Looking for the right Cozumel resort

[Fish-R-Man]

My wife and I are trying to set up a trip to Coz from June 22 through the 30th. We normally stay at the Cozumel Palace, but this time we are going with another couple and their son. They want to get their open water cert on this trip. What I am looking for is an all inclusive resort that has a good dive shop that would be able to do the classes for these three on sight. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

[shardison]

Scuba Club Cozumel!! Ask for "Chockey".

[robint]

Scuba Club Cozumel... great great great Dive instructors there, and a great shore dive area to do first 2 dives.

it is nothing like the Palace.... it is a DIVE resort, no tv, or fancy rooms or infinity pool. All activities there revolve around diving. Check out my trip reports on my website for more info.

robin

[G'Diddy]

I'm a plus 1 for Scuba Club. it's my favorite place to go. Chockey's geat fun to dive with, but not an instructor. I really miss the coconut icecream.

[sharky60]

Blue Angel Resort is now ALMOST an AI, if you are diving with them, both breakfast and lunch are included in the hotel/dive package. And depending on how many days you dive with them, they will also throw in a free dinner into the mix.

Matt (Mateo) Moran is an excellent instructor, I would highly recommend him.

[wills029]

I would also consider Iberostar and their on-site op - Dressel divers. Stayed and dove with them for a week in January.

Iberostar is a neat resort and a good AI. No complaints or reservations whatsoever. Going back in January and will be diving again with Dressel.

Dressel is a well-organized and professional outfit. Nice size pool for learning, proximity to dive sites typically 10-15 mins. Spacious and clean boats with groups split into beginner and more experienced divers. Max 8 divers per instructor/leader. This is a marine park rule so the cattleboat moniker doesn't apply.

Free nitrox for enriched air certified divers. And if you prepay with their main office in Spain, the discount can be substantial - we did 18 plus 2 night dives over 6 days for a very nice price.

Best.

[Brules]

Blue Angel Resort is now ALMOST an AI, if you are diving with them, both breakfast and lunch are included in the hotel/dive package. And depending on how many days you dive with them, they will also throw in a free dinner into the mix.

Matt (Mateo) Moran is an excellent instructor, I would highly recommend him.

That sounds like a winner there.....close enough to town to go in to eat nightly, great hotel and dive op and lots of shore dive potential.

[cduffey]

Blue Angel Resort is now ALMOST an AI, if you are diving with them, both breakfast and lunch are included in the hotel/dive package. And depending on how many days you dive with them, they will also throw in a free dinner into the mix.


I think you have old information there, unless breakfast/lunch was included/stopped/and now included again. They used to offer lunch and dinner free with diving, but not for my next trip (end of May), anyway. We get breakfast on dive days, but lunches and dinners are not included in the package price.

[Mossman]

I'm liking the Occidental Grand for the most part. Stay at the Royal Club for more Cozumel Palace-like amenities. Food isn't as good as the Palace, but I've heard Dive Palancar is a heck of a lot better than Aqua Safari and I'm sure they have no problem certifying people since I saw a few doing such off the beach.

[prosdog]

These replies have answered several questions I've been thinking about posting. I'm trying to decide between Iberostar/Dressel and Blue Angel. When I do a list of pros and cons to each, it comes out almost equal. BA-free internet, shore dives, close to town, breakfast provided. Iberostar/Dressel-free nitrox, no shore dives, expensive internet, AI with good food.

Somebody help me decide.

[cicopo]

It's Aquaworld at the Palace these days. They replaced Aqua Safari & I think you've mixed them up in your assessment.

Prosdog, do you want to hang at the resort for most of your stay or get out & about. Taxi fare from the Iberostar runs about $18.00 each way to / from town. Long but enjoyable walk from Blue Angel, or a reasonable cab fare. Iberostar & Blue Angel are very different in many ways but I like both, and recommend them when they sound like a good fit.

