Iberostar/dressel diver

[Mrs. K]

Contemplating a trip to Iberostar and thinking about diving with dressel divers. It is a bit on the pricey side, but my husband like to be "comfortable". Looks like a few have said it was a good place to go, but no trip report on it that I can find.

Can anybody give me a detailed lowdown on this. Is it worth the extra money?

 

[lionfish-eater]

My girlfriend and I spent a week there last year. I can recommend the resort, but it is not 5 star. If you look real close it's probably not a 4 either, but few places really are. I like the location, because it is so far south, close to many dive sites. The rooms are nice but showing a little age, but still nice. The food was good, but we often eat dinner in town or at chen rio. We like to get out of the resort so we always rent a car from budget or thrifty. We always dive with Aldora, and if you like to be pampered and well taken care of, they will set a new standard for you. They may charge to pick you up at dressels dock, but it will be worth paying. They use 120 tanks and that means looong dives with computers and nitrox, or just air. My gf did her open water cert with them and was given royal treatment. My son and I have dived with them since he was 12. Iberostar was better than other places i have stayed,including allegro, reef club(now wyndam), fiesta americana, casa del mar, villa blanca, and others in downtown, off ocean. You could also try el presidente or scuba club cozumel. Hope this helps. If you use aldora, tell memo that david from minnesota says hi.

Get out of the jar!

 

[bgillis]

I've stayed at the Iberostar many times, and dove with Dressel Divers and other ops, and I do like the convenience of Dressel Divers picking you up at the hotel and going back to the hotel for surface intervals so you can have a snack and a drink between dives. If you buy their 12 2-tank package, both of you can use it and their price gets quite reasonable. You can also save 15% if you book online or 10% if you pay with cash. Nitrox is free if you are certified. The hotel is nice and the food is good. The staff there is very friendly and will treat you good! The only draw back is that it is very far from town and a taxi will cost you about $20.00 each way.

 

[Willar]

bgillis gives a great summary above. We stayed at Iberostar last summer and dove all week with Dressel. The hotel is well kept and well run. The rooms are clean and nice, good sized but not huge. We were a little disappointed with the food. We are not picky and are used to all-inclusive buffet fare. We always found something to eat and some things were very good but the specialty restaurants were disappointing. Breakfast and lunch were fine. I would stick with the main buffet or the steakhouse for dinner.

Dressel did a very good job for us. By paying ahead and considering that Nitrox was included free, I found the cost to be very reasonable. When I decided to add a few more dives they priced it same as my pre-paid rate, rather than full rack rate. The crew were all very friendly and helpful, but they don't carry and set-up your gear (this is fine with me). The boats are not six-packs so you'll see large numbers but they divide off in smaller groups with guides so we had 6-8 persons per group. The dive guides like to keep everyone close but if they learn you are good in the water they give you freedom to roam on your own. It's great to be close to the resort for surface interval to get a break between dives. You can do 1 or 2 dives in the morning and again in the afternoon, whichever you wish, and they just count down the dives you have purchased. Overall, they are one of the best outfits I've experienced as far as positive attitude and a desire to have happy divers. However, if you want to be dropped and left alone, or insist on small (4-6) group size, another boat might be better for you.

I was very happy with both so I plan to return to Iberostar with my friends and will dive with Dressel again. Message me if you have any questions.

 

[Willar]

bgillis gives a great summary above. We stayed at Iberostar last summer and dove all week with Dressel. The hotel is well kept and well run. The rooms are clean and nice, good sized but not huge. We were a little disappointed with the food. We are not picky and are used to all-inclusive buffet fare. We always found something to eat and some things were very good but the specialty restaurants were disappointing. Breakfast and lunch were fine. I would stick with the main buffet or the steakhouse for dinner.

Dressel did a very good job for us. By paying ahead and considering that Nitrox was included free, I found the cost to be very reasonable. When I decided to add a few more dives they priced it same as my pre-paid rate, rather than full rack rate. The crew were all very friendly and helpful, but they don't carry and set-up your gear (this is fine with me). The boats are not six-packs so you'll see large numbers but they divide off in smaller groups with guides so we had 6-8 persons per group. The dive guides like to keep everyone close but if they learn you are good in the water they give you freedom to roam on your own. It's great to be close to the resort for surface interval to get a break between dives. You can do 1 or 2 dives in the morning and again in the afternoon, whichever you wish, and they just count down the dives you have purchased. Overall, they are one of the best outfits I've experienced as far as positive attitude and a desire to have happy divers. However, if you want to be dropped and left alone, or insist on small (4-6) group size, another boat might be better for you.

I was very happy with both so I plan to return to Iberostar with my friends and will dive with Dressel again. Message me if you have any questions.

 

[baystr]

check the occidental Grande(virtually next door to the iberostar) nice place, decent food for an ai, and another vote for aldora

 

[Colin Gray]

Have stayed at the Iberostar 3 times in the past year and have always used Dressel. Never have had any problems with diving. Jeremy runs a great operation. Nitrox is always free. I prepay for the dives through Dressel 's website in Spain. The package is always cheaper that way.

Colin

 

[Mrs. K]

Thank you everyone.

We just got back. And had a great time. Dressel did very well by me as well. My only complaint was that their tanks all needed the O rings changed. They all had a very small leak. This was not a problem for me, as I use very little air, and never actually ran out of air. My husband was a bit frustrated as he is an "air hog". But his sinuses kept him from doing more than 6 dives (which was even better for me, as I got to use the rest of his dives that we pre-paid for). I heard they were having problems with their nitrox mixture, but since I don't dive nitrox, it did not affect me. The staff on the boats, in the water and at the desk we all excellent.

We also liked the resort. We thought the food was find and the service was excellent. We did not eat at the "reservation" restaurants, because my husband did not bring long pants. But the buffets were all just fine. I liked the beach chairs and loved the peacocks/flamingos/turtles/lizards. I even enjoyed the cats who kept sneaking into the buffets.

So thanks again for your recommendations. I too would recommend it and had a great time!

 

[Willar]

Thanks for the report! Glad you enjoyed the resort.

Do you remember the staff names still at Dressel? We really enjoyed diving with Bjorn and Natalie, just wondering if they are still there.

We decided to try the Iberostar Playa Paraiso near Playa del Carmen for this June. Dressel is the dive op there also. We hope to find the same good service and good diving.

 

[bgillis]

Bjorn is there Nat is in Playa with an about to pop baby bump