We hear a croaky hola, hola from behind us. At first we're baffled, but upon turning around we see a green parrot carefully walking across the rim of the rattan chairs in the lobby. The parrot is just one of the critters who live at the resort. Iberostar Cozumel works hard to conjure the feel of a lush Caribbean.

Just beyond the lobby is a pond with flamingos and a path lined with palms, crotons and other shrubs and trees. From the lobby, a series of one- or two-story thatched-roof bungalows, each containing no more than eight units, dot either side of a gently curving path that leads to the pool and the beach. The round lobby with its high, conical roof and rattan and wood furnishings evokes the feel of a giant palapa -- a native, umbrella-shaped structure.

As part of the 2006 renovation, required after Hurricane Wilma devastated the island, the resort kept the thatched-roof buildings with their rounded outer walls and updated the bathrooms. The gardens and the low-rise buildings combine to create a more intimate property than we had expected for a 306-room resort, and that is a bonus.

In the Iberostar pyramid of resorts, the Cozumel property is one of the more basic ones, but the resort is much loved by Iberostar staff and frequent visitors for its native ambiance. Cozumel, an island situated 12 miles offshore of Playa del Carmen, is known for its diving and snorkeling. A stay here puts the second largest barrier reef system in the world within easy an boat trip from the beach.

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