AI recommendations in Cozumel

[RaoulDuke]

So I read through a few other threads and have a general idea but I thought I would post my specific details to see if others can help me narrow down my choices. Looking for all inclusive recommendations as we have 4 kids ages 4, 13,15 & 17 at the time of our vacation (last week in December '16) and while I know its not gourmet food, it makes life much easier for the wife and myself. I have approx. 35 dives under my belt and just finished my PADI Adv. Open Water, not sure this matters.... Anyway, I'm the only diver but the kids Christmas will likely be our vacation & certification, my wife doesn't dive and the 4 yr. old doesn't (yet, lol!) so activities for them are ideal (wife loves to fish). We prefer to be away from cruise terminals and near more peaceful, family friendly areas. Looking for AI recommendations as well as Dive operators. Sounds like the South side might be ideal but I am open to other suggestions too. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[ibj40]

Last AI we stayed in was the Park Royal, and while we don't have kids, we did notice that they have a dedicated play area/playground tha looked llike one of these you see at the fancy McDonald's. Not sure what the other AI's offer (only stayed at this one and Scuba Club), but looked pretty cool. You will probably get more informed opinions, but I'd say the Park Royal at least deserves a look.

 

[ColoDale]

Most big AI's are on the south end but there are some closer to town (El Cid La Ceiba, Cozumel Palace, Hotel Cozumel and Park Royal), and some on the North end. If you stay on the North end you may need to drive/taxi to town or caleta (port) for boat pickup. The ones in town whould have their own piers.
At least on the south end any dive op can pick you up (Though I don't know about Iberostar - in the past they have charged dive ops). So you don't have to use the in house dive op if you don't want to. The south end will have better beaches.
As far as dive ops, see the dive op threads in the Cozumel section and you'll get many recommendations ad nauseum.
The big AI's should have activities and kids clubs for younger kids. The details should be on their websites for things like volleyball, shows, art and jewelry (for sale), spas, gyms, etc.
Those hotels closer to town will have more access to things in town but don't know if you want to wander.

It's hard to recommend an AI (south at least) since you didn't say what you want for rooms (basic, big, views, beach), grounds, budget, etc. The AI's south are all kind of the same but I do know that Iberostar extends back into the jungle more than some others so it can be hotter. However in December that might not be an issue.

South and North end you would be away from criuse ships and passengers as opposed to in town. Should be quieter but it depends on the crowd at the hotel.

 

[RaoulDuke]

Last AI we stayed in was the Park Royal, and while we don't have kids, we did notice that they have a dedicated play area/playground tha looked llike one of these you see at the fancy McDonald's. Not sure what the other AI's offer (only stayed at this one and Scuba Club), but looked pretty cool. You will probably get more informed opinions, but I'd say the Park Royal at least deserves a look.

Thanks, I have heard PR is great for kids but I was hoping to stay a little further south.

 

[cicopo]

Iberostar likely has the best kids club of the southern resorts but is restrictive re dive ops picking up at their pier. I liked the food & lay out there too but my stays were about 12 years ago. Allegro may have the best grounds for the kids to stay entertained but not necessarily great food. My last stay in the southern hotel zone was the Grand & I wasn't impressed with the food or service but it has very nice rooms. Park Royal is nice but no real beach & it's very close to the cruise ship terminals / shopping villages.

 

[RaoulDuke]

Iberostar likely has the best kids club of the southern resorts but is restrictive re dive ops picking up at their pier. I liked the food & lay out there too but my stays were about 12 years ago. Allegro may have the best grounds for the kids to stay entertained but not necessarily great food. My last stay in the southern hotel zone was the Grand & I wasn't impressed with the food or service but it has very nice rooms. Park Royal is nice but no real beach & it's very close to the cruise ship terminals / shopping villages.

Thanks, I'm thinking we might be down to Iberostar or Occidental Grand. I heard the dive op at Iberostar is pretty good any thoughts/experience? Wife thought Allegro sounded good for kids but it got some poor reviews, although it seems like there are good and bad reviews for all the places in Cozumel. I'm guessing with the heat/humidity its tough to keep a hotel looking pristine. We went to the Presidente Intercontinental a few years ago and enjoyed it but it was just the wife and I, too expensive for the whole clan to go.

Actually, it was the Sunscape Sabor that she liked that got some poor reviews.

 

[Brules]

Park Royal ALL DAY LONG.

