Flew on US Airways from Richmond to Charlotte and then directly to Cozumel with no problems.
Met at the airport by Greg of Villa Aldora, associated with Aldora Divers. He wanted to be sure we were on the island.
Checked into Casa del Mar, the same resort we stayed at last August. My wife and I had a two-story cabana and my son and his friend shared a regular room. We wanted to return to Casa del Mar because the staff there is so friendly and accommodating (we love Manuel, Jose, Santiago, and Sylvia!) and the all-inclusive deal was too good to pass up for two hungry 18-year olds! We enjoy the food there very much even though you order off the same menu for lunch and dinner. My wife is celiac and can't eat wheat, rye, or barley--the staff was very careful to ensure her food was safe for her to eat and offered to even make special dishes if necessary. Certain shrimp and lobster dishes cost extra like the mixed seafood grill, but to us they are worth the splurge once or twice during the week. The mixed seafood grill, which costs $25 extra easily feeds three people. The tips are included in the all-inclusive package, but we still tip some and get fantastic service as a result (we figure if we are paying that little for our AI deal, the staff is not getting paid a lot at all). The boys enjoyed the fact that their drinks were included and soon learned to eat and drink at the resort vs Senor Frogs and the like.
Because the AI package at Casa del Mar is so reasonable ($159 plus tax for two for the cabana and all meals and drinks and $109 plux tax for two for a regular room and all meals and drinks), we (the "adults" LOL) still felt like we could justify eating and drinking out some. We had a wonderful meal and time at Pancho's Backyard as always and another great evening at Especias (in a new second story location that is way cool due to the roll back roof) with sweetheart, Adrian. We also enjoyed hitting Los Dorados de Villa (on the right of the town square) for afternoon happy hour a few times as Bruno and his parents who own it are special people and friends to us now.
The beach club, Nachi Cocom on the southern part of the island, that is included for Casa del Mar guests is wonderful. A shuttle takes guests there in the morning and returns them to the resort in the afternoon. The shuttle time did not always work well with dive times, so a few days we got a taxi to the beach club and then caught the shuttle back. This beach club was closed last year when we visited due to Hurricane Emily, so it was a very nice treat this year, particularly since the waterfront beach and snorkeling area right at the resort was decimated by Hurricane Wilma. It is being rebuilt, but will not be operational for a while ... even when it is finished, it will not compare to the beach club. For those of you familiar with the southern area, the beach club is next door to Allegro and Pancho's beach club, a couple clubs down from San Francisco beach.
We checked in with Aldora Divers at their shop in town right after our arrival. Everything was scheduled for the week. Memo, the manager, would meet all his boats and guests each day during their SI at Playa Mia. Any concerns and suggestions were immediately addressed by Memo--he really wanted to make sure your expectations were met. All of my dives were two-tank morning dives and most were with four or less divers. The best dives were Devil's Throat, Delilah, Palancar Bricks, and Cedar Pass. The deeper divers were the best quality. You can see damage in the shallow dives from Wilma ... the hard coral is still there, but the soft coral took a hit ... thankfully, the fish and other animal life is still abundant.
Had a fabulous time and while we didn't plan on returning to Cozumel so soon after our last visit and particularly after Wilma, we were so glad we did! The people and island are still the best and the diving still beats out many places in the Caribbean.
All the best,
Smokey (and Shirley)
Met at the airport by Greg of Villa Aldora, associated with Aldora Divers. He wanted to be sure we were on the island.
Checked into Casa del Mar, the same resort we stayed at last August. My wife and I had a two-story cabana and my son and his friend shared a regular room. We wanted to return to Casa del Mar because the staff there is so friendly and accommodating (we love Manuel, Jose, Santiago, and Sylvia!) and the all-inclusive deal was too good to pass up for two hungry 18-year olds! We enjoy the food there very much even though you order off the same menu for lunch and dinner. My wife is celiac and can't eat wheat, rye, or barley--the staff was very careful to ensure her food was safe for her to eat and offered to even make special dishes if necessary. Certain shrimp and lobster dishes cost extra like the mixed seafood grill, but to us they are worth the splurge once or twice during the week. The mixed seafood grill, which costs $25 extra easily feeds three people. The tips are included in the all-inclusive package, but we still tip some and get fantastic service as a result (we figure if we are paying that little for our AI deal, the staff is not getting paid a lot at all). The boys enjoyed the fact that their drinks were included and soon learned to eat and drink at the resort vs Senor Frogs and the like.
Because the AI package at Casa del Mar is so reasonable ($159 plus tax for two for the cabana and all meals and drinks and $109 plux tax for two for a regular room and all meals and drinks), we (the "adults" LOL) still felt like we could justify eating and drinking out some. We had a wonderful meal and time at Pancho's Backyard as always and another great evening at Especias (in a new second story location that is way cool due to the roll back roof) with sweetheart, Adrian. We also enjoyed hitting Los Dorados de Villa (on the right of the town square) for afternoon happy hour a few times as Bruno and his parents who own it are special people and friends to us now.
The beach club, Nachi Cocom on the southern part of the island, that is included for Casa del Mar guests is wonderful. A shuttle takes guests there in the morning and returns them to the resort in the afternoon. The shuttle time did not always work well with dive times, so a few days we got a taxi to the beach club and then caught the shuttle back. This beach club was closed last year when we visited due to Hurricane Emily, so it was a very nice treat this year, particularly since the waterfront beach and snorkeling area right at the resort was decimated by Hurricane Wilma. It is being rebuilt, but will not be operational for a while ... even when it is finished, it will not compare to the beach club. For those of you familiar with the southern area, the beach club is next door to Allegro and Pancho's beach club, a couple clubs down from San Francisco beach.
We checked in with Aldora Divers at their shop in town right after our arrival. Everything was scheduled for the week. Memo, the manager, would meet all his boats and guests each day during their SI at Playa Mia. Any concerns and suggestions were immediately addressed by Memo--he really wanted to make sure your expectations were met. All of my dives were two-tank morning dives and most were with four or less divers. The best dives were Devil's Throat, Delilah, Palancar Bricks, and Cedar Pass. The deeper divers were the best quality. You can see damage in the shallow dives from Wilma ... the hard coral is still there, but the soft coral took a hit ... thankfully, the fish and other animal life is still abundant.
Had a fabulous time and while we didn't plan on returning to Cozumel so soon after our last visit and particularly after Wilma, we were so glad we did! The people and island are still the best and the diving still beats out many places in the Caribbean.
All the best,
Smokey (and Shirley)
Glad you had a good time.
