My wife and I went to Cozumel at the end of July and stayed at the Blue Angel Resort. It was our first time there. I dove each morning with the dive op there. This dive op is not a hand-holding type of operator. You are expected to dive with a group and within the profile provided. Each day I dove with a different divemaster. The diving was good. We saw the usual variety of sea life, such as spotted toads, humongous angel fish, spotted drums, turtles on every dive (in fact, I saw the largest turtle Ive ever seen in Cozumel), and nurse sharks (including a 9-footer).
The resort is right on the water and has a pool and restaurant, both of which have beautiful views. The pool was a welcome spot after lunch and later in the evening. (There were rarely more than a few people in it.) All the rooms are oceanfront. Some floors have much better views than others, but some folks prefer being on the ground floor more than a wide open view. We liked being on the third floor. The rooms are definitely eclectically simpleand not typical resort style---but we found them to be charming and just fine for our needs. They were comfortable and spacious.
The staff is great. All are very friendly and helpful. My wife had booked our rooms through Hotels.com and when she did not get a confirmation via email she called them and discovered that the agent (I had called when I had no success online) had not booked the entire week that shed requested, only 4 days. The agent stated that she could not book all the nights for us as the entire block was not free, so she contacted Blue Angel. Witt at the front desk responded immediately and said he expected a cancellation from a dive group for that period and hes let us know as soon as possible (and if that didnt pan out we could stay at their other property, Villablanca, for two days). Within just a few days, he emailed us and said he was able to book us for the entire week. So it was excellent customer service from Blue Angel from the beginning.
As is usually the case when were in Cozumel, we had the opportunity to go to a number of restaurants. In addition to Blue Angels restaurant, we dined at Casa del Mar, Casa Mission, Panchos Backyard, Especias, El Dorado, La Mission (the one closest to the square), OHana, Wet Wendys, and El Moros. My wife eats gluten free and while we both have had many good dining experiences in Cozumel in the past, this time proved much more challenging for her.
Although the kitchen manager/overall chef seemed very knowledgeable about gluten free, my wife kept getting gluten in her meals at Blue Angel. Each time shed go over the requirements and the staff would seem to understand, but we finally gave up and ate elsewhere most of the time. When dining there for our breakfast which was included, she stuck with fruit and juice just so she would not get sick any more.
It was our first time eating at Casa Mission and we had an outstanding experience there. It's a beautiful setting and we thought the prices were very reasonable for high quality food and excellent service.
We always enjoy Panchos Backyard, but found my wife had to be more careful there than in the past. My wife was told that several items would be safe for her to eat, but when she asked specific questions she found out that a little soy sauce (which contains gluten) had been added to the beef. Thankfully, she determined this before she ordered, so she was able to eat a safe meal. Most of the staff that works there (Manuel was our waiter once again) has been there for decades and they love it when you remember them (and they offer tequila shotstempered with Sprite for those who dont imbibe regularly).
It was also the first time we ventured to El Moros. We had a great experience there and loved the enthusiastic staff. Its not a fancy place and is open air so it was very warm inside, but the drinks were large and good, so that worked out fine.
We returned to La Mission off the square, but didnt find that as good as we remembered. Also, they had two bands and went around asking for tips for both. That was a change from our previous visits and was a little off putting.
Especias was great. The building is still owned by its originator Adrian, but he now owns Eagle Riders and has leased the restaurant to Francesco. It now offers Italian fare and we had an excellent meal there. Our server was Ricardo and he was fun and attentive. Francesco even offered gluten-free pasta, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Wet Wendys was a lot of fun and my wife had no problems eating there after getting some good advice on what dishes would be safe from our very terrific server, Lobo. He even told us about the evening entertainment for the week, demod salsa dancing with the bartender, and came back with his girlfriend for salsa night and chatted with us more. You must go to Wet Wendys for that, if nothing else, just to watch the local salsa club do their stuff! The band was fantastic.
El Dorado offers nothing very special in the way of food and its sort of tacky with its décor, etc. to be honest, but we always go there a couple of times, mostly for drinks and sometimes for food. We met the owners son on one of our first trips to Cozumel and he was such a great guy and helpful that weve always stopped by on our visits. While he has moved on from the family restaurant (and now works for Diamonds International), his parents still run the restaurant and are there daily and the rest of the staff is very nice.
OHana is actually owned by one of the divemasters/instructors, Matteo (Matt), at Blue Angel. He and his wife, Angie, run it. Its a few streets back, but is really a very nice restaurant. We checked it out early in the week when it was very quiet and my wife was able to enjoy gluten-free coconut shrimp there. Matt ensured that it was breaded in only coconut and cooked in fresh oil. The shrimp, fresh veggies, and their amazing Peanut Butter Tequila (dont miss that!) made for an extra special meal for her that evening. However, we went back on the weekend and the restaurant was full and she ordered the same meal and despite sending it back once because the shrimp looked floured, she still ended up getting very sick. So if you have special dietary needs, be sure to go during a quiet time for a meal.
