We had an amazing two weeks at Fiesta Americana (FA) and didn't want to leave! We've been to the resort before but when the pool needed renovations and the ocean was closed it forced us to stay elsewhere over the past few years. We've stayed at many resorts in Cozumel and FA remains a favorite as it sits on one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. The staff are so warm and accommodating, you will arrive as a guest and leave as a friend. The resort layout is perfect, it doesn't feel too big or too small. Additionally, the food quality here is above what you will encounter at most resorts (including non-AI). Here's the breakdown of the resort:
Check in: We were given juice drinks upon arrival. The check in process was quick and our room was ready. We were told that we first had to meet with someone to go over the dining reservations/resort info. Since we had been here before we knew it was the timeshare pitch. We met with Juan Carlos who was very kind and not pushy at all about it when we said that it wasn't for us. (When we saw him other times at the resort he was very kind and helped me with my Spanish. He did ask us again if we would reconsider but we declined.) The bellhop took us to our room and gave us an overview of the room. We interacted with Leonel and Fausto (bellhops) on several occasions and they were very helpful and called taxis for us on multiple occasions.
Room: We had a spacious master king suite, which was nice to have for a two week stay. The suite consists of two rooms. It had a living area with a full bath and then a separate bedroom with a full bath, both rooms have closets. A balcony spanned the width of both rooms and we witnessed multiple beautiful sunsets from there. The mini fridge used to come fully stocked with beer, now you only get three beers per day. With two people staying in the room, I feel like they should at least give you four beers. The fridge also had juice, pop, sparkling water, still water, and various snacks. Our housekeeper, Heidy, did an excellent job in keeping our room clean and supplied with enough towels, water, and C.O. Bigelow shower gel, lotion, shampoo, and conditioner.
Pool/pool area: The main pool now has a smooth coating vs. tiles and was kept clean. You could tell the upper pool level had heat and the rest of the pool would warm up as the day went on. Mornings by the pool were low key and quiet music played. After noon the music volume went up and activities kicked into gear with Angel and Jasmine. I like poolside music but it did get a bit loud at times. Pool loungers were typically easy to find even with a few guests placing things on lounge chairs early. Miguel was the server by the pool and he was great in remembering what we liked to drink and was very efficient. There's also a swim up bar that gets busier later in the day, the bartenders do their best to keep up.
Pool-Lobby Bar/Bartenders: Juanito and Jorge made great drinks. I loved the skinny, spicy margaritas made with Centenario blanco tequila while my husband enjoyed regular margaritas made with the same tequila and an occasional mojito. The bar closes at 11:00 p.m., which doesn't mean you can always go up at 10:45 p.m. and still order a margarita. Depending on how busy things are, the bar might be packed up and only beer will be available. Not a big deal, you just have to plan accordingly.
Ocean area: It's set up nicely with a mixture of beds, lounge chairs, and Baili beds over the ocean. The chairs get dirty from the birds and I wish they were cleaned each morning. I brought sanitizing wipes with me to clean the chairs we used. Aaron was the server responsible for the entire ocean area, which meant he brought food orders and drinks to everyone! Aaron is incredible at remembering names and what you like to drink. I don't know how he keeps up with everyone's orders but he does! Aaron is such an asset to FA and has been working there for years. We ordered food from The Grill once and the regular burgers were okay for everyone, fries were very good and I appreciated having a vegan burger option, it just was odd in texture - guessing soy based. If they had bean burgers, that would have been awesome! It was convenient to chill by the ocean and enjoy a meal. There's an ocean side lap pool that's nice to cool off in but the pool is missing a lot of tiles, it will need to be resurfaced soon. The resort has a lifeguard to keep an eye on everyone.
Snorkeling: Easy entry via the ladders by the Bali beds. We saw quite a bit up and down the shoreline: lobster, purple fan coral, star fish, honeycomb cowfish, various parrot fish, French angelfish, grunts, triggerfish, a lot of juvenile fish, yellow fin damsel fish, porcupine fish, flounder, butterfly fish, wrasse, blue tang, yellow stingrays, etc. My husband lucked out seeing an octopus and Eagle rays on two solo snorkels. I saw one Eagle ray from the pier. The coral wall gets prettier just past the Cevicheria, heading towards the Money Bar. I love that you can see so much easily due to the shallower depths.