Fish-R-Man, what level of service are you looking for. Similar to the Palace or just a good place to stay & enjoy. Photo tours of several resorts & links to some trip reports can be found here

Picasa Web Albums - Larry (http://picasaweb.google.com/CozumelTimeCapsules)

[cvchief]

I haven't 'used' either, but I have met Mateo from BA. I have heard NOTHING but good things about him. He would be on a very short list for me if I was looking for an instructor to send friends to in Cozumel.

The food at the Ibero is good, but I have heard enough about the BA food that we are going to try it when eating out.

[Pelagicsal]

How about this?
Do not AI in Cozumel. Too many great little local places where food is wonderful and locals are friendly.
Just my preference... after 20-odd trips to CZM...

[Mossman]

It's Aquaworld at the Palace these days. They replaced Aqua Safari & I think you've mixed them up in your assessment.

Prosdog, do you want to hang at the resort for most of your stay or get out & about. Taxi fare from the Iberostar runs about $18.00 each way to / from town. Long but enjoyable walk from Blue Angel, or a reasonable cab fare. Iberostar & Blue Angel are very different in many ways but I like both, and recommend them when they sound like a good fit.

Fish-R-Man, what level of service are you looking for. Similar to the Palace or just a good place to stay & enjoy. Photo tours of several resorts & links to some trip reports can be found here

Picasa Web Albums - Larry (http://picasaweb.google.com/CozumelTimeCapsules)
Yikes, you are absolutely right about me being wrong. Aqua Safari, Aquaworld, duh! OK, I meant to say Aquaworld has no reputation, Aqua Safari, maybe some reputation, not that I've ever dove with either. Next I'll be mixing up Living Underwater with In Living Color, or Aldora with Endora, Samantha's witch of a mom on Bewitched. No wonder why all the locals start giving me odd looks when I attempt speaking Spanglish!

[Brules]

I would totally reccomend my fav hotel the Park Royal, but their onsite dive op SUCKS, but you could always use a off site dive op. Park Royak is my favorite AI as it is the best AI CLOSE to town that is affordable. Palace is too $$$. PR is cheaper and you don't feel bad leaving every night to go to town for dinner, and you can as taxis are not crazy expensive from there.

Just a thought. :)

[Willar]

+1 for the Iberostar Cozumel. My son was OW-certified their in 2010 and we loved the resort. Dressel Divers is excellent, the resort is nice, and you're only 5 minutes to the best reefs. We were really, really happy with Dressel, their professionalism and great customer service. The resort is really good for the whole family. Food was good, not great.

We like it so much that we went to Iberostar Paraiso (Playa del Carmen) in 2011 for diving with Dressel. My son and his friend (already OW) both did their AOW at that resort.

I have also stayed at Scuba Club which I liked very much as a "dive-only" resort, but it doesn't have the pools, bars, and other all-inclusive features. It a very good resort, it just depends on what you want. Nice that it's close to town. Down side is the long boat ride to the top reefs.

Be sure to rent a Jeep and drive around the island!

[mfalco]

