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Back from Cozumel after diving 4 days with BlueXTsea and staying at El Cantil. This was the first time my husband and I had stayed in town after staying at all-inclusives a couple of times. We will never do an AI again.
We were in a 1 bedroom on the 7th floor of the north tower. The check-in was seamless and were ushered in and shown around by Claudia -- she couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. The condo was very clean, well appointed, and very spacious. We were very pleased. The only negatives, which were minor to us, would be: 1)The TVs in the living room and bedroom could not be tuned to different channels. This was not an issue for us, but I suppose it could be if you needed a TV babysitter for kids. We really enjoyed the Sirrius music available on the TV. 2) The dive lockers in the garage were really dark and dank and it was difficult to find one that would actually latch/unlatch without a sledge hammer. We tried using one on the last day to dry our equipment before packing up, but gave up when we couldn't get one to lock. BlueXTsea took care of our gear after diving until the last day. Everything else was just great. Large terrace, quiet, secure, daily maid service, a safe that was not difficult to lock and unlock, huge bathroom, huge shower, comfortable bed. 5 stars. The big walmartish grocery store is right across the street.
We dove with BlueXTSea for the second time. They are a first class operation. Safe, accomodating, friendly, and on-time pickups. We dove with Blanca, Arturo and Pedro as dive guides. Boat captions were Pedro, Adan, and Mago. Mago entertained us with slight-of-hand magic on our interval. Pedro found a sea horse for us on the first day. The water temp was 79/80 degrees and we got a little cold on the first day because of the wind. The visibility was good to very good. We enjoyed diving with all of the other guests, who were skilled and considerate divers. Other than the seahorse, notable life we saw: turtles,eels, juvenile drum, HUGE crab, lobster, HUGE nurse shark, reef sharks, sting rays, leaf fish, sailfin blenny, garden eels, large grouper, lemon(?) rays, peacock flounder.....
The Food!! My favorites: Le Verandah. Excellent service, friendly owner and staff. I had shrimp prepared tableside -- it was delicious. It is beautiful courtyared dining. They also have a decent wine list. My husband really liked the classical guitar CD that was playing, and the owner, Ernesto, went out of his way to acquire a CD for him. We were able to pick up two the next day. Prima was very good with a great atmosphere and awesome service. They served us so much food that we had enough to take home for lunch the next day. The calamari was among the best I've ever had. La Choza - We've been here a few times and are always satisfied with the food and service -- great value. Le Chef -- we ate here for lunch, but would have liked to have had enough time to do dinner as well. We ate at a place called Casa de le Morena that I hadn't heard anything about. We had taken a taxi to La Choza, but they were closed -- it appeared they were closed due to a death. The taxi driver recommended Le Morena and we were very pleased. We sat outside and were able to watch them prepare our food in the open kitchen. The waiter offered us several complimentary appetizers. Their guac and pico del gallo were amazing. Especias -- I really enjoyed my fish here. My husband was not as thrilled with his steak, but the atmosphere and our gracious host, Aidan, made our experience unforgettable. If you are there, get Aidan to show you his kite-boarding video -- it's really pretty amazing. At the risk of making all of you La Mission (on 30th) devotees irate, I have to say that we were very disappointed in our meals there. Based on all the great reviews, I expected much more. Maybe we didn't order the right thing, but we probably will not go back.
I fear that after our 3rd visit to Cozumel we are hopelessly hooked. This trip we really experienced how warm and wonderful the people are. Add that to top-notch diving, accomodations, and an exceptional dive staff/operator, and a half day of travel, gets me looking forward to putting Cozumel back on the calendar very soon.
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. We're also big fans of El Cantil and Blue XT~Sea and can't wait until our return at the end of May. Thanks for sharing your trip!
We've stayed at El Cantil twice-- a 3 BR and 4 BR. Both condos were awesome. The location is perfect-- only a few minutes from the Mega to lay in supplies for the week. Or you can easily walk downtown for dinner.
But my favorite thing about El Cantil is that it is QUIET. You don't have the rowdy, noisy crowds from the all inclusives. Most people staying here tend to be serious divers or family's with kids.
OK, the original post was 2007, However, let's not overlook the fact that Dave is very excited for his upcoming trip and finds happiness in posting. Thanks for your input. Have a Great trip Dave !!
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