Lool Kan at the Explorean: What a beautiful jungle setting! We enjoyed dinner at Lool Kan with Gabriel as our server. Gabriel was always on top of things and we enjoyed his sense of humor! He was knowledgeable about the menu and great with suggestions. FA offers a vegan menu and I had a delicious vegan pasta dish here (maybe made with poblanos, forgot the name of it). The others in our group loved the burgers (better than the ones at the Grill).
La Cevichería: this was one of our favorites! We love the ocean views from this restaurant. It's too bad that it's not open for dinner too as it would be a pretty place to dine by the ocean at night - everyone raves about the tacos/food here! I'm vegan 99% of the time but will eat shrimp in Mexico. The made to order grilled shrimp tacos were great (I got them without the chipotle mayo). Angel was often our server here and was so kind and on top of things! We also had the pleasure of Jose as a server a few times. They both were great to chat with and were quick with bringing us beverages!
Rosato: (Italian) Service here was really good! The first time we dined here our food was really good. My husband and I enjoyed salads to start and a vegan arancini (so good!). My vegan pomodoro pasta was al dente and delicious. My husband had lasagna and said it was great. The second time we went with my sisters and it wasn't as good. My pasta was overcooked/mushy but the salad and arancini were still great. My husband's lasagna wasn't good the second time.
Peninsula: (Asian) We dined here twice. Pedrito was our server once and was very helpful/kind. I tried the pad Thai and the chana masala (or something similar with chickpeas?), the chickpea dish was my favorite. My husband had Pad Thai once and sushi on a different visit. We liked the vegetable rolls both times. The Asian restaurant is under construction in the main building so Vina del Mar served as the site for the Peninsula. We love dining outdoors when we're in Cozumel. I wish Fiesta Americana always utilized Vina del Mar for dining in the evening as it's such a nice setting (or La Cevicheria).
El Mexicano: (Mexican) I thought this would be the best restaurant but sadly it was our least favorite. The service wasn't very good and the food wasn't great either, which surprised us all. This should be the resort's shining restaurant. I feel like they should start the meal with various salsas and guacamole. We only dined here once, maybe we should have tried it a second time in case it was an off night.
Breakfast: Vina del Mar is the large thatched palapa building right by the ocean where breakfast is served, it's such a pretty setting. We had the pleasure of meeting Arturo Canto, the manager at Vina del Mar, at our first breakfast. He was so kind, helpful, and it was great getting to know him throughout our stay. Arturo went above and beyond in helping us with some dinner reservations. He always asked what we were doing that day and took the time to chat with us each morning. Additionally, my sister recently was engaged and Arturo sent champagne and chocolates to her room, which was such a thoughtful gesture! Alejandra, the hostess, was very sweet and always seemed to seat us with the same server, Gabriel, which we appreciated. Gabriel did a great job all while being kind/smiling! He remembered what we liked to drink and was so quick with bringing us our beverages and refills. Breakfast was always delicious, you can't go wrong with the fresh, handmade tortillas that Virginia serves up with a smile. She made some wonderful vegan breakfast tacos for me too. Don't miss out on her creations! We loved the fresh pineapple each morning too!
Evening Entertainment: The evening shows are worth seeing. We didn't make it to all of the shows but the ones we saw, we enjoyed. The dancers work so hard to deliver great performances! The fire show is also impressive and not to be missed.
Game room: We enjoyed playing pool on a few evenings. There's also some video games available.
Room for improvement: At times by the pool or in the lobby area you could smell the smoke from the smokers, maybe it would help to put some tall plants next to the smoking area to help block the smoke? Daily cleaning the lounge chairs would be great! Also, in the buffet area it would be so helpful to have dietary labels for each hot dish so those with dietary restrictions, gluten free or vegan, wouldn't have to ask staff what's in the dishes. I wanted to have refried beans but couldn't because there was meat in them. :( It would be so easy to make the refried beans vegan by just using water and salt so that everyone could enjoy them.
We will definitely be back to FA as the resort offers what we want while on a vacation in Cozumel: excellent snorkeling, kind staff, clean and comfortable rooms, a clean pool, nice resort layout, and good food/drinks. We can't wait to visit again!
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