These replies have answered several questions I've been thinking about posting. I'm trying to decide between Iberostar/Dressel and Blue Angel. When I do a list of pros and cons to each, it comes out almost equal. BA-free internet, shore dives, close to town, breakfast provided. Iberostar/Dressel-free nitrox, no shore dives, expensive internet, AI with good food. Somebody help me decide. Last year I stayed at Iberostar Parisio Del Mar on the mainland Mexico. The resort was nice and I really likes Dressel Divers. They were a lot less busy than in Coz. Sometimes there were only 2 divers on the boat. This Janurary we went to Iberostar Cosumel because we had had a good experience the year before with Iberostar and Dressel. Definately prepay for the diving before you go to get a huge savings. If you do, you will probably email with Natalie in spain, who is very helpful. The resort in Cozumel was a lot smaller with less food options. It was very quite and laid back. The rooms did have a little mildewy smell. This is probably from people like me drying wetsuits in their rooms. Run the bathroom fan 24/7 to fix the mildew smell. The rooms are also not very large, but how much time do spend in the room? The buffet was good. Better than the sandals I've stayed at, but not as good as the couples resorts on Jamaica. The alacart Mexican restaraunt wasn't worth going to. Not much that you couldn't get at the buffet. It was also the only time I've gotten sub-par service at either of the Iberostars I've been to. The steakhouse I would recomend. I would also recommend going into town one night and going to the restaraunt Kinta. The diving was great. From my experience Dressel is great. The divemasters/instructors are great. Very professional and laid back at the same time. No "dive nazis". Every dive your group is 8 divers and one dive master. They have 2 boats that take 3 groups and one that takes 2 groups. The girl that works the dive shop is very helpful with scheduling and planning. The dive sites are all 5-10 minutes away so you SI is back at the resort. If you were closer to town you would have long boat rides. You have time for a drink/bathroom/snack. we dove with 4 different DMs (PM me if you want to know about each one, but they were all good) They all gave great dive briefings before the dives. My GF isn't very experienced, so we were always in the group with the less experienced divers. They have everybody buddy up before entering the water. When a diver runs low on air, they change buddies up so the people with more air get to stay longer. We asked if we could stay together if one of us got low on air and the other wasn't. They were fine with that, so no dive buddy changes mid dive for us. They also didn't make people stick to the "follow the leader" type of dive. Our buddy groups were allowed to roam around a little. If you do go there I recommend getting a rental car, and take a half day to drive the loop around the Island. The east side of the island is beautyfull. I booked my trip through Travelocity and got the rental car for $86 for 8 days. Of course I did need it because Trevelocity doesn't give airport transfers like travel agents do.

[ggunn]

Be sure to rent a Jeep and drive around the island!

Or if you want to enjoy some adult beverages during the excursion, hire a cab for the day.

[Dan G]

One way to help you make a decision is what you and your traveling companions are expecting. We love BA and will be there soon.http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/images/smilies/Character%20Smiles/banana.gif We can recommend the rooms, restaurant, boats and DMs. However, while I have never been to the AIs down south, from what I can gather BA is nothing like them. BA is very diver oriented, with basic rooms, basic pool, great people. If that appeals to the folks you are traveling with then BA is for you, and this is why BA appeals to us. If they want more of a 'resort' experience that is oriented to service beyond diving, then the right AI might be for you. Both experiences are good experiences, and one is not 'better' than the other. It just depends on what you are looking for.



If all things are equal in doing your research, then go with the place that will have the most Canadian visitors and/ or DMs. This way yo can have fun reminding them that none of their teams made it past round 1. :D

[melissabeads]

I have stayed at the Iberostar and it does have nice beaches and the food is better than a lot of other AIs. That being said, we checked into Blue Angel last December and they are great. The resort is nice (clean, nice little pool, great set up for diving) the food is great, the staff is AMAZING. It would be great for you to have breakfast included, grab a light lunch at the BA restaurant after your dives and in the evening head to town to all of the GREAT local restaurants. You are also closer to town for groceries and other shopping. The only real benefit to staying at the Iberostar is the shorter boat rides. Keep in mind, if you will be going into town the taxi rides are long and expensive from the Iberostar.

Personally I would pick Blue Angel.. and the Matthew and Kari are both from Edmonton! Kari is so nice!!

[Fish-R-Man]

I want to thank everyone for their valuable input on this. Sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I am currently fishing in the Bering Sea and we had our satellite system go down so no phone or internet until we went to Dutch Harbor a few days ago. While we were in the "dark" my wife booked us into the Palace again. We own in their system so it's easy to set up reservations for her. While we are there we are going to scope out the other resorts just to get an idea of what is available. Diving with Jeremy from Living Underwater. He's always been great to us......

[cvchief]

I want to thank everyone for their valuable input on this. Sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I am currently fishing in the Bering Sea and we had our satellite system go down so no phone or internet until we went to Dutch Harbor a few days ago. While we were in the "dark" my wife booked us into the Palace again. We own in their system so it's easy to set up reservations for her. While we are there we are going to scope out the other resorts just to get an idea of what is available. Diving with Jeremy from Living Underwater. He's always been great to us......