Best Kids Club on the island for the young ones. My wifes cousin just got back from a week there with 2 4yr old twins and they wanted to go to kids club all day every day with Claudia. She speaks fluent English and was a nanny in the US.

The activity staff will help keep the other 3 busy all day with a variety of activities. Daily activites are posted every day on the board with clocks showing what time and where it is. My 15 and 12 yr old plan their days around it.

Hotel does nightly shows (every night) that are really good.

You can dive and use the pier next door at Aquaworld. Wrist band costs you $8 USD to use it for a week. They have a rinse tank and lockers too (bring your own lock) - I keep my stuff in my room though. Most ops will pick you up there.

Only bad part is the cruise ships dock right out front lol, but the terminals are down the road a ways. We personally enjoy watching them come and go daily.

Food: very good. Buffet is INDOORS and AC'd. 2 out door snack shacks, 1 ice cream and espresso bar (indoor with ac) and 3 reservation restaurants. Bring pants and close toed shoes. Ocean side restaurant is open daily for lunch for order off the menu meals.

We prefer the PR as it is the closest AI to town that is very good, small man made beach yet still close enough to town to get a $8 taxi (pay for all taxi's in pesos though).

Palace is too $$$ and 0 beach. Hotel Coz is ok but is lower end with 0 beach. PR has man made imported sand beach so it isn't a foot slicer/scrub sand like down south lol.

Have been going there since '07 and been taking kids there since....2009 I think?

Good luck and enjoy. I recommend Blue XT Sea for diving. Great op for families and kids and can handle your certs etc.

Have fun!

 

[cicopo]

My experiences with Dressel were great (2 trips & roughly 42 or 43 dives) but I had just over 100 logged dives & that seemed to put me with the more experienced divers. Something I really liked about them was the fact they returned to the hotel for the morning surface interval & you could have breakfast again as it was still available. Afternoon dives are available too but they are timed vs dive your air because the DM's did the morning shift plus they run to a schedule.
This is the link to my hotel tours, diving etc photos which I am in the middle of moving to Flickr after a change Google forced on Picasa Web Album users which I can't live with. It might help but the Google stripped all the captions from the albums.

ci_copo’s albums | Flickr

 

[imoto]

I've stayed at the Iberostar 4 times and the Sabor once. Iberostar has a good kid's club and the Star Friends have activities going on throughout the day that the older children/youth might enjoy (volleyball, water basketball, archery, etc.) Rooms might be crowded for 5 people. You might need two rooms.

Dressel Divers - safety oriented, dives can be repetitive if you do a 3-4 dives per day because they keep to a schedule of sites. Good rental equipment.

I did 3 days with Dressel and 3 days with Dive with Martin and was picked up on the Iberostar dock. There were no additional charges at checkout so it looks like they pass the cost of using their dock onto the dive op (DWM in this case). Aldora will pick you up near the dock and you'll wade out to the boat.

It was convenient returning to the dock after each dive. Grab a coke, snack, bathroom break and then back out for the second dive.

If you do want to get into town, it will be about $20 each way I believe, though.

There are kayaks and small catamarans which the older children/youth could use.

 

[deepsea21]

Well Duke... It's no secret I am an AI hater but that's just me. You having a family of 6 with 4 kids (4-17 years of age) and you being the only diver, your diving time and who you chose to dive with is gonna be the least of your worries.

You need to select an AI that keeps everyone happy and entertained between those few hours a day you get to spend diving and escape all that chaos. Given all those you have to keep happy, I would focus on the amenities and reviews of the AI's you are considering on tripadvisor and decide where to stay from there. Then, once you've selected the best AI that fits the needs of your family, come back here and ask who you could dive with given the AI you selected. There are plenty of top quality dive ops that can pick you up from your AI dock and even if they aren't "allowed" to dock at your AI, I've seen plenty walk out into a few feet of water to board a dive boat from a dive op that wasn't allowed to pick up at the AI's dock... Tthey just pull up into the beach/shallows and let you walk out and hop on board there instead of from the AI dock.

Long story short, no matter where you decide to stay to keep everyone in your party entertained, you will have no problem finding a top quality dive op to take you diving should you chose not to dive with the AI's in-house dive op. Just post where you are staying here and I'm sure there will be no shortage of dive op recommendations that will pick you up and drop you off at your AI one way or another.