Presidente Hotel/Dive Paradise April 15-20 Trip Report Part 1 of 3

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Coz Sally:
I'm just going to throw my two cents in here.

A 4 day trip to Cozumel with little planning is just not giving Cozumel a chance and should not count as "been there, done that". Your trip report is exceptionally detailed and many will find your experiences helpful. It's a shame that you weren't able to gather good recommendations from this board before your trip. Before you completely mark Cozumel off your list of dive destinations, consider one more trip, with some planning. It's amazing what you can learn from others' experiences.

Just one more note for everyone: when you are on vacation, it is exceptionally difficult for dive operators and other Cozumel businesses to reach you by phone. For some reason very few of you seem to spend your vacation sitting in your room waiting for the phone to ring! Messages taken by the front desk personnel rarely make it to the guests and automated answering services are tricky at best, as Geoff learned. Please do not ask or expect your dive operator to reach you. It is up to you to make contact, and to do so in a timely manner.

Geoff, after reading how much you spent on food and lodging, I had to wince when I read "I did have to grind on her to give us both 1 hour massages for $100 instead of the $120 they were asking". I hope you made up for it with an enormous tip!

Sally
Barefoot in Cozumel

Sally, can you please elaborate on what makes you think I didnt do any planning? I asked on here quite a bit regarding lodging, and the presidente was recommended by quite a few people that had stayed there many times. In fact, while at the resort I met a couple that were on their 14th (!!) trip there. I also had to find o2 fills ahead of time, as well as dive ops that would didnt have any restrictions regarding my rebreather.

As far as someone else that replied that because I had planned diving with 3 ops that I didnt plan it out earlier, I dont think they understood. I booked my first day with scuba -du since it was at the hotel i was staying at and figured it would be the easiest to start out with. I booked Dive Paradise on a recommendation from a friend I tech dive with back in california. And I wanted to dive with Dive Cozumel since I knew my gf wouldnt dive every day and this was a good chance to get some nice 1.5 hour or so dives in. Im not sure where you get the idea I didnt plan this out. I searched air fares for over 5 days watching and seeing what kind of deal I could get.

And as far as the massage goes, I dont care how much money I have, when you are on that main street in cozumel, everything is overpriced, and since the massage was more than what I pay in the states by someone certified, I highly doubt I should fork over even more money for a massage from someone that is not a CMT. I tipped her $10 for both of us. I felt that was fair.
 
sinistar:
I would also second some of the other members suggestions regarding researching an approrptiate dive operator for your diving preferences. Hopefully you can find an operator who will cater more to your equipment configuration, site preferences, profiles, etc.

I think you are confused, I didnt have any problems with the dives. I knew going into them that they were going to be your run of the mill 45 min group dives. I went with my gf who has very little experience and I didnt want her feeling pressured to dive my profiles. What I meant by the diving wasnt impressive was just that. It was better than hawaii (which Im going to again next week since a friend has a condo open and isnt charging me) and it was probably on par with other parts of the carribean, but its no Fiji, and its no Philipines, and Palau beats it out by a bit as well. Its just okay diving.

And that s great for people that can get there in 4 hours, which I cant,(its more like 6) but still, the food was on par for what I pay for in the states, which baffles me since Im supposed to be in mexico where its so affordable.
 
The food is more affordable if you eat where the locals do. At the Presidente (or at any of the places where tourists are the sole clients) you get charged what the market will bear. I can eat quite nicely for about $10 or $15 day.

gbrandon:
the food was on par for what I pay for in the states, which baffles me since Im supposed to be in mexico where its so affordable.
 
gbrandon:
the food was on par for what I pay for in the states, which baffles me since Im supposed to be in mexico where its so affordable.

Don't be baffled. :) Know that you visited THE most expensive restaurants on that island. All of them.

kari
 
Goeff

Thanks for taking the time to post your report. I'm suspect that a reasonable conclusion is that the rack rate at the Presidente is just the start of the premium they charge.

The rest really sounds like the cost of keeping a gf happy with a dive trip and the lost of service when you try to use multiple dive operations. But you gave facts to let us draw the conclusions which is inherently fair and above board.

I hope your next trip, wherever, is more successful and with a lot more diving.

Tim
 
gbrandon, the threads you posted in gave you answers that the hotel was very expensive after the renovations and a mixed bag of whether or not it was worth the price. Scuba Du also got a mixed response and Dive Paradise had a recent diver reporting that they were not organized as well as they felt a dive operator of that size and time in business should be... So on those accounts, the information you got from ScubaBoard seems to have panned out for you.