Overall, we still had a very good trip. We also had the opportunity to look up old friends (from previous visits) who live and work on the island and also made many new friendsboth residents and visitors--while there. We would return to Blue Angel for sure. The location, staff, prices, diving, etc. make it a great value and a fun place to go!
Smokey (with input from my wife, Shirley, who shares all that is gluten free at her site: gfe-gluten free easily)
The resort is right on the water and has a pool and restaurant, both of which have beautiful views. The pool was a welcome spot after lunch and later in the evening. (There were rarely more than a few people in it.) All the rooms are oceanfront. Some floors have much better views than others, but some folks prefer being on the ground floor more than a wide open view. We liked being on the third floor. The rooms are definitely eclectically simpleand not typical resort style---but we found them to be charming and just fine for our needs. They were comfortable and spacious.
The staff is great. All are very friendly and helpful. My wife had booked our rooms through Hotels.com and when she did not get a confirmation via email she called them and discovered that the agent (I had called when I had no success online) had not booked the entire week that shed requested, only 4 days. The agent stated that she could not book all the nights for us as the entire block was not free, so she contacted Blue Angel. Witt at the front desk responded immediately and said he expected a cancellation from a dive group for that period and hes let us know as soon as possible (and if that didnt pan out we could stay at their other property, Villablanca, for two days). Within just a few days, he emailed us and said he was able to book us for the entire week. So it was excellent customer service from Blue Angel from the beginning.
As is usually the case when were in Cozumel, we had the opportunity to go to a number of restaurants. In addition to Blue Angels restaurant, we dined at Casa del Mar, Casa Mission, Panchos Backyard, Especias, El Dorado, La Mission (the one closest to the square), OHana, Wet Wendys, and El Moros. My wife eats gluten free and while we both have had many good dining experiences in Cozumel in the past, this time proved much more challenging for her.
Although the kitchen manager/overall chef seemed very knowledgeable about gluten free, my wife kept getting gluten in her meals at Blue Angel. Each time shed go over the requirements and the staff would seem to understand, but we finally gave up and ate elsewhere most of the time. When dining there for our breakfast which was included, she stuck with fruit and juice just so she would not get sick any more.
It was our first time eating at Casa Mission and we had an outstanding experience there. It's a beautiful setting and we thought the prices were very reasonable for high quality food and excellent service.
We always enjoy Panchos Backyard, but found my wife had to be more careful there than in the past. My wife was told that several items would be safe for her to eat, but when she asked specific questions she found out that a little soy sauce (which contains gluten) had been added to the beef. Thankfully, she determined this before she ordered, so she was able to eat a safe meal. Most of the staff that works there (Manuel was our waiter once again) has been there for decades and they love it when you remember them (and they offer tequila shotstempered with Sprite for those who dont imbibe regularly).
It was also the first time we ventured to El Moros. We had a great experience there and loved the enthusiastic staff. Its not a fancy place and is open air so it was very warm inside, but the drinks were large and good, so that worked out fine.
We returned to La Mission off the square, but didnt find that as good as we remembered. Also, they had two bands and went around asking for tips for both. That was a change from our previous visits and was a little off putting.
Especias was great. The building is still owned by its originator Adrian, but he now owns Eagle Riders and has leased the restaurant to Francesco. It now offers Italian fare and we had an excellent meal there. Our server was Ricardo and he was fun and attentive. Francesco even offered gluten-free pasta, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Wet Wendys was a lot of fun and my wife had no problems eating there after getting some good advice on what dishes would be safe from our very terrific server, Lobo. He even told us about the evening entertainment for the week, demod salsa dancing with the bartender, and came back with his girlfriend for salsa night and chatted with us more. You must go to Wet Wendys for that, if nothing else, just to watch the local salsa club do their stuff! The band was fantastic.
El Dorado offers nothing very special in the way of food and its sort of tacky with its décor, etc. to be honest, but we always go there a couple of times, mostly for drinks and sometimes for food. We met the owners son on one of our first trips to Cozumel and he was such a great guy and helpful that weve always stopped by on our visits. While he has moved on from the family restaurant (and now works for Diamonds International), his parents still run the restaurant and are there daily and the rest of the staff is very nice.
OHana is actually owned by one of the divemasters/instructors, Matteo (Matt), at Blue Angel. He and his wife, Angie, run it. Its a few streets back, but is really a very nice restaurant. We checked it out early in the week when it was very quiet and my wife was able to enjoy gluten-free coconut shrimp there. Matt ensured that it was breaded in only coconut and cooked in fresh oil. The shrimp, fresh veggies, and their amazing Peanut Butter Tequila (dont miss that!) made for an extra special meal for her that evening. However, we went back on the weekend and the restaurant was full and she ordered the same meal and despite sending it back once because the shrimp looked floured, she still ended up getting very sick. So if you have special dietary needs, be sure to go during a quiet time for a meal.
Overall, we still had a very good trip. We also had the opportunity to look up old friends (from previous visits) who live and work on the island and also made many new friendsboth residents and visitors--while there. We would return to Blue Angel for sure. The location, staff, prices, diving, etc. make it a great value and a fun place to go!
Smokey (with input from my wife, Shirley, who shares all that is gluten free at her site: gfe-gluten free easily)
