capybara:
My wife and I took our three teenagers there last Easter. We LOVED the place. We stayed in the plainest of the rooms, but it suited us just fine as we only slept there, or changed clothes. We had a full kitchen, which was nice. Although we never used the oven/stove, we did use the fridge and the microwave. We did get to go in the nicer rooms though, believe me - they are nice.
The things we liked best about the Aldora are that it's just far enough from town to be nice and quiet, but it's only about a 15 or 20 minute walk if you want. They have bikes available for free if you want to ride. OR, it's a $4 cab ride. We did all three.
The ocean is literally 20 steps from your door. 'Nuff said.
The diveboat picks you up 20 steps from your door.
There is great snorkeling right in front of the Villa. My family spent 3-4 hrs a day just snorkeling up and down the ironshore in front of the villa. Saw squid, eels, an octopus, jellyfish, puffers, tangs, french angels, and a barracuda. Aldora provides all the gear for free. I have some pics in my gallery.
Greg is the onsite mgr. He went out of his way to make things happen for us. We can't say enough about him.
Our only other experience in Coz was the previous year at the Occidental Grand. It was very nice, and there is something to be said about just lying on the beach having drinks delivered to you all day, but I don't think we will be going back!
It's obvious that there is some real resentment towards Aldora on this board - and I'm not sure why. I don't even know if it's the entire operation, the owner, the crew, the villa, the dive shop, etc. Could be I'm just naive or ignorant to some of the facts, I don't know. But my experience with them was nothing but positive - they might be a tad high priced, but in the end that's not what I remember or think about.
