Coz Recommendation

[Scott Riemer]

Scott, depending how soon you're booking, I'll be at Cozumel Palace the first week of May. This will be my first time staying on Cozumel. We have been down the past four years but have always stayed on the mainland and took day trips over for diving. If you haven't already booked somewhere by then, I can offer you a review of our trip.

 

[Scott M]

Here is my two cents worth

We have stayed at Cozumel Palace two years running and dove with Blue XT Sea. The food at Coz Palace is hit or miss, the first year the steak house was awesome, last year it was horrible. THe drinks are always good and the service is excellent, the rooms are fantastic and we just love it.

If you decide to dive with Blue XT Sea, ask for Pedro as your dm, he is the best.

Thanks for the reply. I have heard a lot of good things about them. I have also heard a lot about Aldora so it is worth looking into doing it this way.

Regards

 

[Scott M]

How many of your group are diving? Small ops are limited to 6 or 8 in many instances due to boat size.
In house ops can be convenient but aren't necessarily cheaper, and often have a schedule meaning that even though all the divers still have air you will be forced to surface to match the scheduled time that the boat must be back.
Re the all inclusives, the general ranking of those you should consider is Cozumel Palace #
1, in town & the best AI on the island. Wyndham Aura, NEW, little is known right now but it should be a high end resort from all the advertising & hype, and although not in town isn't too far away and should be free of kids. IF it lives up to it's billing it may very well become # 2 but that's yet to be seen. The Occidental Grand is currently # 2 but far from town, BUT very close to the dive sites & has a good in house dive op. Next is the Iberostar, further from town, good in house dive op that I personally have used & feel are a bit overpriced. Great resort, good food, well run, but a long trip to town by taxi. (I haven't stayed at the Grand so can't compare but have dove with their dive op). Next is Hotel Cozumel, which is in town, although at the southern edge of it as such. Nice rooms & property, decent food but by no means great on a daily basis, but in most cases you can get a really good deal on the AI option that makes it a bargain AND allows eating out without feeling that you are paying for 2 meals at the same time.
The Park Royal is still hard to rate due to the mixed reviews, but from all of them I have read it falls short of the star rating it has given itself, but it most likely is higher than Hotel Cozumel but only marginally.
I have photos of the grounds at the Hotel Cozumel. the Park Royal, the Iberostar, & the waterfront section of the Palace here
Picasa Web Albums - Larry
As for the Scuba Club it is a bit unique in that it is an AI but a rather small one with diving being it's primary attribute, and although my knowledge re it is only from reading about it it may suit some of your group but I doubt that it will meet all of their expectations. It is close to town (across from Hotel Coz & a tiny bit north) but not really my idea of an AI resort. There have been a few very good reviews here relating to stays & dive trips from it.

Wow, lots of great information. Our group will be all divers just some would like to log a few more dives than others. I will go over all of the info with the gang and see what they want to do. Sometimes it's tough to meet the expectations of everyone in the group. for the most part my dive buddy and I will just go along with whatever is decided to take a few opinions out of the mix. The only thing I am looking for is extra dives so that does not effect the group.

Thanks

 

[Scott M]

I was at Scubaclub last week and I have to say that the food wildly exceeded my expectations for AI. It was very good. For diving convenience SCC is hard to beat, but you might find yourself on a boat with 16 other people of various levels of experience. Three blocks from Chedraui so you can easily walk down there for provisions (beer). Rooms are clean and the beds are firm, which worked for me. The people you dive with are also the people you see at meals so it's easy to make friends. Not upscale, but just fine if you're there for the diving. Great food was a bonus.

Sounds good on the AI side but if possible I would like to stay away from the large groups. Worth looking into all the same.

Thanks

Just want to point out that Scuba Club is not ALL inclusive, it is just MOSTLY inclusive. Alcoholic drinks are not included, but they are available on site. Mostly inclusive really appeals to me since I don't drink and don't like to subsidize those that do.

I doubt you'd find many kids at Scuba Club either.