Comparing Cozumel to destinations in the South Pacific or Asia just isn't really a fair comparison. Comparing Cozumel to other Caribbean destinations is more of an apples to apples comparison. Cozumel is easily accessible and affordable for people in the eastern half of the US, and it offers some of the best diving you'll find in the Caribbean. If you go with a dive operator who schedules the dive sites based on the day of the week and runs on a time schedule, you won't see the best diving. Being a new diver doesn't have to limit you to the big boat operations. A more personalized experience actually works out better for many new divers in Cozumel. A small group, attentive staff and long, slow paced dives are great confidence builders. It's just a matter of picking the shop that can provide the service level you want at a price you are comfortable paying. With around 100 to choose from, anyone would be hard pressed not to find their perfect fit. If you've got more then a week then trying a couple is not a problem.

When I'm on vacation I eat and drink where I want and don't really worry about the prices. I have never spent what you did on any meal, and that includes with drinks. I eat at a mix of touristy and non-touristy places. I was shocked to see the prices you paid for food at the hotel. If you want a high-end hotel, with the room rate and food prices at the Presidente these days, you’d be better off at Cozumel Palace for about the same money when you add it all up. And the Palace would give you much more for your money.

It sucks to get a cold on a dive trip and had you felt 100% then who knows, maybe your experience and impressions would have been different. Maybe not. Not every destination is for everyone, and there's no need to go back to a place if you didn't really like it much. I think people should feel comfortable posting reports whether they had a great experience, a mediocre one or a really bad one. Your experience was your experience. It will help someone who might be thinking about staying at the Presidente or diving with one of the ops you booked with.
 
cheesehead:
Goeff

Thanks for taking the time to post your report. I'm suspect that a reasonable conclusion is that the rack rate at the Presidente is just the start of the premium they charge.

The rest really sounds like the cost of keeping a gf happy with a dive trip and the lost of service when you try to use multiple dive operations. But you gave facts to let us draw the conclusions which is inherently fair and above board.

I hope your next trip, wherever, is more successful and with a lot more diving.

Tim


I've stayed at The Presidente since 1992. It was owned by Stouffers then. They originally designed the property and built the hotel. I have always liked the architecture and the location. My wife loves the beach.

I use my frequent flyer miles to get to Cozumel so that saves a lot of money. I purchase a membership in the Priority Club, Intercontinental Hotels, for 100.00 and that gets me a free upgrade plus a free night as long as I stay through the weekend. I cut my deal with the hotel on the room rate and have from the beginning. Having stayed there about 20 times over the last 15 years, I can assure you that I dont pay near what GBrandon paid. The day we arrive, we go to Chedraui and load up on breakfast pastries, snacks, bottle of Anejo, soft drinks, beer etc..... I bring my own large rolling ice chest for the room and use it as a refrigerator. Works great. I eat sparingly at the hotel but I do eat dinner there probably twice during a week. The food is very good especially the croc of guac. A lot of my lunches are eaten on a dive boat. We usually go into town for dinner. I know where to eat for the best price.

Staying at the Presidente doesnt have to be so expensive but, it can be if you are new and dont know what to do.
 
Mawg:
....

Staying at the Presidente doesnt have to be so expensive but, it can be if you are new and dont know what to do.

I can't comment on your private deal, but the lowest rate I can find is $290+ a day after you add taxes, gratuity and some other charge they hide in the fine print. Using the six continents club discount that still runs nearly $1800 per week. Both Funjet and Apple are quoting $2060+ a week for a room. To compare Casa Mexicana is $602 per week .

I don't argue with your description of the hotel, but I have no other description of their rates than expensive.

tim
 
Wawaweewa! Nice, long, detailed report. I enjoyed reading it and it flowed nicely even without paragraphs. To sum it up, you've confirmed the basic general consensus of experienced divers and regular visitors to Cozumel here on ScubaBoard which is to avoid the place you stayed, ops you dived with (Dive Paradise) and places you ate (Hard Rock :l:). Next time, do the exact opposite and enjoy. :cheers: Sometimes, you just need to experience what's bad before you find what's good.

BTW... your observations of the pod people (cruisers) was dead on.

Oh, and bringing a rebreather to Coz seemed a bit ambitious and certainly not worth the hassle IMHO. Kind of akin to bringing your own treadmill to jog while you're there, huh? :D
 
driftin' by:
you've confirmed the basic general consensus of experienced divers and regular visitors to Cozumel here on ScubaBoard which is to avoid the place you stayed, ops you dived with (Dive Paradise) and places you ate (Hard Rock :l:)
Nothing wrong with The Presidente... if you can afford it. The rest, I think you're pretty spot on.
scubawife:
If you want a high-end hotel, with the room rate and food prices at the Presidente these days, you’d be better off at Cozumel Palace for about the same money when you add it all up. And the Palace would give you much more for your money.
I'd like to politely disagree with you on that one... I've never stayed at the Palace, but I did stay next door with a balcony overlooking the grounds. It was loud and obnoxious, pretty much how I envision all AIs.

Granted, I haven't been to The Presidente since they reopened, but it is quiet, has a nice beach (which made his gf happy, i'm sure) and is not filled with party monsters. If money was no object I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

That's the beauty of Cozumel... accomodations, food and libations for all budgets
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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