is simply magnificent. I hesitated to leave a review because I don’t want people finding out about it, but they really deserved a review as they earned it on many levels from me. Some people complain about the service in their reviews on here, and I think those reviews are very unfair—I had only pleasant experiences with the staff here. I’m glad I listened to the reviews on here that told me to ignore the complaints about the hotel, this place is spectacular!! Keep up the good work Westin Cozumel---I hope to...

IF YOU ARE JEWISH DO NOT STAY HERE!!

I had a shocking experience at the Westin Cozumel during my recent stay for a wedding. From the moment we arrived, my family and I were met with open hostility, which I can only attribute to our visible Jewish identity. While I'm hesitant to cry anti-Semitism, the stark difference in treatment between us and other guests was undeniable and disheartening.

After a grueling 12-hour journey via plane and boat, we were exhausted and hungry upon arrival. Politely, I requested an upgrade given the hotel's low occupancy and the fact that I had contracted and paid the hotel to host our wedding at their venue. Instead, I was met with curt and dismissive behavior, along with a nearly $1,000 charge for the upgrade. When I mentioned that our understanding was that booking a wedding with the hotel would warrant an upgrade, I was informed that this privilege was only for direct bookings, not those scheduled through American Express (via Expedia).

The situation escalated further as they attempted to charge us extra for our two small children staying in our room (!!!). Their attitude was beyond anything I've ever experienced, and it took 45 minutes of unwarranted hostility from Patricia at the front desk before we could even access our rooms.

To our dismay, we were placed in a cramped room with one bed and no balcony, despite 80% of the hotel rooms featuring balconies and double beds and extremely low occupancy at the time. The following morning, while walking on the waterfront with my son, I entered a restaurant situated on the beach by the ocean to order coffee. To my surprise, I was met with hostile glares and informed that they wouldn't serve me without shoes, even though the restaurant was on the sand next to the sea.

Later, I inquired at the front desk about obtaining plastic plates, as my family keeps kosher and couldn't use the hotel's dishes. Patricia provided no response and muttered something in Spanish to her colleague, Ricardo. Given no response, I asked him for clarification, he informed me that they didn't have plates but sarcastically offered plastic containers for $5 each.

The issues persisted as my sister, who had booked a room for herself and her husband, was told upon arrival that she had booked a room for one person (not true) and would be charged an extra $300 for her husband. They abruptly canceled her reservation without any discussion.

After 48 hours of requesting to speak with the hotel manager, I finally had the opportunity to meet with NOHEMI. However, her apologies felt empty and lacked follow-through. She assured me that they should not be charging me for my two children to stay in my room (you will see that she lied), and promised to address the issues but didn't, and when i asked the front desk if she had spoken with them, I learned that she and other management staff went on a staff trip for the rest of the week, rendering her assurances meaningless.

As the wedding was winding down, another hotel representative walked in at 11:01 and informed me, in a hostile manner, that I would be charged an additional $300 if I didn't have all the guests out within three minutes. While I understand the need for rules, I've never been treated so terribly by an upscale hotel, particularly one bearing the Westin brand.

The following day, I ordered drinks at the pool bar and attempted to charge them to my room, as I had provided a credit card for incidentals upon check-in. Shockingly, I was asked to pay immediately, which seemed inconsistent with standard hotel procedures. When I inquired, others around me had no issues charging their drinks to their rooms. This raised my suspicions of anti-Semitism even further.

Finally, when it was time to check out, the guy handed me a bill for my two kids to...

My wife booked this hotel with all inclusive option for a 10 day stay. The rooms were large, clean, and smelled good. We stayed in room 305 for reference, a room that had balcony and hot tub. We stayed during off season (Aug 19-29) so it was not crowed at all. Can't say enough about the staff and food. We never had a meal we didn't like. My wife was thinking to do the trip without the all inclusive, but after much research and considering going out, renting car, taxi's, etc...she decided on the all inclusive, and so glad we did. The food was 4-5 stars always, cooked the way we asked, and after 10 days of staying, they knew our names, room number...and made special drinks or food as we requested with no complaints. If they didn't know how to make our request, they looked it up and tried to make things as we explained (did not ask for anything to extravagant, just some drinks they have not heard off, or adding/leaving off some extra foods we suggested with a meal). Staff and everyone speaks English pretty well and all had great sense of humor or engagement. We also got to practice our Spanish (very limited) and they appreciated that. We originally wanted to visit lots of sights and places, but we instead spend much of the time in the hotel and just went downtown on the last day of stay to buy souvenirs. So glad we did as it was one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever been on. Did not think about my job one time or open up my laptop:).

The views were great. Both pools were clean. Upper pool is a bit colder than the lower pool, but it's more for adults. My daughter and I went through 5 days of scuba certification (open water and advanced open water) through Pro Dive International, which is on premise. Super convenient and the instructors Andres, Anna, and staff/boat operators Eric, Rodrigo, Edgar, Carla, Pablo, and Manuel were exceptional. They made us feel safe and were VERY professional.

Our bathroom (I think they are all like this) come with rain head showers. Did not take long for warm water to come and included all the dispenser liquids (body wash, shampoo, conditioner). They felt like a spa by themselves. Super large bathrooms that can be used by multiple people at the same time if needed. The hotel provided daily cleaning and if you ran out of anything, they provided it within an hour or two.

The only small complaint, disruption to a perfect vacation was that the hotel was going through repairing and repainting the outside of the building. Paint chips and small debris got onto our balcony and down over our windows...messing up the pretty view when looking out from inside. However, they cleaned up our balcony upon request within a day and cleaned the windows. The construction lasted about 1 week, so there was more debris from time to time, but never interfered with my stretches in the morning on the balcony and taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of the birds chirping once in while.

The beach is probably one of the best because of it's layout. It's not the biggest, but it's design cuts down on big waves coming in and allow easy access to getting into the ocean. The aquatic life is great to see just by snorkeling. The first morning of scuba practice was in the lagoon and I saw two 1m (3-4 foot) Barracuda's. A word to the wise, if you go swimming in any ocean, it's not a good idea to wear shinny jewelry as it can attract fish, and some may not be too friendly like Barracuda. They are mostly interested in the shinny objects, so don't blame them.

Ok, hope you found my review helpful. I will be going back to the Westin if I vacation in Cozumel again, which I probably will since it's one of the best scuba sights...