With out the alcohol I think the gang will shy away...lol

Thanks

 

[Scott M]

Scott, depending how soon you're booking, I'll be at Cozumel Palace the first week of May. This will be my first time staying on Cozumel. We have been down the past four years but have always stayed on the mainland and took day trips over for diving. If you haven't already booked somewhere by then, I can offer you a review of our trip.

We are getting together sometime this month to go over which route to take mainly so we can book airfare early to try and find the best flights. I imagine we could hold off on booking a resort until later. I look forward to your review.

Regards

 

[livewire]

I stayed at Iberostar in November and really enjoyed it as an all inclusive. True it is the furthest possible resort from town, BUT the food is excellent and it's the absolute CLOSEST resort to the dive sites, which made for 5 minute boat rides, and you have to love that! I found the price to be pretty good in November also. I wrote about it here and compared Dive with Martin to the on-site shop, Dressel Divers:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/216531-who-dive.html

It's right next door to Occidental Grand so I toured that property. While both properties are beautifully landscaped, the walk from your room to the dock is a long one at Occidental, where as at Iberostar it's a short stroll. I've never stayed or toured Cozumel Palace, so I can't speak to that property. Occidental Grand may have better ocean views from the rooms, Iberostar has only a couple of rooms with ocean views (what were they thinking?). One thing that was a common complaint at both Occidental Grand and Iberostar is that the beds are too hard. They are, in fact, very firm, and while I didn't have as much of a problem my wife didn't enjoy it very much. So while I'd say the grounds are 5-star, rooms were 3 star because of the beds, and this seemed to be a common occurrence at other resorts. Linens and amenities in the room were fine.

Have fun!

 

[sharky60]

Most of the "upper scale" resorts if you will, are the new AI's, the El Presidente used to be the ONLY 5 star resort on the island. I haven't heard much about it since it's Wilma renovations, but it had always gotten great reviews. It would be starting to get to the higher end of cab fares to town from there also, maybe $10 each way, possibly a little less.

I wouldn't recommend the Park Royal, a couple friends stayed at this AI last year. The only way to get purified water was to go to the bar and they would give you "a glass" (solo cup) of ice water. In the freakn' Mexican heat!!!!!!!!!! no fridge in room if you wanted to go buy some bottled water somewhere else, no ice machines either if you could secure a cooler for your room. Food was ok, and service was slow from the report we got.

The El Cid La Ceiba might be what you are looking for, we stayed there for years until moving to Caribe Blu for economic reasons. Newly renovated, large rooms, good food, great staff, the location is just about the same distance from downtown, approx 2 miles, ($5 cab ride).

Actually it's one of my favorite locations on the island, close to the International Pier for good people watching, still not out of walking distance to town, on a not too hot day or cool evening.

It's an easy pick up for most dive ops. Dive with Martin's shop is right next door at the foot of the International Pier. And several others are within walking distance from the hotel. Not sure who is the on-site dive op these days or even if they have one.

Hotel Cozumel is right outside of town, an easy walk. Never stayed there but have been on the property. very pretty, large pool area & nice clean lobby.

Scuba Club is a beautiful hacienda style hotel. I call it "the compound" because it's kind of secluded behind it's white stucco walls with big wooden gates. NO phone, no tv, but great service & good food service and a good dive op from all reports. Also an easy walk from town, maybe a 1/2 mile?

 

[Going Postal]

I stayed at the Wyndham in January. It is AI and it is somewhat upscale, food was excellent. I stayed on the Sabor side which is adult only. You have access to the whole resort, but the others can't go there. It is a fairly long walk to the dive shop, but if you stay on the Sabor side they will drive you on a golf cart.

 

[tboyer25]

My husband and I just returned from Cozumel, we did the AI at Hotel Cozumel and dove with the house ops, Dive Paradise. They were great to dive with and the hotel was just what we wanted. Nice rooms, great service and the food was good. We did a little shore diving including a night dive right off of their pier...very good. We would do it all again for sure. It is just a short walk to town if you want to go shopping or find another place to eat out.

 

[cicopo]

I've stayed at Hotel Cozumel my last 3 trips & wrote a lengthy review of what to expect there.
Cozumel: Hotel Cozumel and Resort - Traveler Reviews - Fully met my expectations again., our second visit. - TripAdvisor