Located on the northwest coast of Cozumel, Mexico, The Westin Cozumel is a 152-room beachfront resort that has become a popular destination for weddings, honeymoons and sun-seeking travelers. The hotel is approximately three miles from Cozumel International Airport (CZM) and a short drive from the ferry terminal connecting the island to Playa del Carmen on the mainland.
Stevie and I stayed at the Westin Cozumel this past January while attending a friend's wedding, which was hosted at a nearby beach club. During our stay, we had the opportunity to tour both of the hotel's wheelchair accessible room configurations. While the rooms are functional and the views stunning, the hotel falls short in several key areas — most notably at the beach and pool, and quite disappointingly in its restaurants.
Room Rates & Reservations
Room rates at the Westin Cozumel typically range from approximately $230 to $560 USD per night, depending on the season, room type and whether you opt for the hotel's all-inclusive package. I booked well in advance and managed to score a rate of about $250 per night — a great deal considering that January falls within the peak winter travel season. The hotel also offers an all-inclusive plan that covers meals and drinks, though, as I will discuss later, the quality of the food may give you reason to think twice about that upgrade.
Accessible rooms are priced in line with standard guest rooms of the same category. Room reservations for wheelchair accessible rooms can be made via the Westin Cozumel website.
Wheelchair Accessible Hotel Room at The Westin Cozumel
The Westin Cozumel offers two types of wheelchair accessible rooms: the "Classic Balcony 1 King" and "Classic Balcony 2 Queen." During my stay, I had the chance to tour both room types — they were almost exact copies of each other, save for the bed types (the king bed room also had bedside lamps). Though the hotel's website states that accessibility features like "accessible bathtubs" are offered in other room types, that is not the case.
The accessible rooms, though dubbed "classic" rather than "deluxe," were spacious with clean lines, tile flooring throughout and floor-to-ceiling glass doors that flooded the space with natural light and offered a gorgeous view of the turquoise Caribbean Sea. The beds sat at a height of 26.5 inches (67 cm) from the floor to the top of the mattress, with 4 inches (10 cm) of clearance underneath. The bed featured Westin's signature Heavenly Bed, and I can confirm it lived up to the name... I slept extremely well.
On the wall opposite the bed was a large wall-mounted television, but it proved unwatchable. Reception was poor throughout our stay, with nearly every channel "freezing." The same was true of the televisions in the other rooms we toured, so it was not an isolated issue. Below the TV sat a wooden desk measuring 30 inches (76 cm) in height with 28 inches (71 cm) of clearance underneath — enough for me to pull my wheelchair up comfortably, though the bench tucked beneath the desk would need to be moved first.
A round table near the balcony measured 29.5 inches (75 cm) in height with 28 inches (71 cm) of clearance, though the chairs would likewise need to be moved to pull up in a wheelchair.
One of the room's best features was the balcony, which had barrier-free, level-entry access — no step or lip at the sliding glass door threshold. This is a detail that many hotels get wrong, so I was pleased to find that I could roll directly from the room onto the balcony without any obstruction. The balcony itself was furnished with two chairs and small table. The ocean view was nothing short of spectacular!
Wheelchair Accessible Bathroom with Roll-in Shower at The Westin Cozumel
The bathroom featured a roll-in shower, a roll-under sink and an accessible toilet — the essentials were present, though the execution left room for improvement.
The toilet was positioned in a semi-alcove with a horizontal and vertical grab bar on the right wall. The toilet was extremely low and measured 15.5 inches (39 cm) from the floor to the seat, far from the ADA-standard height of 17 to 19 inches that is applicable in the United States. The horizontal grab bar was mounted at a height of 30.5 inches (77 cm).
The sink was set into a wide countertop with an LED-backlit mirror and a magnifying mirror mounted to the adjacent wall. The sink measured 33 inches (84 cm) in height with 29 inches (74 cm) of clearance underneath, however that clearance did not extend far beneath the sink. The wooden panel that ran along the base of the vanity limited my roll-under access, and I used the sink at a sideways angle.
The roll-in shower was spacious, with attractive tilework on the walls. It was equipped with both a rain shower head and a handheld shower head mounted on an adjustable slide bar, along with wall-mounted dispensers for shampoo, conditioner and body wash. A horizontal grab bar was present on the side wall near the water controls, and a vertical grab bar was affixed to the rear wall.
The shower had a few notable shortcomings: First, the shower chair was a portable plastic type, rather than a secure wall-mounted seat. Second, there was no horizontal grab bar on the back wall of the shower. Third, there was no shower curtain provided, which caused water to seep out onto the larger bathroom floor.
Dining
I wish I had better things to say about the food at The Westin Cozumel, but you will find no sugarcoating here. Apart from breakfast, the meals we ate at the hotel's restaurants left a great deal to be desired. I would go as far as to say that they were the worst meals I have had at a full-service Marriott branded hotel — and perhaps the worst meals I have had at any full-service hotel, period.
The quality of the food was consistently disappointing across multiple meals and multiple venues on the property. If you are staying here, I would strongly recommend venturing into the town of San Miguel de Cozumel for dinner, where you will find far better options.
We did, however, enjoy the beachfront views from the on-site restaurants — even if you decide to skip meals at the property (our recommendation), it is a lovely setting to enjoy a drink and watch the sunset.
Beach & Pool Accessibility
If you are planning to enjoy the beach at The Westin Cozumel, be warned that there is no wheelchair access. The only way down to the sand is via stairs — a barrier that could be remedied with a relatively small investment in a ramp, but I digress. For a beachfront resort that actively markets itself as a wedding and event destination, the lack of beach access is difficult to overlook.
The swimming pool is technically accessible in that there is a path to the pool deck, but there is no pool ramp or swimming pool lift to provide barrier-free water access. Wheelchair users can get to the pool, but getting into the water is another matter entirely.
Location & Transportation
Cozumel is a small island off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, accessible by ferry from Playa del Carmen. The Westin is located along the island's northern coast, approximately three miles from the airport (which is where Stevie and I flew to from the United States). The hotel is a short taxi ride from the town of San Miguel de Cozumel and the ferry terminal.
The hotel's location along the coastal road is convenient, though there are limited sidewalk options in the immediate area. Taxis on the island are affordable and were the primary mode of transportation during my stay — including getting to and from the beach club where the wedding celebration took place. I would recommend arranging transportation through the hotel's front desk or confirming pricing with your taxi driver before departing, as fares on the island are generally fixed but it is always wise to confirm.
Final Thoughts
The Westin Cozumel is a mixed bag from an accessibility perspective. The wheelchair accessible guest rooms provide the basics — a toilet with grab bars, roll-in shower and space to move around with a wheelchair — but the details reveal shortcomings that a property of this caliber should address. The low toilet height, the absence of a rear grab bar in the shower and the use of a portable shower chair rather than a fixed seat are all areas where improvement is needed.
If you are visiting Cozumel for a wedding or special event and need wheelchair accessible accommodation, The Westin may be worth considering, but go in with realistic expectations about accessibility.
