AI Hotel with beach near town?

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smartcar8

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Hi all,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Cozumel this November. I will be doing the advanced OW course and my wife her OW referral. We are looking for an AI hotel that is a reasonable distance to town. A beach would be nice and also within walking distance to a dive shop. Any chance we can meet this criteria? Thanks for any info.
 
Hi all,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Cozumel this November. I will be doing the advanced OW course and my wife her OW referral. We are looking for an AI hotel that is a reasonable distance to town. A beach would be nice and also within walking distance to a dive shop. Any chance we can meet this criteria? Thanks for any info.

There are no AI's which are both close to town and have a natural beach. Most ops pick you up on your hotel pier, so walking distance to a dive shop isn't necessary. That said, most AI's have their own on-site dive ops. Whether you'd want to use them is a different decision.

An option you might want to consider is Scuba Club Cozumel, which is close to town, AI, and has its own well respected dive op. There is a sandy area for laying about, but it isn't a beach; there are steps down to the water.

And lastly, AI's are convenient, but there is a diverse lot of restaurants on the island which I love to patronize; no AI for me but YMMV.
 
This map will give you a quick overview of the town and various hotels. When you see brown up at the edge of the blue water, that is rocky ironshore. Sand may be up on top of it but it is not a walk in sand beach.

Cozumel, Mexico map with hotel locations
 
The only AI close to town with an actual beach that you can enter the water via is the Park Royal. On site dive op SUCKS, but all ops can pick you up there if you pay $8 for a wristband from the onsite OP to use their pier/rinse tank/lockers. The beach is SMALL but nice and the sand is actual sand (not the rocky shell full coral rock stuff you see down south).

To get real legit beaches you have to go way up north or way south to the Sunscape Sabor/Secrets.

I stayed at the PR for 9 days and dove with Blue XTSea and they picked me up at the dock.

Don't let the hotel dictate your dive op. Pick an OP that meets your needs then select the hotel would be my advice.
 
We also stay at PR. Tres Pelicanos will pick you up in front of the hotel and you don't need to use the PR dock.
 
Hotel Cozumel offers AI - sometimes really cheap, is close to town, and has as much beach as most want - unless you really want to stand knee deep on a sandy bottom.
 
Personally, I don't do AI on Cozumel. Nothing against AIs in general - I wouldn't do anything else on Jamaica or DR. But Cozumel is different - very, very safe, very friendly people, and a real wealth of very good restaurants. AIs in general can be very iffy about food; some very good, some mediocre, others just plain awful. With a captive audience, sometimes apathy sets in. The only time I've stayed at an AI on Cozumel (and I've been going there for 25 years now, because I really love the place) was at Hotel Cozumel. Like Dandy Don said, nice hotel, close to town, no real beach, but a sandy area on the water. I like the Hotel Cozumel, nice rooms, comfortable beds, HUGE pool area, and good location. But, IMHO, the food was TERRIBLE. I'm not a drinker, so there's no way I'm going to get my money's worth at the bar (though when I was there for the Scuba Board Cozumel Invasion, there were a number of Scuba Boarders who were making a very valiant effort to get their money's worth at the bar!), so, while I would stay at Hotel Cozumel again, I would NOT do the AI option. I'd eat breakfast there, then walk into town for lunches and dinners. Dive Op at Hotel Cozumel is Dive Paradise. Not my first (or second, third, or fourth) choice, but a competent operator, and I'd use them if I got a real good package deal price, BUT BE CAREFUL - I understand from a recent post here that Dive Paradise runs two different kinds of dive excursions, one for experienced divers that go to all the Southern reefs, and a cattle boat operation that only goes to the close in shallow reefs, which is cheaper. I'd make them confirm that you are going to be on the "good divers" boats before signing up for a cheap package deal. If it were me, I'd likely use another Dive Op - Aldora, Blue XTSea, Tres Pelicanos, Dive with Allison, etc. - lots of very good Dive Ops on Cozumel, and most will pick you up at the pier of whatever hotel you're staying at.
 
Casa del Mar is about 200 feet north of the Park Royal and they have an AI option. It's $39 per day, per person. They also have a sandy area by the water. The cab ride to town is 80 pesos. Count me as another that prefers to eat at restaurants as opposed to AI. They have an onsite dive concierge whose name I can never remember, but I dive with an outside Dive Op. There's no fee to be picked up by another op at CDM's dock. If you consider Casa del Mar, you absolutely want a "superior" room as they have balconies for drying your great, etc. If you don't have that balcony, you won't be very happy at Casa del Mar. There are good reason's I've stayed there, but I really wish it was closer to town so that a taxi wasn't so desirable.
 
I would try the Cozumel Palace. It doesn't have a natural beach, but meets most of your other criteria. I think they have an on-site dive op but the ops that pick up in town also pick up there. It ain't the cheapest on the island, but I have never heard a single person say that they didn't like the place.
 
I stay at Hotel Cozumel & have for years, take the AI option but eat out too BUT I find the food there to be fine relative to it's cost. What I don't understand when talking AI vs non AI when talking about being someone who doesn't drink not getting good value. In general hotels charge pretty much the same price for a beer as a Coke or Lemonaide so unless you like buying a cooler & getting ice etc what exactly is the complaint.
 

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