Blue Angel + Occidental Grand or Iberostar

[TJ-diver]

Hello. My wife and I will be going to Cozumel in April for a 13 night stay. This will be our 7th trip to the Island over a 27 year period. The first 6 nights we will be staying with the Blue Angel resort. During out time there I will dive in the mornings then my wife and I will take in the island in the afternoons and evenings. I have been reading some of the excellent threads on restaurants and such. One day we may take a trip to the mainland and down to the ruins at Tulum since we have never seen them. There is also a fresh water river down that way that is great for snorkeling that I can't remember the name of. I believe it was not far from half moon bay.
The last half of our trip we are going to kick back at an all inclusive. About 5 years ago we stayed at Iberostar and really enjoyed it. We spent a lot of time playing volleyball, doing the beach activities, diving with an off site operator (Allison) and just chilling out without a schedule. I am getting close to booking that part of our trip and the difference between Iberostar and the Occidental Grand is just a couple of hundred bucks for the two of us for the week. Occidental Grand seems to be rated a star to half star greater that Iberostar but that may not mean that we would like it better. I would appreciate comments from those who have stayed at either or both of these AIs or would like to comment on any portion of the above.

 

[krbailey]

TJ-Diver,

I stayed at the Iberostar last April and was somewhat disappointed. Food and service were adequate. I stayed at the Iberostar Grand-Riviera Maya in 2007 and every detail was 5 star. It may have jaded my opinion towards Iberostar-Cozumel which is not a 5 star hotel, nor is it advertised as one. I would check out other places closer to downtown next time out. The location of the Iberostar at the southern end of the island limits the choice of dive sites.

However, a day anywhere in Coz beats a Feb day in Pittsburgh!

 

[TJ-diver]

TJ-Diver,

I stayed at the Iberostar last April and was somewhat disappointed. Food and service were adequate. I stayed at the Iberostar Grand-Riviera Maya in 2007 and every detail was 5 star. It may have jaded my opinion towards Iberostar-Cozumel which is not a 5 star hotel, nor is it advertised as one. I would check out other places closer to downtown next time out. The location of the Iberostar at the southern end of the island limits the choice of dive sites.

However, a day anywhere in Coz beats a Feb day in Pittsburgh!

Thanks Krbailey. We have stayed at the Iberostar Tucan and it to was a little more upscale than Cozmel although not as nice as the Grand Riviera. However, it was also much larger. We liked the smaller size. It may sound strange but is seemed to us that we were more likely to meet up and make friends with folks at the smaller resort. Neither the Iberostar Cozumel nor the Occidental Grand are as large as many of the AIs. We hope that holds true for Blue Angel as well as it is very small. I have nothing against 5 stat hotels and I don't like to stay in dumps but to me tropical vacation is about swim suits, shorts and t-shirts and any more dressed up than that is a bit of a hassle. I can put on a tropical shirt and a pair of Carribean Joe slacks to dine if necessary but not much more than that.

Perhaps I will get to dive some of the more northern sites while I am staying at Blue Angel. It's all good.

 

[driftin' by]

to me tropical vacation is about swim suits, shorts and t-shirts and any more dressed up than that is a bit of a hassle.

Couldn't agree more. Before diving we stay at those 5/6-star palaces with 400 or more rooms on the mainland side and I prefer the quaintness of the smaller and less pretentious resorts in Cozumel. And when I say pretentious, that more has to do with the clientele. I've been to IB* Coz but not the Grand however stayed next door to the Grand at the Allegro which was more on par with the IB* Coz IMHO but with much better food and a better beach although the clientale at Allegro sucked a big one! It's my understanding that the Grand is a bit more, well... grand. If it wasn't for it's location, I'd consider staying at IB* more often.

 

[Scubabuni]

Hello- We stayed at the Iberostar in 2002.
We dove with Deep Blue, they picked us up at the dock at Iberostar.
The resort was nice, inline with Mexican resorts.
It was more of a party place than what we are used to.
We never got sick the room was clean and the stay was very enjoyable.
BTW---Rent a Car!! It will be worth it.

Right now we are planning a trip back and we are looking at three resorts
Fiesta American
Scuba Club
Blue Angel

Right now I am leaning towards Blue Angel, depending on how they can work with us and our 16 year old who may get certified--

Good Luck


Fiesta Americana

 

[TJ-diver]

Hello- We stayed at the Iberostar in 2002.
We dove with Deep Blue, they picked us up at the dock at Iberostar.
The resort was nice, inline with Mexican resorts.
It was more of a party place than what we are used to.
We never got sick the room was clean and the stay was very enjoyable.
BTW---Rent a Car!! It will be worth it.

Right now we are planning a trip back and we are looking at three resorts
Fiesta American
Scuba Club
Blue Angel

Right now I am leaning towards Blue Angel, depending on how they can work with us and our 16 year old who may get certified--

Good Luck


Fiesta Americana

Sounds like our stay at Iberostar Cozumlel in 03 was much like your 02 experience.
We were traveling with our teenage daughter and we all had a nice vacation. Now it is just the two of us so we want to be a little more adventurous with part of our trip. I have not stayed at any of your choices for your next trip but I did chose Blue Angel for part (6 nights) of our April trip. When I came across a well reviewed (here and other places) hotel that is on the water with all water view rooms at what seems to be a very reasonable rate with breakfast included I just had to check it out. Throw in a lot of positive talk about the staff and new owners and on site dive shop and it became a no brainer. I can deal with rustic as long as there are friendly people and I have some extra $$ in my pocket for eating and fun stuff.

 

[sharky60]

I have heard of some issues with the Iberostar from charging outside dive ops to land at thier peir to not letting divers hang equipment off balconies to making reservations for the on site restaurants being an issue because you can only book a reservation during the hours you will be diving...all hearsay as I have never stayed there.

I have stayed at the OG however, and it was VERY nice. Beautiful grounds, HUGE rooms with shower and tub for rinsing gear, small but adiquate balconies, stocked in-room fridges, in-room safe, the food was very good for all meals, and not the same thing day-in and day-out either. We ate twice at the reservations only "Mexican night" restaurant and my wife had one of the best shrimp dishes she has ever had...anywhere...and she eats shrimp for sure every day when she is on vacation and quite often here at home when we dine out.

The advantage to staying at either resort is that you are pretty far south and you have just a very short 10 min. boat ride most mornings and you are getting wet! Plus the dive boats take longer to get down there so you have a little more time in the morning before the pick-up.

the disadvantage to both, of course, is they are "pretty far south" and getting to town is expensive $17-20 each way!! but if you rent a vehicle a day or 2, you can get off the "compound" and explore the island.

A little hint, don't just go out front and jump in a cab. wait a few minutes and see if someone else shows up to go to town. Most of the cabs going down that way are vans, so if you can leave the same time as another couple (or two), you can at least save some bucks on the trip to town.

 

[TJ-diver]

Thanks to all for the replies and PMs. I have booked the trip now and chose to do 6 nights at Blue Angel Resort and 8 at Iberostar. If the price between Iberostar and Grand Occidental had been the same it could have been a coin toss. But Ibrostar was cheaper and we have stayed there for a week before and had no complaints.

Thanks again.

 

[SoCalOffshore]

we just booked the iberostar for april 11 to 18. total of $1450 for 3 in one room. great deal.

 

[TJ-diver]

That's sounds better than what I got. Who did you go through to get that deal? I have been watching prices drop since I booked but not that much. If I find a better deal or the price drops enough I can cancel and rebook.