Seriously? So you were..... "200 miles north of Dutch Harbor on the 106 foot......"

[Fish-R-Man]

Seriously? So you were..... "200 miles north of Dutch Harbor on the 106 foot......"



Actually we were about 400 miles south west of Dutch, closer to Adak fishing Atka mackerel..... 200' boat! http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif

[Mike]

Sig?


http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ht_deadliest_catch_2011_jp_110413_mn.jpg


Can't be Sig, he wouldn't be a diver, not once he found out he can't smoke under water.

[Fish-R-Man]

Been there... Done that... No money in it anymore!

[Christi]

I'm liking the Occidental Grand for the most part. Stay at the Royal Club for more Cozumel Palace-like amenities. Food isn't as good as the Palace, but I've heard Dive Palancar is a heck of a lot better than Aqua Safari and I'm sure they have no problem certifying people since I saw a few doing such off the beach.

PLEASE do not confuse Aqua Safari with Aqua World.

Aqua Safari who USED to be onsite at Cozumel Palace for 15+ years (formerly Plaza las Glorias) is a very high quality and respected operation.

Aqua World, the corporate dive chain who is now onsite is a completely different shop.

---------- Post added May 10th, 2012 at 06:24 PM ----------


...The diving was great. From my experience Dressel is great. The divemasters/instructors are great. Very professional and laid back at the same time. No "dive nazis". Every dive your group is 8 divers and one dive master. They have 2 boats that take 3 groups and one that takes 2 groups. The girl that works the dive shop is very helpful with scheduling and planning...

Just FYI - most of that staff is now gone or will be very soon! This was one of the best staff's I've ever known at Dressel CZM, but the turnover is high there. I THINK Jake is still there, but not sure. I know several of them and they have recently or are about to move off island or onto bigger and better things here on the island. I have no knowledge of the staff that is replacing them!

[bbarada]

Another vote for Scuba Club Cozumel. Easy entry and exit in front of the resort. Skilled dive instructors. Good food.

[sharky60]

I think you have old information there, unless breakfast/lunch was included/stopped/and now included again. They used to offer lunch and dinner free with diving, but not for my next trip (end of May), anyway. We get breakfast on dive days, but lunches and dinners are not included in the package price.

I just looked at my booking information from the hotel, this is a direct quote from that e-mail:
"Also included with this package at is daily breakfast and for DIVERS!!!! With your PRE-BOOKED DIVES (before arrival) you will receive lunch from menu on your dive day!! "

the English is a litle broken, but yes, you do get breakfast and lunch on pre-booked dive days.

And Eva is a pretty good promoter, so if you are staying at least a week and diving a lot, she could easily toss in a free dinner while you are there. (not speaker for her of course, just from experience)

[cvchief]

Nothing for Nothing, but this was posted like 2 months ago: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/414177-communications-issues-blue-angel.html#post6279499

[Firefyter]

I just looked at my booking information from the hotel, this is a direct quote from that e-mail:
"Also included with this package at is daily breakfast and for DIVERS!!!! With your PRE-BOOKED DIVES (before arrival) you will receive lunch from menu on your dive day!! "

the English is a litle broken, but yes, you do get breakfast and lunch on pre-booked dive days.

And Eva is a pretty good promoter, so if you are staying at least a week and diving a lot, she could easily toss in a free dinner while you are there. (not speaker for her of course, just from experience)


Nothing for Nothing, but this was posted like 2 months ago: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/414177-communications-issues-blue-angel.html#post6279499

According to Matthew and Eva both, it all depends on when you booked your trip. If you booked it early enough, as it appears you did, then you still get the lunches. If you booked it after a certain date, the lunches are no longer included.

I booked mine on March 17th of this year, and lunches were not included. I'm not sure of the cutoff date, but it was evidently before I booked.

[Mortis65]

Fish-r-man, I am staying at SCC in that time window. Please PM me if you plan to stay there too.

