I never thought I would do an AI in cozumel because of the amazing food in town BUT we are looking at going with anouther couples their main concerns are eating, good drinks and sitting on the beach. I think good food and nicer A la carte restaurants would be the most important for them.
I am looking at hotels south of town because of being picked up for dives. Here are the ones that seem to fall in our price range.
Park Royal
Occidental Grand
Wyndham
Allegro
Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.
Hi Ryan,
I too am not a fan of AI's and prefer to stay in town and go out for meals which we truly feel are a big part of our Cozumel vacation. However, due to the makeup of two of my trips to Cozumel, AI was actually a good choice.
My first Cozumel AI was Park Royal. Michael and I stayed here for a 4/5 day quick getaway after our first son's wedding. We basically just wanted to run away from home and the Park Royal package fit the bill. We found the Hotel and grounds to be very nice, service very good and the food actually good. We compare the buffet fare to that of the Lido deck Buffet on a cruise ship. It was fresh with variety and presented well. There are two pools to choose from one close to the hotel and one out at the water edge. The beach/sand area is small but adequate. The only glitch is the timeshare opportunity that is offered as soon as you arrive. Unless it has changed, upon checking in your luggage is collected by the porter, who, stops at the top of the stairs for you to be informed of the hotel "activities". This is timeshare stop number #1. Michael and I just kept walking and ignored the offer. BTW it is a pretty good setup for this as guests must take a flight of stairs down to the elevator to then go up to their room. Thereafter, we were stopped occasionally throughout the time we were there especially as we passed through the small tunnel which connects the hotel area to the beach area. It was actually on the last day that we figured they knew we hadn't had a timeshare talk as our bracelet color was the same as when we checked in. Maybe this was just our imagination, but we noticed guests with various different colored bracelets not being stopped. Again, it really was not a problem because we just kept walking.
The second AI was myself and a friend at the Wyndham as a girl getaway. I will say it was........OK. The room was....OK..clean, the grounds were.....OK..clean however the pool was not clear and in fact green one of the days, the atmosphere was...OK until we discovered the place filled with day pass cruisers. Then we have the food.. The buffet meal for the first day was .....OK, however, after the first day the food situation went downhill. Unless it has changed, the buffet meal selection was THE SAME buffet food and some of it served for EVERY meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Salads were either brown or wilted. Meats, I think it was meat was brown and yes maybe wilted. Vegetables, I am not sure how to describe the vegetables, but I can say for sure the vegetables where the same for every meal. The best part of the buffet were the rolls. Service was mediocre. If the opportunity presented itself again, and only if it was a deal of the century, I would go prepared with my own foods. Ham and cheese sandwiches would have been better than what was being offered.
We did not use the sit-down restaurant at Park Royal as we did not pack proper attire for that trip, however the venues looked very nice. My friend and I could not get a reservation at the Wyndham sit down restaurant as they were booked full. (NO wonder...) Had we known what we were up against, we would have reserved the sit-down restaurant for as many meals as possible as soon as we arrived !!
Both had a pier at which we were picked up by our dive op Blue XT SEA diving. I do believe there is a charge now being passed on to divers not using the house op, which, is fine with me. The Park Royal pier was a slightly easier to get to as the Wyndam pier was a slightly longer walk. However, it truly was not bad at all. Both sites had areas to rinse off gear.
Overall, if I had to choose I would put Park Royal over Wyndham. However, if your friends are interested in food and drink I would certainly try my best to talk them out of an AI and stay elsewhere. Perhaps look into El Cantil condos. There you can share a beautiful two bedroom condo with the balcony view. Set up your own bar and drink non watered down drinks. the beach there is comparable to Park Royal. The bonus would be being able to go out to the wonderful restaurants for exceptional not adequate meals in addition to being able to eat in as an option. In fact, what about an evening that you hire a chef/cook to come in and prepare a meal. I also think that breakfast is included at Wynstons if you book online. At least it was being offered. (Wynstons does have a fantastic view and good food) Plus, it is walking distance to town and has it's own dedicated pier for diver pickup.
Have a great time ! It is so nice to have good friends to travel with and share vacation experiences !
Sue
