I spoke with a couple today who just returned from their wedding at an AI near Playa del Carmen. They went over to Coz for a day and hated it. It was too hot, they were molested by peddlers, and it didn't get better until they went to Hard Rock and got a good American burger and some real beer.
I told her that I really liked it there, and that if you got off the beaten track and found a restaurant like 'Especias,' or went over to the east side they might find the charm.
I said, "next time you go there, you should try scuba diving. That is what Coz is truly famous for."
She said that her husband doesn't like water. She likes laying on the beach and swimming up to the poolside bar, but the ocean creeps her out.
She asked me if I spoke Spanish, to which I said yes. She said thats what made her mad, nobody spoke English very well, and she just couldn't communicate what she wanted. She said that even the Mexican food was strange, and that she couldn't wait to get back to the US of A to have some real Mexican food.
Moral? If someone thinks Coz is "hell on earth," consider the source and move on...