[Scoober]

Blue Angel is not close to town. Not really a walk, so you need a car/taxi, or some form of transport. If you are staying any farther south than, say, Scuba Club Coz, you need transport to head into town, so it does not really matter which "southern" resort you stay with on this point. I will say that Matt is, indeed, and excellent instructor.

[Karibelle]

Blue Angel is not close to town. Not really a walk, so you need a car/taxi, or some form of transport. If you are staying any farther south than, say, Scuba Club Coz, you need transport to head into town, so it does not really matter which "southern" resort you stay with on this point. I will say that Matt is, indeed, and excellent instructor.

Respectfully, whether or not Blue Angel is a walk into town is a matter of personal choice. Long before Matthew (not to be confused with Mateo - although they're both often referred to here on SB as "Matt") and I worked there, we were clients and often stayed at Baldwin's Guest House which is way back in town by the CMC hospital. We walked to BA every day for many, many weeks. :-) To each his own, right?

kari

[Scoober]

Respectfully, whether or not Blue Angel is a walk into town is a matter of personal choice. Long before Matthew (not to be confused with Mateo - although they're both often referred to here on SB as "Matt") and I worked there, we were clients and often stayed at Baldwin's Guest House which is way back in town by the CMC hospital. We walked to BA every day for many, many weeks. :-) To each his own, right?

kari

Sure. I hear you. I used to ride my bicycle down that way every day. Fine ride, and an Ok walk, unless you have done 2 or 3 tanks, then have a couple of apres drinks, and then try to walk into town, have dinner and drinks, then walk back. You can always cab back, but still...Its not like Scuba Club Coz, and I do not think that many people walk into town and back more than once or twice, and most people staying there will never walk it. Just don't want people to have the wrong idea.

[Karibelle]

Just don't want people to have the wrong idea.

This is my goal as well... and I suspect that more people walk from BA into town and back day after day than you realize. Next time you're at SCC, head over to BA and ask around. :-)

[Firefyter]

Blue Angel is not close to town. Not really a walk, so you need a car/taxi, or some form of transport. If you are staying any farther south than, say, Scuba Club Coz, you need transport to head into town, so it does not really matter which "southern" resort you stay with on this point. I will say that Matt is, indeed, and excellent instructor.


Respectfully, whether or not Blue Angel is a walk into town is a matter of personal choice. Long before Matthew (not to be confused with Mateo - although they're both often referred to here on SB as "Matt") and I worked there, we were clients and often stayed at Baldwin's Guest House which is way back in town by the CMC hospital. We walked to BA every day for many, many weeks. :-) To each his own, right?

kari

Kari is correct. I always stay at BA and I walk into town and back every night for dinner. It's a 15-20 minute walk to El Centro. I understand that this may be too far for some depending on overall fitness and climate, but it works for me just fine......

[Brules]

I want to thank everyone for their valuable input on this. Sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I am currently fishing in the Bering Sea and we had our satellite system go down so no phone or internet until we went to Dutch Harbor a few days ago. While we were in the "dark" my wife booked us into the Palace again. We own in their system so it's easy to set up reservations for her. While we are there we are going to scope out the other resorts just to get an idea of what is available. Diving with Jeremy from Living Underwater. He's always been great to us......

You can't go wrong with the Palace unless you have to have a sand beach.....and diving with LU, you know you will have a great time! Enjoy, as hard as you fishing guys work, you deserve a great vacation lol! Enjoy!

[Windspirit]

Yah....this is kinda a bummer....just booked for 2 weeks in Nov/Dec 2012 and specifically asked about the "dive day" lunch and 1 dinner per week stay it was a no-go...period! Even asked if I could "pre-pay" lunch's for a discounted rate....and again NaDa!



According to Matthew and Eva both, it all depends on when you booked your trip. If you booked it early enough, as it appears you did, then you still get the lunches. If you booked it after a certain date, the lunches are no longer included.

I booked mine on March 17th of this year, and lunches were not included. I'm not sure of the cutoff date, but it was evidently before I booked.

