Casa del Mar Cozumel

[Superman541]

Been doing some reading and then I thought "why not just ask?" Okay.

Will be staying at Cass del Mar for two weeks in late January. Tell me what I should know. I assume the resort dive shop (Cozumel Marine World) takes good care of customers. They say they can get me the Advanced certification. I am newly OW certified.

Any comments on the rooms and such? I have read the beds are VERY firm, and I see suggestions to get a balcony room. That is all I know.

Food at CDM is okay-ish, according to my reading. Input? There are other restaurants nearby? Recommendations? Also, downtown is a short taxi ride away.

What would you tell me that I should hear?

 

[Scubagolf]

Deleted

 

[js1221]

I’ve stayed there twice. Firm, in describing the beds, is being kind. They were hard. That was my only complaint though. I liked the food, the rooms were nice, and the diving was right across the street.

 

[mcohen1021]

Hands down my FAVORITE all time hotel on Cozumel since my 1st trip there 1990...

What you need to know:

1. Get the larger room

2. Take padlocks so you can use the lockers across the street

3. There's rinse tanks across the street

4. The restaurant st CDM is great, especially their shrimp and grilled fish

5. CDM has my favorite happy hour 5 - 6 pm daily

6. Eat at Ernestos across the street too

7. Resorts dive shop is cattle car - get with a smaller operator

8. Hold off on the AoW... You're new to the sport, don't fall prey to the pressure of having the aow card. Get 50+ dives under your belt then start thinking about it

HAVE FUN

 

[halocline]

I have stayed next to CDM for years at a much smaller B&B type place which I love. I would suggest using the dive op owned by the same person, Roberta's Dive-eco, aka scubashack. It's a nice, friendly small boat op and it's just as convenient for you as the in house shop for CDM.

I've eaten at CDM multiple times, it'll do but it's nothing like the good places downtown. Ernesto's across the street I would put in about the same category. Last time I was there, there was a small restaurant called paprika right near by that I thought was horrible. It's probably gone. Restaurants are tough down in that part of the island. I usually walk to downtown because A) the food options are much better, both cheap and expensive, and B) I like to walk, so a 45 minute stroll along the shore is enjoyable. Taxis are everywhere, so getting downtown is super quick if you don't mind spending the money. Last time I was there was pre-pandemic and it was about 100 pesos to ride downtown. I bet it's gone up as the peso has gone down.

Can't offer an opinion about the rooms at CDM. In terms of taking AOW, it's up to you. As a newly certified diver, spending time with a very good instructor might be really beneficial to you, but so would just diving. And it's hard to know how good the instructor is until you meet him or her. Roberta's had a relationship with a couple of really good instructors, but I don't know what their current status is. Have fun!

 

[nodakdive]

I've stayed at Casa del Mar many times and I've been diving with Roberta's Scuba Shack. That combination is extremely convenient if you aren't locked in to your diving arrangements through Casa del Mar. I'd say it's even more convenient than diving with any op that would pick you up from the CDM dock.

It's easier to get to Roberta's "shop" and her lockers are more convenient than CDM's. Boat entry and exit is extremely easy. She also has rinse tanks and everything you need, all of which isn't any further than getting from your room at CDM to the CDM pier. A lot less steps too if you use the CDM walkway to get to their pier. It's a fine shop and training would be no issue at all.

As to CDM tips, you'll be comfortable. Make sure you get a room with a balcony. If you request and can get a king bed room, I think they are larger. I've been in many different rooms in the hotel, my favorite is on the 3rd floor facing northwest, corner king room if possible. No obstruction from trees or cruise ships. No obstruction from the cabanas. On the other hand, a corner king room on the ground floor is extremely convenient. I think you can request a fridge for your room, at an upcharge I suspect. The rooms have safes.

mcohen1021 and halocline have covered good points. I found Paprika's menu to be eclectic, ahem, but was able to find something that was ok. It was not a go-to place. I think Tikila is also offering food now. At one point, you could order from Paprika and they'd bring it to Tikila, but I think they have their own menu now. It's been awhile for me. I and all of my friends liked Ernesto's and CDM's food is fine, imo, especially for lunch, but in two weeks, we usually went downtown all but 3 or 4 nights. It wasn't that CDM was that bad, but there are sooooo many options on Cozumel. If the hotel is X full, there will be a breakfast buffet, though you can still order off the menu. Loved a club sandwich or whole fried fish for lunch at CDM.

You probably know this, but there is reasonable, for Cozumel, shore diving right in front of Roberta's and Casa del Mar.

Have fun!!

 

[ReefHound]

mcohen1021 and halocline have covered good points. I found Paprika's menu to be eclectic, ahem, but was able to find something that was ok. It was not a go-to place. I think Tikila is also offering food now. At one point, you could order from Paprika and they'd bring it to Tikila, but I think they have their own menu now. It's been awhile for me. I and all of my friends liked Ernesto's and CDM's food is fine, imo, especially for lunch, but in two weeks, we usually went downtown all but 3 or 4 nights. It wasn't that CDM was that bad, but there are sooooo many options on Cozumel. If the hotel is X full, there will be a breakfast buffet, though you can still order off the menu. Loved a club sandwich or whole fried fish for lunch at CDM.

Last fall we ordered at Tikila off the Tikila menu and they brought it over from Paprika (which was closed at the time) and it sounded like the Paprika kitchen makes all the meals. Same owner.

Ernesto's is super convenient and a great place to have a cold beer and tacos for lunch after the dive trip but you can get better food downtown for half the price. Same goes for Tikila.

 

[reddiver970]

Robertas Scuba shack is right across the street, much better choice for a dive op in my opinion.

 

[rick00001967]

different strokes for different folks i guess......i have never had any issues diving with marine world. when boat diving, the wife and i prefer the slower more comforable dive boats offerd by them.
if you are a new diver, my suggestion would actually be to stay away from the smaller faster boats. but thats just me.
i stayed at cdm once. i enjoyed the room with a small balcony. the food was hit and miss. some was really good, some was not. they had awesome coconut chocolate ice cream and i did like that they used can pop instead of fountain pop for my rum and cokes when i was there.
i know many people really like ernestos for food. i was only there once. it was not so great imho.
you are certainly correct that you will need to take a cab to town. you can walk but it is a long walk for most people. thats why we started staying closer to town when we visited coz.

 

[Superman541]

Thanks to all! I have started a dialogue with Roberta, and I think this is the dive shop for me. Looking forward to the trip! Thanks again.