Safety, old-time values draw guests to El Cozumeleño
By Bob Schulman
“There's a special charm in the vintage attractions of Cozumel,” says Jose Huerta, general manager of the El Cozumeleño Beach Resort. The island, he notes, was hosting vacationers when today's nearby super-resorts of Cancun and the Riviera Maya were mostly just long, deserted stretches of sand.
Spotlighted a half-century ago by sea explorer Jacques Cousteau, Cozumel's famous reefs have been drawing divers from around the world ever since.
Mainstream tourism to the island began picking up steam in the early 1970s, about the time El Cozumeleño opened along with a handful of other resort hotels.
Huerta says a good number of Cozumel's residents come from families that have lived there for many generations, which helps create the peaceful, small town ambiance guests enjoy on the island. Cozumel's motto is “the safest place in the world.”
“Besides attracting baby boomers and families, our emphasis on safety and old-time values is a big plus in drawing wedding couples,” says Huerta, “whether it's the first time around or the second...or even more than that.” Among special wedding promotions at El Cozumeleño is a complimentary “Renewal Vows Package” when the party reserves 12 ocean view rooms for four nights.
Huerta notes that a large percentage of his staff of 260 have held jobs at the property for decades, and so many are known to the resort's large volume of repeat visitors that “it's like coming home to family.”
Both the island and El Cozumeleño have long been known for quality service, accented by the sincerely warm attitude displayed by the hotel's staff, Huerta points out.
Originally opened with just 43 rooms, El Cozumeleño has been expanded a number of times over the years and now offers 251 rooms. It was the first property on the island to introduce the “all-inclusive” concept in which the price of the room includes meals, tips, snacks, drinks, snorkeling and scuba lessons, bike and kayaking tours, and many other services.
Besides its white-sand beach, other features of El Cozumeleño include banquet, meeting and convention facilities for up to 500 delegates, three swimming pools, two restaurants, three bars, a disco and karaoke bar, and a mini golf course, among other attractions.
Offering a full 18-hole golf course, the Cozumel Country Club is located near the resort property. Golfers share its challenging, Jack Nicklaus-designed greens with wild pigs, iguanas, armadillos, all kinds of tropical birds and even crocodiles. “We strongly recommend not going into the jungle (edging the course) to retrieve balls,” says country club general manager Benny Campos.
El Cozumeleño offers various special promotions with the country club throughout the year, all including golf discounts of over 30 percent.
For more information on the resort, click www.elcozumeleno.com