[ggunn]

Yah....this is kinda a bummer....just booked for 2 weeks in Nov/Dec 2012 and specifically asked about the "dive day" lunch and 1 dinner per week stay it was a no-go...period! Even asked if I could "pre-pay" lunch's for a discounted rate....and again NaDa!So, it's not enough that you have a great room mere steps from the water with a fantastic view, an economical and safety conscious dive op on site with very competent and friendly DM's, a great location far enough from town to escape the day trippers but close enough for a cheap cab ride or a nice walk, a very nice shore dive right there with free tanks and weights from the dive shop, a swimming pool and hammocks to lay around in, and a great staff who will go the extra mile to make your stay as pleasurable as they possibly can? You have to get free meals or it's a bummer?

[blue steal]

I walked to town almost every evening from the BA, then cab/taxi back as I just didn't feel like it or had quite a bit of groceries.
Oh and Gordon you forgot to mention about the free use of kayaks, and Eva's or one of the dive shop guys bike to use.
Still get the breakfast included.
Edit: I just wanted to add that when I booked it for May this year lunches and the one dinner was included, but had to cancel due to a family emergency. When I went to book again for this coming October for 10 days, no lunch or dinner included in the package.

[azscubadude]

...or one of the dive shop guys bike to use.

Speaking of bikes, is there anyplace that rents bikes in town. I mountain bike all the time here through the Arizona mountains (they do call them mountains here) - (10 miles today @ 96 degrees - hot) and would enjoy having a bike to ride around town and on the side streets.

I walk into town and/or down to BA from SCC but enjoy biking more. It would be fun.. especially heading further south or up to the north end of town.

If anyone knows could you pass it along to me. Thanks !!

[ggunn]

Speaking of bikes, is there anyplace that rents bikes in town. I mountain bike all the time here through the Arizona mountains (they do call them mountains here) - (10 miles today @ 96 degrees - hot) and would enjoy having a bike to ride around town and on the side streets.

I walk into town and/or down to BA from SCC but enjoy biking more. It would be fun.. especially heading further south or up to the north end of town.

If anyone knows could you pass it along to me. Thanks !!I know that such a place exists, or at least it did a few years ago. My daughter rented a bike during our stay, and I believe the staff at Blue Angel found it for her.

[blue steal]

Speaking of bikes, is there anyplace that rents bikes in town.

This place rents beach cruisers and scott MB's around $15/day with discount for multiple days, delivery is $10 each way so it would be best to pick up at the store.
Still a bit much, I'd rather borrow one of the Dm's and buy him beer or a great tip.

Scooter and bike Rentals in Cozumel Mexico (http://www.sombrerorentals.com)


I love to ride early in the morning, no traffic, still cool out.

[azscubadude]

This place rents beach cruisers and scott MB's around $15/day with discount for multiple days, delivery is $10 each way so it would be best to pick up at the store.

Scooter and bike Rentals in Cozumel Mexico (http://www.sombrerorentals.com)

I sent them an email and already got a reply.. Thanks !

[Scuba Lauren]

Hey Fish-R-Man! That is funny you mention Cozumel Palace because my fiance and I are looking into getting married there in May 2013. Can you tell me what you like or didn't like about that place?

[Fish-R-Man]

My wife and I love the place. It's a bit pricey, but we own in the Palace Resort system so its not too bad. When you add up what it would cost for meals and drinks down town, it's actually not bad. The food is good, but it gets to be pretty much the same if you go for more than a week. One nice thing is, if you stay in one of the Palace resorts, you can go over to any of their resorts on the main land. We will normally head to their resort in Playa for a day during our stay. I cave dive and my wife spends the day in their spa..... Its very convenient for the ferry to Coz, just a couple minute walk.

When we were there the last week of June, there were about four weddings. They seem to do it up right. They have a very nice patio on the second floor above the pool area were they host some of the wedding parties. The service and the attention of the staff can't be beat. My wife and I looked into getting married there or at the Aventura Spa Palace but opted to fly into the Grand Canyon in a helicopter and were married on the floor of the canyon...