As the title indicates we stayed at Hotel Cozumel and dove with Blue XT Sea Diving. Here's a brief run down on the trip:
Hotel Cozumel: This is the first time we stayed at this hotel and it will probably be the last. Read on for more....
Positives: The hotel was clean, the staff was friendly and the air conditioner worked just fine. The hot water was damned hot, but pressure could vary throughout the day. Not unusual for island accomodations from past experience.
Negatives: The all-inclusive food was mediocre at best (Texas taste buds used for this study). We usually eat on the economy and actually missed doing so on this trip. We have stayed at some other all-inclusives and the food at Hotel Cozumel was rated on the bottom of our taste test list. The pool was clean, but the one day we considered getting into the hot tub...it was gross and I'm not a guy who worries about hygene much. While this may be a perfect place for some, it just wasn't our style.
Neutrals: The beds were the stereotypical hard-as-concrete Coz issue beds, so it was exactly as expected. There is a dive operation on the property but we did not use them. A few observations about the on-site dive op: each morning there were mobs of people waiting to board their cattle boats. I'm sure that they run a quality operation or they wouldn't be in business for this long on the island. Also, in all fairness there were some small boats that pulled up to the pier to pick up smaller numbers of people, which as I understand you pay a little extra for, so that option is there. Lastly, I did overhear some people discussing the fact that they had requested a small boat but were moved to a larger cattle boat due to space. So, while I'm sure they're a great op, I'm glad we stuck with Blue XT Sea!
Blue XT Sea Diving: We reserved 6 days of 2 tank morning dives before we arrived on the island. After we arrived we added a few afternoon dives and a twilight/night dive.
On the first day we dove with Arturo as the DM and Adan was the boat captain. The remaining days were were with Pedro Pablo as the DM and Hector "Mago" as the captain. Santos always takes great care of our gear and we were pleased with the diving overall. The dives and service were awesome as always. There were a few days in which the boat was delayed 5-15 minutes due to late arrival of tanks, but that is an issue that was being worked by Christi and the new manager of the tank fill station.
The water temp was 76-79 degrees according to my computer but the air temperature ranged from mid 70s to low 80s so it actually felt much cooler than in the summer or fall when I have been to Coz in the past. I will probably take my 5mm if I ever go back in early March again. The last dive day was the only day I didn't get cold and the air temp was about 80-82.
We saw tons of turtles and nurse sharks, a few octopi both day and night, some tiny sea horses, splendid toadfish and the usual cast of characters. The disturbing thing was all the damned lionfish! We saw at least 10-15 of them and that means there were plenty more where that came from. The Divemasters are allowed to spear them now in an attempt to erradicate or at least slow them down, but I'm afraid it is too little too late. Pedro Pable speared a number of them on the dives and turned them over to the park police along with data such as depth, location, time, etc. for study.
All in all another great trip to the beautiful island of Cozumel!
Hotel Cozumel: This is the first time we stayed at this hotel and it will probably be the last. Read on for more....
Positives: The hotel was clean, the staff was friendly and the air conditioner worked just fine. The hot water was damned hot, but pressure could vary throughout the day. Not unusual for island accomodations from past experience.
Negatives: The all-inclusive food was mediocre at best (Texas taste buds used for this study). We usually eat on the economy and actually missed doing so on this trip. We have stayed at some other all-inclusives and the food at Hotel Cozumel was rated on the bottom of our taste test list. The pool was clean, but the one day we considered getting into the hot tub...it was gross and I'm not a guy who worries about hygene much. While this may be a perfect place for some, it just wasn't our style.
Neutrals: The beds were the stereotypical hard-as-concrete Coz issue beds, so it was exactly as expected. There is a dive operation on the property but we did not use them. A few observations about the on-site dive op: each morning there were mobs of people waiting to board their cattle boats. I'm sure that they run a quality operation or they wouldn't be in business for this long on the island. Also, in all fairness there were some small boats that pulled up to the pier to pick up smaller numbers of people, which as I understand you pay a little extra for, so that option is there. Lastly, I did overhear some people discussing the fact that they had requested a small boat but were moved to a larger cattle boat due to space. So, while I'm sure they're a great op, I'm glad we stuck with Blue XT Sea!
Blue XT Sea Diving: We reserved 6 days of 2 tank morning dives before we arrived on the island. After we arrived we added a few afternoon dives and a twilight/night dive.
On the first day we dove with Arturo as the DM and Adan was the boat captain. The remaining days were were with Pedro Pablo as the DM and Hector "Mago" as the captain. Santos always takes great care of our gear and we were pleased with the diving overall. The dives and service were awesome as always. There were a few days in which the boat was delayed 5-15 minutes due to late arrival of tanks, but that is an issue that was being worked by Christi and the new manager of the tank fill station.
The water temp was 76-79 degrees according to my computer but the air temperature ranged from mid 70s to low 80s so it actually felt much cooler than in the summer or fall when I have been to Coz in the past. I will probably take my 5mm if I ever go back in early March again. The last dive day was the only day I didn't get cold and the air temp was about 80-82.
We saw tons of turtles and nurse sharks, a few octopi both day and night, some tiny sea horses, splendid toadfish and the usual cast of characters. The disturbing thing was all the damned lionfish! We saw at least 10-15 of them and that means there were plenty more where that came from. The Divemasters are allowed to spear them now in an attempt to erradicate or at least slow them down, but I'm afraid it is too little too late. Pedro Pable speared a number of them on the dives and turned them over to the park police along with data such as depth, location, time, etc. for study.
All in all another great trip to the beautiful island of Cozumel!
Looking forward to seeing you again very soon!
