Here's my 20 pesos (inflation):
Neither the Occ Grand OR the Melia for your honeymoon! My top four picks for honeymooners are in no special order:
- El Cantil (condos) - Luxurious, close to town, most dive ops will pick up there for diving, great pool, hot tub on your own private ocean view terrace, can save a little money on meals. Since you have a full kitchen you can have your own stash of beer, sodas, water, etc. and breakfast and lunch stuff if nothing else.
- Presidente - The nicest hotel on the island, perfect location for diving because you wil lhave ALL sites accessible to you that are within your ability and experience level, close enough to town for a short inexpensive cab ride to experience some of he great restaurants for dinner and/or lunch, great beach and amenities, golf discount,
- Cozumel Palace - Great location for everything, almost all dive ops will pick up, luxurious, en suite hot tubs, golf discount - and of the AI properties, have it on good authority that the food here is heads and shoulders above the other AI's
- Playa Azul - Inconvenient for diving, but great little boutique hotel for honeymooners, great beach, close to town for a quick inexpensive cab ride, free golf ($180 per round value)
Disclaimers:
I do not recommend staying at an all-inclusive resort in Cozumel unless you are traveling with kids, a big group, or you plan to drink yourself silly - OR...unless you got such a great deal on it that you can still justify eating outside of the hotel. Some places the AI's make sense because there aren't a great variety of great restaurants in the area and/or they are too expensive. NOT true in Cozumel.
We have some really great restaurants for every single budget here and AI food is generally recycled buffet food with every Tom, Dick and Harry spreading their germs around the food that sits out all day...or at least for hours. When I have a sick diver, 90% of the time it's someone that has been eating the AI buffet.
Here is a small sampling of the restaurants Coz has to offer:
Christi's Restaurant List
As far as your diving experience and your' wife's newbie status....no problem. The key is to contact some dive ops, ask questions and go with who you feel comfortable going with. Decide what ammenities are important to you for your diving as well because we are priced all over the board...as low as $55 and as high as $95 with alot of us somewhere in the middle. The price variances are just like with anything else...no frills ride to the reefs will cost you less. A dive op who offers more frills and services (ie: gear rinsing and storage, towels, snacks on board) will cost you more.
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials....and have a wonderful honeymoon! I hope this helps!