12 days in late July in Cozumel with 2 kids, 14 & 16, - which resort to select?

[WildcatChris]

The Allegro and the Grand Cozumel (same hotel chain and share a beach), are nice and have an on-site dive op that offers free nitrox. I stayed at the Grand in September and enjoyed it. The Allegro is supposed to be more kid friendly (more pools and kid activities), but was closed due to fire while we were there, but I believe are back open again. Their on-site dive op is pretty good, I dove with them three days, and with Aldora for another three. Their boats carry more people, but weren't over crowded. They were also not in as good of shape as Aldora's, but the two resorts are only a 5 minute ride from most of the dive sites, even in a crappy boat.

Cozumel is a place where you don't necessarily need an all-inclusive, but they're still an attractive option. My fiance' isn't yet a diver, so the pools and spas were nice for her to have while I was out diving. If you do stay there I would definitely rent a car, it will save you money in the long run and provides you with a lot of freedom to explore the island.

 

[cnherrick]

Top of the food chain -
Meliz
Bare bones (dive, dive and more dive) -
Papa Hogs

Let your google-fu be your guide.

 

[robint]

Honestly.... with 2 teenagers.......... stay at an all-inclusive! Teens eat non-stop all day. You don't want to have to stop and find food for them, sit in a restaurant waiting for service, etc. I know this, I raised a teen.
Scuba Club is an all-inclusive BUT it is set meals at set times. It will not work the same way as one of the all-inclusive hotels down south. Pick the hotel by what YOU and YOUR FAMILY want to do, and what you can afford. Then start thinking about a diving package. Cozumel is unlike any other place we have visited. Most of the dive ops on the island are independent and will pick you up.
Do not pick a hotel north of town, though... no pick ups there as it is the wrong direction for the reefs.

 

[Ron Lee]

Do not pick a hotel north of town, though... no pick ups there as it is the wrong direction for the reefs.

That may not be true. El Coz probably has pickups as may Coral Princess. You could stay at the Melia and walk to the dive shop at El Coz.

This will show you where the hotels are:

Cozumel, Mexico map with hotel locations

My guess is that if you want a good beach, you should concentrate on the southern hotels.

 

[cnherrick]

...Do not pick a hotel north of town, though... no pick ups there ...

I stayed many, many times at the Melia, the northern-most resort on the Isla. And I dived pretty much every day. Taxis are plentiful, not expensive, and if you want a healthy walk, you can walk to the Marina, which is where many of the dive shops start out their boats for the day.

...stay at an all-inclusive! Teens eat non-stop all day. You don't want to have to stop and find food for them, sit in a restaurant waiting for service, etc...

This +1, why I like the Melia. All the activities, food, open bar, swim-up pool, great staff, fabulous beach.

 

[briankinley2004]

We did a surface interval at the Ocidental last week. Looked like a nice place if you wanted all inclusive and beaches. Had a dive shop on site, 2 or more pools, a water park for kids, organized activities, etc. We only spent a few minutes walking around but seemed like a neat place for families with kids that accommodated diving. Not sure about prices or insides of rooms, etc.

 

[cbm32]

We have stayed at El Cid and been very happy with it in the past. Not a lot for a beach, but there is a little one. Dive ops can pick you up off the pier or on the street in front on their way to the Caleta.

With two kids like that I might look into Dive Paradise. I have never stayed there but they have a really nice beach and a LOT of stuff to do (bouncy things in the water and para-sailing and all manner of entertaining things). Just happened to walk through there today and the pool looked really nice as well. Again, you can dive with most any dive op and be picked up on their pier.

Just from viewing the resorts on the way past to the dive sites I would look closely at Dive Paradise if I were in your position and then look at dive ops.

 

[ggunn]

We have stayed at El Cid and been very happy with it in the past. Not a lot for a beach, but there is a little one. Dive ops can pick you up off the pier or on the street in front on their way to the Caleta.

With two kids like that I might look into Dive Paradise. I have never stayed there but they have a really nice beach and a LOT of stuff to do (bouncy things in the water and para-sailing and all manner of entertaining things). Just happened to walk through there today and the pool looked really nice as well. Again, you can dive with most any dive op and be picked up on their pier.

Just from viewing the resorts on the way past to the dive sites I would look closely at Dive Paradise if I were in your position and then look at dive ops.

Dive Paradise is a dive op, not a resort. Were you maybe thinking of Hotel Cozumel, which is right across Melgar from the main Dive Paradise? But Hotel Cozumel is across the street from the water, so no beach. I don't know where you saw that stuff.

 

[nodakdive]

Dive Paradise is a dive op, not a resort. Were you maybe thinking of Hotel Cozumel, which is right across Melgar from the main Dive Paradise? But Hotel Cozumel is across the street from the water, so no beach. I don't know where you saw that stuff.

I was thinking the poster may have been at Paradise Beach and that Dive Paradise somehow services that beach? I've been there many times, but don't recall seeing anything about Dive Paradise. Your guess is probably better than mine. It could easily look like Dive Paradise is a hotel if their main shop is right there.

 

[wills029]

I have a daughter 15 and a son 14. Both are certified as AOW Junior divers.

Last year for March Break, we stayed at the Occidental Grand. I did two am dives everyday and the kids would join every second day (as typical teenagers getting up early every day for diving was not their thing). After a few days, they got bored of Occidental and all-inclusive dining. So, we rented a car for a few days. We toured the island, went downtown for dinner, and they absolutely loved experiencing Cozumel this way.

Fast forward to March Break this year. The kids did not want to do an all-inclusive. Instead, we stayed at Blue Angel (my favourite spot) and rented a car for the whole week.

We had a fantastic week. The kids loved Blue Angel. The staff were great with the kids too. We had breakfast and some other meals at BA. Other times, it was a short drive or a good walk into town to stock up at Mega or grab a meal - Rock'n Java, Del Sur, Guidos, Le Chef, La Choza or Subway were favourites.

The kids enjoyed the shore dives as much as the boat dives with Blue Angel. On the shore dives (which you cannot do at the southern resorts), we found a resident frogfish which they found pretty cool, in addition to lots of spotted morays, baby lobsters, yellow stingrays, southern stingrays (swimming in the neighbouring stingray pen), arrowhead crabs, red-banded cleaner shrimp, baby Queen angels, etc.

We made up for the lack of a beach at BA by visiting a beach club for the afternoon. We spent an afternoon at the Punta Sur Eco Park, and also toured the south side beaches, and Coconuts for lunch one day too.

We're booked to go back to Blue Angel for March Break 2016.

Cheers.