Help finding new AI dive resort

[jrl5549]

I have had 2 great vacations to Cozumel, Both times I stayed at Fiesta America, and dove with Dive House, before the refurbish. I liked being to the South and the smallness of the resort. I liked diving with "Dive House" the dive lockers near the pier and having Dive House as in house provider was great.
The Refurbish seems to have taken away the dive locker and dive store. After the remodel they do not use Dive House, and they went way up on price. So I am looking for a all inclusive I prefer further out on the island than in the city. I want a dive locker. I am open to dive operator.
Thank you

 

[Ron Lee]

You have four options if you want to be south:

Sabor/Aura complex

Allegro (closed for a bit due to a fire)

Occidental Grand

Iberostar

 

[ColoDale]

Sabor/Aura are now Sunscape/Secrets though the URLs still have sabor in them in part.

 

[tattooedjeeper]

Fwiw, we stayed at the Iberostar in June and had a fantastic experience. The food was good, the grounds were meticulously maintained and the room, while a bit small, was clean and very comfortable. We enjoyed their free drinks and nice beach, our daughter (10) had a blast snorkeling around their pier and saw lobster, barracuda and many other fish there. I do understand that to the majority here, Dressel isn't the preferred dive op, but I had ten very pleasant dives there with safe and attentive dive masters (Granted, their dive masters/guides are all European and may not "know" the reefs like the long time locals if that maters to you). For us, the trip was very nice and I'd definitely stay there again. If you choose them I hope you have the same experience we did. Good luck!
-Mark

 

[fire_diver]

I had a great stay as Casa Del Mar. They offer AI packages (which I don't use) and have their own dive shop across the road.

 

[diverokc]

Hotel cozumel has a great setup. Rinse tanks and lockers right by the pier. Also other ops can pick you up there with no charge. I pay anywhere from $70-80 pernight for single and $100-110 for two.

 

[DjDiverDan]

I like Hotel Cozumel as a Hotel - vey nice, big comfortable rooms, huge pool area, convenient for diving, whether you are using the House Op (Dive Paradise) or another op. But I wouldn't do the AI option at Hotel Cozumel because, IMO, the food is TERRIBLE. Breakfast is OK (though the coffee is swill - basically brownish dishwater), but Lunch and Dinner were AWFUL. The one time I stayed there on AI (the 2012 Scuba Board Invasion, where AI was a mandatory part of the package), I ate out 5 nights out of 7. The other 2 nights were Scuba Board dinners, so I was stuck with it. Granted, I am probably a lot pickier than most when it comes to food, but not so picky that I can't find dozens of Cozumel Restaurants that I really like. And there were others on the Scuba Board Invasion that thought the Hotel Cozumel food was "just fine" (I didn't hear anyone say it was "good"). But then, I never willingly go AI on Cozumel simply because of the wealth of very good restaurants. Unless you are going to drink your money's worth from the bar, I wouldn't do the AI at Hotel Cozumel.

 

[cicopo]

Funny but my wife & I plus some friends enjoy the meals at Hotel Coz relative to it's cost (when adding on the AI option) & feel it gets better each trip. We still eat out a few times but that's because we have several must eat places on out list. All that said it is in town BUT I don't remember the Allegro, Grand or Iberostar as having dive lockers. I think the Iberostar had a place you could hang your wetsuit but that's about it.

 

[Ron Lee]

How important is a dive locker? Many dive ops will keep your gear (many do not include the wetsuit) overnight so there is really no need for a locker with those dive ops.

 

[DjDiverDan]

I agree with Ron Lee - I've been going to Cozumel for years (since 1990), and the only time I've used a Dive Locker was on the Scuba Board Invasion when we used Dive Paradise at Hotel Cozumel. Other than that, for at least the last 15 years, I was diving either with Aldora (my own first preference) or Dive with Martin (the selection of the group that organizes my usual December trip), and I just drop off gear at the beginning of the trip, pick it up after last dive, and let them thake care of it the rest of the time. They make sure that it is on the right boat, set up for the first dive, and they rinse and store it each night. I do handle my own wetsuit - really just a "skins plus", the Henderson with 0.5 mm neoprene - but that's not a big deal, I just carry it in a mesh bag and rinse & through it over the balcony railing each night.