Mike
Contributor
When we go to Isla Mujeres the Ixchel is where we stay, we've stayed all over that place from the lower levels to the penthouse rooms with the top floor Jacuzzis, besides the Rolandi which is not on the north beach it's the nicest hotel on the island and the concierge Mauricio is awesome, he will get you anything you want. If you want a golf cart just tell him and he will get one delivered to the door from a local vendor for you, he's arrange deep sea fishing trips and all kinds of stuff, even if you just want advice about restaurants just ask him. They are right on the beach and they have two twin pools and bar serving the pools, usually one is always in shade and one is always in sun so you can take your pick depending on your preferences. The hotel has two wings facing the beach, if you are facing the beach the wing on the left is taller than the one on the right and if you rent a penthouse with outside veranda and jacuzzi on that side, nobody can see you, if you know what I mean.
If you want deluxe and have multiple people the penthouses on the right wing have 2 and 3 bedrooms and the roof is actually covered in sand, have a jacuzzi and your own bar. There are really no bad rooms, even the garden level bargain rooms are still just as nice inside. The end units on the beach are the most expensive because of the views. There are many owners who own their units so you will see them as regulars there and most are very friendly and welcoming to their little spot in paradise and if you talk some of them up at happy hour at the pool bar they will give you all kinds of advice about the island.The Ixchel is at the north end of Hildago street, which is the main street of Isla for restaurants, bars and shops, you can just walk out the hotel door and walk down the street every night to sample a new restaurant. You said you're a foodie, so I'll be interested in what you think, I believe you will find some gems. There will usually always be some sort of street entertainment with dinner as performers roam up and down the streets doing everything from singing to fire dances. Right across the street from the hotel is a little market, and I mean little, probably 10 square feet for goodies. Less than a block away from that is a fruit smoothie shop you should try. Down the beach toward the Cancun side is a great little beach bar right on the beach and a perfect sunset viewing spot, up the beach the other way is the NaBalam if anyone is into yoga they do a great morning yoga class and the instructors are very good. Between the NaBalam and you are a couple of other hotels with nice quaint bars for food or drinks during the day.
In regard to taxis and golf carts, I have never rented a golf cart for a week, just for a day here or there, as once you drive around the island once or twice you're pretty much done with the need for one since if you're at the Ixchel everything is already right there where you are, you'll just walk to where you want to go. If you need a taxi, the hotel will call one for you, or even easier if you just want instant gratification, you just go out the front door and walk to the corner and they all come by right there.
For diving, I'd forget about Cozumel, that is a crazy commute and after a couple of days chilling on Isla you might find it very difficult to even wonder why you'd want to put yourself through that much trouble. The diving around Isla overlaps with the diving in Cancun, they share many sites, there are a couple of wrecks if you like that, the fast current express train ride at the end of the island and the underwater museum and then a bunch of what I consider mediocre shallow dive sites, a couple are interesting for the under water topography, but the one thing to remember, unlike Cozumel which has very consistent good diving is Isla unlike Cozumel is right on the ocean instead of just the leaward side, you can experience anything on an Isla ocean side dive, real sharks, not just nurse sharks, whale sharks, mantas, dolphins, eagle rays, squadrons of mobula rays, you name it, you have the chance of running into it. Will you? Maybe, maybe not, it's luck of the draw, but the more dives you do on the ocean side the better your chances. It's also rougher diving there, you're not doing all your diving on a sheltered side like Cozumel so be ready for some rough rides depending on the weather.
I've dived with a few different operators over the years and believe me the dive community there is small and there are some shady operators. Pretending to be a PADI shop when they aren't is par for the course there. We've had boats break down multiple times, delays for hours, lies and dangerous safety violations, some of the dive shops are no more than a guy working out of his van, so beware. We dive now with Squalor Divers, it's a real dive shop run by a young man who is professional, quality and safety minded and loves to dive. Do your homework no matter whom you choose.
Have fun there, it's a great quiet place, I think you will love it. Next time you'll have a harder decision to make, whether to finally get to Cozumel and experience all it has to offer or get the calling to go back to Mujeres.
PS - because I know you will be curious, sooner or later you will go by a place along the shore and you'll see a lot of power boats with multiple massive outboards, many look identical to each other, it will look like a big boat dealership with millions in inventory and you'll wonder how the heck can they have that much inventory and who on the island would even buy these boats from them? What you're seeing is the Mexican navy's depository of drug boats that they confiscate in the area. Most tourist don't realize that the Cancun area, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres are all prime drug running stop overs or passing by points. The Mexican navy works that entire area and Isla is their holding area for the boats they confiscate.
Don't let that worry you, even though we all sat on the beach one day and watched the Mexican navy arrest and confiscate a huge yacht anchored in the north beach bay one day, I know you are a Roatan fan and you'll find no security issues on Isla. Unlike Roatan there will be no shot gun weilding guards or guard shacks at any of the resorts.
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