Occidental Cozumel

[dougr52]

Thinking about staying at Occidental Cozumel & diving with Pro Dive.. Any thoughts ??

 

[flyboy08]

We did it last December....if Juan is still a DM, ask for him! Free Nitrox too ok to good food....great resort and diving.

 

[Carlos Diver]

I have personally never stayed there. However, one of the guys on my dive boat two weeks ago was staying there. I asked him about it (since I like to try new AIs while im there) and he said he really liked it. Another friend of mine stayed there before the new chain took over and she liked it as well.

 

[BertStevens]

I'll be there in a week. Will report back on the resort. Dove with ProDive last year in PDC. Free Nitrox is nice. Not concierge diving by any means in PDC. Packed boats! I'd guess that Coz would be the same.

I'll be diving with them again next just because it's next door to my resort and convenient. It I'm going with Aldora the week after when we go to Cozumel.

 

[reddiver970]

I just finished a week with pro dive at Allegro and did a couple of dives with the group from Occidental. I liked all the DM's boats were fine never felt overcrowded..but they go to dive sites on scheduled days not very flexible, the one day we did Paso del Cedral there were more divers than fish. There were so many boats at the site,
I think most other operators would have went somewhere else. Other than that I thought they were good. There was a large group from Australia that they did take wherever they requested, but they filled a boat by themselves. I would use them again but probably wouldn't stay at Allegro unless it was a crazy cheap deal

 

[Charles2]

We stayed at the Occidental Cozumel in early December, 2016. Even though they were in the process of remodeling, the accommodations were nice enough. The food was good even though there was very little variety. Although they still go by the name Occidental, the resorts have been sold to Barceló. My wife and I have stayed at various Occidental resorts since early 2000s and have noticed a deterioration of their quality since the new ownership. One of the advantages of staying at any of the southern all-inclusives is the proximity to the dive sites and the very short boat rides. ProDive is also a very good operator. They are not concierge, but they do clean, store, and have all of your gear ready for the next day of diving. Every dive leader was very competent and safe. Someone else mentioned free nitrox and that is another big advantage. The dives will all be in the 50 minute range and you will be using AL80 tanks.

 

[Nitrox624]

Occidental is better than Allegro in way of accommodations and service. We have stayed at Allegro for many years but have started staying at Occidental because of better rooms, less kids and better service. In fact after our stay last month at Allegro we will no longer be staying there. Not sure what is going on with Allegro since both resorts are owned by Barceló. We do not dive with ProDive but I have talked to divers while waiting on our boat before and they all seem to like it. The groups do seem to be a little larger than some of the other dive ops.

 

[ggunn]

I just finished a week with pro dive at Allegro and did a couple of dives with the group from Occidental. I liked all the DM's boats were fine never felt overcrowded..but they go to dive sites on scheduled days not very flexible, the one day we did Paso del Cedral there were more divers than fish. There were so many boats at the site.

I got back 10 days ago. There was a strong SE to SSE wind blowing pretty much the whole time I was there, and many days going anywhere near the south end was not desireable. Those days the more central sites were pretty crowded.

 

[outofofficebrb]

If you're staying at the Occidental, upgrade for the boutique section of the resort. It's worth it. Free wifi in room and it is closer to the dive shop and the beach/pool. Food is average, but the dive shop is excellent as is the property. Dives are scheduled and they aren't very flexible unless the group unanimously agrees to go elsewhere so if you have good chemistry with the group, it works out well. Free nitrox is good as well. I did Cozumel and also the cenotes with them in late 2015. The location of this resort has you very close to all the dive sites so you don't have to go out very far on the boat.

I would go back to dive with them again and stay at the resort again.

 

[reddiver970]

I got back 10 days ago. There was a strong SE to SSE wind blowing pretty much the whole time I was there, and many days going anywhere near the south end was not desireable. Those days the more central sites were pretty crowded.

I was diving the 3 rd through the 8th weather was great. Glad I missed the winds we had some of that last year.